They came up in the late 1980s New Brunswick underground music scene and toured laps around the globe. Today, New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls are an important block in the foundation of the rebuilt Asbury Park music scene.
On August 4, the Souls will headline Stoked for the Summer, an annual gathering of the quartet’s friends and fans at the Stone Pony Summer Stage.
The Stoked concept grew out of a former series of winter shows at the Stone Pony, explains bassist Bryan Kienlen. “After nine years of embracing winter, we realized, ‘Hey, we’re at the beach. Let’s embrace summer,’” says Kienlen, who has owned a house in Bradley Beach for the last 10 years.
Kienlen, guitarist Pete Steinkopf, and frontman Greg Attonito, all natives of Basking Ridge, founded the band in 1989. Today, Kienlen is a noted tattoo artist; his new shop, Anchors Aweigh Tattoo Studio, is expected to open sometime this summer in Bradley Beach. Steinkopf, who lives in Neptune City, is a producer at the Little Eden and Lakehouse studios in Asbury Park. Attonito, a visual artist, splits time between New Jersey and Idaho. For the past five years, drummer George Rebelo has filled out the lineup.
The Souls put themselves on the map with hard work and 10 albums, always flying the New Jersey flag loud and proud. Their music is mostly life affirming—if sometimes a bit goofy.
While staying true to their punk roots, in recent years they’ve broadened their appeal. “We’ve just played so many shows in New Jersey for so many different people,” says Steinkopf. “It’s not just punks and kids. We get all kinds of people, and now we’re seeing friends who’ve been coming to see us for 20 years bringing their kids.”
Fellow New Jersey punk band Titus Andronicus is among the other bands on the Stoked bill. General admission is $37.50.
Tickets are $37.50, not $75…