I just read the latest blog from Greg, lead singer of the Bouncing Souls, and had to comment on what he wrote.

Go and read it at this webaddress first,
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=962452&blogID=431446136&indicate=1

and my comment, which follows, will make more sense.

Greg:

I don't live in a world of punk rock fans, and I struggle a little sometimes to communicate to my friends how some bands, like the Bouncing Souls, stand apart from (and with) the crowd. There's even been a time when I've been a part of the crowd at a Souls show, and you spoke an intro to "Gone" (my favorite), and it sounded like you struggled to strike a balance between communicating something... extra, and keeping that punk rock energy. "Gone" said everything that needed to be said, but to me it sounded like it was important for you to make an appeal that people listen, shift their listening, to get more out of it.

What you wrote here confirms that sense I have that you are / that Bouncing Souls is a part of something bigger than themselves. Y'all are an ongoing example of how one can create that big spirit experience from humble pieces.

Sometimes the intended recipient of a message isn't there for it - not receptive, has their own agenda, is metaphorically asleep or blind to it, some say "isn't ready". But too often people / I spend too much time stuck with low expectations of others. You're conquering your fears, you're moving with love, you're freeing yourself in new ways.

But you're doing it in an often-denigrated context, all together considered pop culture. Besides your references to Jack Terricloth and Repo Man, what you wrote reminded me of En Vogue singing "free your mind and the rest will follow" and George Clinton/P-Funk singing "free your mind and your ass will follow."

I can *have* fun with pop culture, but what makes it more than just fun is that these bits of creativity aren't *just* escapist fun -- they're art, they're moments of art, they're touchstones in my life. There is a religious aspect to them, purely in the sense that I choose to feel connected to them, to the ideas expressed and the people expressing them and the people enjoying them.

If it's not too presumptuous of me to speak on behalf of my faith in not just my actions but that of others I've met who respond to the Bouncing Souls: You can write from a place of honesty and of transcending fear any time. You got it. People are there to catch what you're putting out.

I, too, "just had to do that."
Bill
(*The show was in Asbury Park in 2007 at the School of Rock music fest.)