The Bouncing Souls and The Suicide Machines

The four band members, Greg Attonito, Pete Steinkopf, Bryan Kienlen, George Rebelo, were all members of bands in high schools in Basking Ridge. After they decided to move to New Brunswick to follow the growing underground music scene there. With a strong fan base formed from students from the nearby Rutgers University, The Bouncing Souls, who took their name from a Doc Marten’s advertisement, became a staple of the local scene, and also brought supporting bands to the forefront at their shows.

The band released their debut album titled “The Good, The Bad & The Argyle” in 1994 on their own independent label, Chunksaah Records. The album was a compilation of all their previous EP’s, and an album of wholly new material, “Manical Laughter” followed two years later. Half of the songs were written in a week, and their new wave punk sound gained them a tour slot with Youth Brigade, and a major label contract with Epitaph Records.

After a slight false start with their third eponymous album, Hopeless Romantic, their fourth album was a huge hit with fans and critics. The band was heralded for their experimental modern take on punk, paired with deep lyrical content.

The turn of the millennium saw some band line up changes and a new album, titled “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”. By this point the band had gained a large following around the world, as they became veterans in the punk scene. More recently they have toured with the likes of Black Flag, and had their music used for Hollywood movies such as “The Manchurian Candidate”. In 2004, the band released an anniversary DVD; “ Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Soul”.

The original line up coalesced in 1991 originally under the name Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines. This formation included Jason Navarro (vocals), Dan Lukacinsky (guitar), Jason Brake (bass), and Stefan Rairigh (drums). Over the course of the 1st three years the group experienced several line up changes. Rairigh was replaced by Bill Jennings who was in turn replaced by Derek Grant. The position of bass also opened and closed a few times. Jason Brace was proceeded by Dave Smith, but this lasted only brief time until Royce Nunley took up the role. By this point the group truncated Jack Kevorkian from their name and released their split album with the Rudiments, “Shank for Brains”.

1995 saw the band sign to the Walt Disney subsidiary, Hollywood Records and by 1996 they issued their studio debut album, “Destruction by Definition”. Their sound took musical cues from ska pioneers like The Specials, hardcore punk acts such as Bad Brains, and pinnacle new wavers like the English Beat. It was quickly accepted by the punk community and they even scored a moderate hit with their single “No Face”.

Their follow up album “Battle Hymns” came out in 1998 and acted as a continuation of their ska-core sound. It featured songs that exploded with catchy melodic riffs and blasts of punctual brass. The songs rarely hit over the two minute marker, seeming to disintegrate with visceral excitement before one realized it had begun. The album peaked at no. 127 on the Billboard 200 and it’s track “Give” was included in the Disney original movie “Brink!”.

The Suicide Machines released their 3rd self-titled album on 15 February 2005. The album was spearheaded by the single “Sometimes I Don’t Mind” and closed with the Joe South cover “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”. The latter of the tracks appeared in the 1999 film “SLC Punk” starring Matthew Lillard and Jason Segel. A year later they issued their album “Steal This Record”, which included an R.E.M. cover and in 2002 they put out their compilation album “The Least Worst of the Suicide Machines”.

The group switched over to the label Side One Dummy in 2003 and issued the albums “A Match and Some Gasoline” and “War Profiteering Is Killing Us All”. Navarro also developed a record label of his own entitled Noise Riot Records” and put out the Suicide Machines’ 2nd compilation album “On The Eve of Destruction: 1991-1995” through it.

The group suddenly broke up in 2006, but have since reformed, playing their 1st reunion show in 2009. From 2010-2014 they have played various festivals like the Fest 9 and Riot Fest as well as sporadic gigs here and there. In 2015 they scheduled a two week tour, in which they would perform their album “The Definition of Destruction” in it’s entirety.