People on Vacation

People on Vacation is an unlikely musical endeavor, to say the least. The Dallas-based, dare we say "super-duo" was as accidental as Silly Putty, Vaseline, or the whole "chocolate in my peanut butter” thing, if you ask the members.

Let's back up.

What happens when you mix Jaret Reddick (lead singer and songwriter of the fun-lovin', beer-soaked, and oh-so-Grammy-nominated band Bowling for Soup), Ryan Hamilton (singer and songwriter of the sad, somber indie rock group Smile Smile), and free reign over a studio with nothing but a drum machine, a keyboard and a few guitars?

Well, obviously, you get People on Vacation.

The duo met a few years back at SXSW. Jaret popped into a little bar – just off the beer cup-littered surface of Austin's famous 6th Street – to say hello to some friends. Coincidentally, said friends managed the band Smile Smile, who happened to be on the
stage at that moment.

“I was instantly drawn into the songs,” Jaret said. “I was like, ‘How is this band not being played on every TV show right now?’ I was an instant fan.”

After the show, Hamilton, who was very aware the singer of Bowling for Soup was watching the show (during one song he turned to his bandmate and asked, "What the hell is the singer from BFS doing here?”), passed Jaret a CD.

The two musical opposites would discover they had several common friends in the industry, and, more importantly, a true respect for one another's drive, talent and overall snazzyness.

"I couldn't stop listening to his new record (Smile Smile had just completed Truth on Tape for Kirtland Records)," Reddick said. "The songs were so real and so relevant. I love music like that – I know that's surprise, coming from the fart joke guy, but I freaking love amazing songwriting, and I could tell Ryan was the real deal."

When BFS set out on tour later that year, Jaret insisted that Smile Smile join them for the tour.

"I thought we were going to be killed by drunken punk rock fans on a nightly basis," Hamilton said. "But their fans are seriously the nicest, most accepting music fans in the world. It was a great experience to see BFS own the stage every single show, the way only BFS can do."

One night during the tour, Hamilton asked Reddick what he thought about getting together to write a few songs to combine the largely successful pop-punk hooks of BFS and the indie-folk rawness of Smile Smile.

"The only rule we had going in was there are no rules," Reddick said.

“The next few months were the coolest surprise,” said Hamilton. “We discovered that we wrote really well together, and the songs flowed quickly." The result was refreshing, innovative and interesting.

“People will see a side of both of us they rarely get to see,” Hamilton said. “Jaret gets to be a little more serious, and I get to have a little more fun.”

"Most definitely," Reddick adds. "The initial idea, again, was to combine the worlds of BFS and Smile Smile – to meet in the middle – but once we got a few songs in, we had unintentionally developed our own sound. I think we were both surprised at how well our styles, voices and ideas meshed. Fans of BFS and Smile Smile, as well as just plain music fans, will be stoked.”

2011 will see an album release for People on Vacation, as well as national and international touring, starting with January Texas dates and April UK dates.

bowling for soup, smile smile