Bowling along!

In a genre that burst to prominence with headliners like blink-182 knocking out as many poop jokes as fast-paced three minute tunes, it's all got a bit serious.

Blink have split, with one member openly praising his new band as the musical equivalent to saving your soul; Green Day set about changing the world politically; and everyone else is just so serious.

Bowling For Soup, who play Oxford's Carling Academy on July 8 though, remain as low-brow as ever.

Songs and shows about being the loser geek kid - without the crippling emo-angst - remain the band's staple.

Most of it's not clever but it is funny.

Reddick, on the phone from his home in Dallas, Texas, and in the first throes of writing the new album, chooses his words carefully but the message is there.

"It's crazy, it really is," he said. "And I am a fan of all those bands, so, when I say things, I'm not pointing in any real direction.

"But a lot of those bands get caught up in the musical side of things and it becomes less of a fun thing. It becomes more about them creating whatever their art is.

"But we are in a rock and roll band... and we are in a rock and roll band to have fun.

"If I wanted to be in a serious band, I would go and start one. But I'm not going to shove seriousness down the throats of Bowling for Soup fans.

"Some bands are amazing at it, and for some bands it becomes too much."

Warming to the theme, he continued: "The blink-182 thing is sad because I loved that band. But one day they will get back together - and they will be heroes because they will be fun again.

"And you have a band like Green Day that grows up and does amazingly. It was like this calculated growing up where they used to be fart joke guys too, and now they are this serious political punk rock band who still have a good time.

"But we have been together since '94 and I take pride in the fact we have stayed the same. Some music fans might frown on it, but if our intent was to not grow up then we won. We serve a purpose in the word of music."

This band of, shall we say, fuller-figured gentleman from Texas, best known for their 2002 hit Girl All The Bad Guys Want, have no issue that their audience is still heavy on the younger side of the teen market.

"Our joke now is pretty fun," he said. "A week-and-a-half ago we celebrated our 14th birthday as a band. We can stand in front of a crowd now and we are older as a band than half the people in the audience.

"Isn't it kind of cool that it's okay to like us no matter what your age is?"

As much as Reddick is adamant BFS have not changed, their recent single - ballad When We Die (which sounded much more like something produced by a band in their mid-30s) - was a departure from previous releases.

Those songs have always been on albums but not out as singles. Reddick, though, was happy there was no adverse reaction from a fanbase used to catchier ditties about the geek at the back of the school disco unable to get the girl of his dreams.

"Our fans know the albums are still about farting and beer."

There will be subtle changes in the new album. BFS have always littered their albums with pop culture references but last year's The Great Burrito Experiment was rammed with half-mocking nods at actors, bands or movies.

"It was like every single song had a pop culture reference but I really want to scale that back," he said.

"Understand when I say that though, it's impossible for me to keep it out of my songs because it's so much of who we are as a band and friends."

BFS's date in Oxford is to fill in a spare day off between bigger festival shows. And Reddick is looking forward to it.

"This is a really cool tour for us to get back into smaller places," he said. "We like to talk between songs and you can do that more.

"We can elaborate on anything and it's more like a beer-drinking good time."