Goo Goo Dolls: Longevity

Every band has a story of how they got started. However, some of these stories are more meaningful than others.  The Goo Goo Dolls definitely fit into this category.

In 1986, a punk rock band from Buffalo, New York was formed. They played a few shows and even signed to a small label to put out their record. They went on a few tours and put out a few more albums in the 2000s. Six years into the band’s career there were several challenges that led to the band releasing one of its original members, drummer George Tutuaska. He was replaced with Mike Malinin prior to the band hitting mainstream popularity.

The band’s original line up included John Rzeznik, Robby Takac and George Tutuaska.  Takac and Tutuska had been long-time friends in school and met Rzeznik while he was playing in the band The Beaumonts with Takac’s cousin. They started out as a cover band, but they eventually started writing their own music.  Punk was the main influence on the band’s sound at first, but by the third album “Hold Me Up,” in 1990; the Goo Goo Dolls had more of a pop and alternative rock sound.  The band’s fame was not instant.  In fact it took them several years to become full time musicians. “We had to all get jobs for six months out of the year to support the other few months out on the road,” Takac said. “We were musicians and other things until 1994, ’95,” says bassist/singer Robby Takac in an interview with online newspaper called The Dailyer Nebraskan.

It wasn’t until the late 90’s that the band started to hit super stardom. The album “Superstar Car Wash,” released in 1993, received significant media attention. The critical success and encouraging sales of this album resulted in a larger budget from Metal Blade Records. The single “We Are the Normal” received major airplay on college and independent radio, while its video was displayed on MTV.

Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was “Iris.” This song propelled the band to stardom, as it stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts for a record-breaking 18 weeks, and it was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1998. According to several interviews with Rzeznik, he was experiencing writer’s block, and was on the verge of quitting the band days before he wrote “Iris.”  “I think the biggest difference is when writing the songs for a film, you sort of have your subject matter in front of you and the concepts right in front of you. The emotional aspects of whatever part of the film you are writing for are laid out in front of you. It gives me a bit of a format to work under; you know to work with…” says Rzeznik. Thirteen years later after its original release of “Iris” it was still topping the charts by reaching the number three spot in the United Kingdom.

The Goo Goo Dolls’ ability to create timeless music is proof that they are icons and they are here to stay. During an interview with [UpVenue] on February 16, 2011, Rzeznik confirmed that he is writing new material for a new album. “I’ve actually been experimenting, in this last week, while we’ve been out on this tour, just writing lyrics and then figuring out the melodic structures. We can’t wait another four years to put another album out; that’s just a ridiculous waste of time.”

-Deja Cromartie