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Goo Goo Dolls build better days / article
« on: Feb 17th, 2007, 5:20pm » |
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Goo Goo Dolls build better days
The Goo Goo Dolls, a long-lived band from New York, has punk-rock roots, but their current music is topping adult contemporary charts n whether they like the label or not.
By Ruth Milne, Journal staff
Releasing their first record more than 20 years ago, the Goo Goo Dolls started out in Buffalo, N.Y., as a punk-influenced band playing at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, CBGBs and punk rock clubs.
But the atmosphere is much more mellow on the Goo Goo Dolls’ most recent album, “Let Love In,” which was released in April 2006 on Warner Bros. Records and has made its mark on the adult contemporary charts.
The music is lighter, and the attitude is brighter too. From the romantic title track to the optimistic hit “Better Days,” the hopeful outlook that permeates “Let Love In” was a deliberate choice, according to bassist Robby Takac.
The group’s previous album, “Gutterflower,” was recorded in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and it covers heavy subject matter. Before recording “Let Love In,” band members unanimously decided to focus on lighter themes.
“We can’t just bombard people with the problems; there has to be some sort of positive spin,” Takac said.
“We felt it was time to, whatever impact our music makes on this world -- and I’m not the one to judge what that impact is -- we really felt as human beings that it was probably something we should do to make sure the impact we made was positive,” he said.
To that end, they decided to make some changes for the new album. Producer Glen Ballard, known for his work with Aerosmith and Alanis Morrisette, came on board, replacing Rob Cavallo, with whom the band had worked for a decade.
Ballard was a breath of fresh air, Takac said, describing his first encounter with the producer. “He came walking in with white tennis shoes, dressed in all white, with a white hat, and a full beard, and I looked at him and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are we doing here.’ But he turned out to be a really great guy.”
The album went gold. And with the popularity of the latest single, the Goo Goo Dolls set a record n 12 songs n for the most top 10 hits in the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart.
But while the band is known primarily for its slick, power-pop ballads like “Name” and “Iris,” the adult contemporary label would sound “Odd, very odd,” to anyone who knew the band members, according to bassist Takac.
Their music has changed with the years, although not deliberately, Takac said. “All of a sudden you’re on the adult charts.”
“Let Love In” features 10 original songs and one unexpected cover that Takac is happy to explain.
For the 2004 “Live at Buffalo” DVD, the Goo Goo Dolls performed an outdoor concert in front of city hall in Buffalo, N.Y., the town where Takac and lead singer Johnny Rzeznik grew up. During their set, a torrential rainstorm drenched the stage.
Unfazed, the band played on.
They concluded the encore with Supertramp’s 1977 hit “Give a Little Bit.” “It sounded pretty good -- even soaked it sounded pretty good -- so we decided when we were finished we would go in and record it,” Takac said.
The resulting song is harder rocking than the classic Supertramp version.
“It’s funny, I listen to it now, the original, and I don’t remember it being that light when I was a kid. You listen to a Kiss record now, it doesn’t sound very heavy,” Takac said.
Time softens many things. But when he hears the Goo Goo Dolls described as soft rockers, Takac said, “I laugh and go, ‘Well, obviously this person hasn’t been to the show.’”
Still, “soft rock” is a frequent label, and Takac said wryly that in an elevator somewhere, a Goo Goo Dolls song is probably playing between songs by Chicago and Air Supply.
“Some people, all they will ever know of us is what they’ve heard on the radio,” he said. “I’m happy to be that band for them, but we do a whole lot of other stuff too. That’s what keeps this band interesting, and keeps this band around for 20-some years.”
Takac said their next goal is to make a record that is a little more raw and off-the-cuff, a little more to the core of what the Goo Goo Dolls is as a band.
That album is only on the horizon now; they plan to start recording in the fall. Right now, the Goo Goo Dolls has been on tour for more than eight months, with a short break in January.
In another effort to make a positive impact, the “Let Love In” tour is supporting USA Harvest(www.usaharvest.com), which collects food for distribution to the hungry. Volunteers from USA Harvest collect nonperishable food donations outside each concert venue beginning about half an hour before the doors open.
Over the course of seven years of touring, the Goo Goo Dolls has raised about 2 million meals for the charitable organization by collecting canned goods at concerts, Takac said; not bad for a couple rock ’n’ rollers from Buffalo.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/02/17/entertainment/news/n ews01.txt
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