The April 1999 issue of Guitar World has a short interview with Johnny! 
Beth typed it out, so here it is:


Who is your guitar hero?  

I don't know if I have any heroes anymore, but
Ace Frehley made me want to play guitar, and the Replacement's Bob Stinson
and Husker Du's Bob Mould were my two biggest influences by far. 

What was the first song you mastered?  

Cheap Trick's Surrender.  I was
probably 12, and it was a big,big moment when I got together with my two
friends in my dad's living room and we stumbled our way through it. 

What was your worst gig ever?  

Unfortunately, I've had more than a few
pretty bad ones, but a real low point was when we played Agusta,Georgia,
and there were seven people in the bar, none of them particularly into it. 
After about 45 minutes we just said"Fuck it, were done," and walked off. 
Hyena the one guy there who really wanted to see us ran up and said he was
going to kick my ass because I wouldn't play any more. 

What is the one piece of gear you could not live without?  

The Strat which
I call "Boing."  I usually look at guitars as mere tools, but I've had
that one for 10 years, and it earned my respect because it just would not
break.  No matter how many times I threw it down, it just bounced back and
played great, which is how it earned its name.  I decided to show it some
respect , so I had the whole thing rebuilt and painted and made brand new. 
It's like the perfect guitar now, so it's become the instrument that I
won't ever throw on the floor anymore.  But it's sti ll "Boing." 

Do you have any fashion tips for guitarists?  

Don't get a canvas strap. 
Get something smooth so it doesn't leave brush burn on your shoulder.  And
make sure it's colorfast so it doesn't bleed all over the slick new shirt
you bought to look smooth at your gig. 

How is your new album Dizzy Up the Girl, different from previous 6 Goo Goo
Dolls records?  

In the past we never had any money to record,so we had to
do everything in assembly-line fashion:  do all your bass and drums, get
one good guitar sound and record all your rhythm tracks, then double them. 
Then do the solos and vocals and bang, you've go t a record made for 20
grand that's as good as it could be.  This time, we were able to finish
each song individually, so they all had their own personality and
character.