Grace: Hi John, how are you? John: What's goin' on? Mike: Oh you know, just talking to big rock stars is all. J: LUCKY YOU! :) G: How's everything going with you and the guys? J: Everything's going great. G: Where are you calling from right now? J: I'm in ahh...Fort Worth. G: Do you have a show tomorrow night? J: Ah yeah, in Austin. G: Really? And then you're heading down here? J: And then, and then yep, El Paso. G: Wow. J: And then...ahhh...and then where? And then I don't know where. M: But you have people to tell you where. J: Uh yeah, I don't know where. Albuquerque I believe - the next one. And then uhhh...and then I'm going back to L.A. to look for an apartment. G: You don't have an apartment right now? J: I'm homeless! G: What do you mean you're homeless? J: I have no home - I have no place to live! M: Johnny's been on the road, the Goo Goo Dolls have been on the road since August of '98. J: Yep. G. Wow - that's a long time. M: So there was no reason to pay rent if you're going to be living out of a bus and hotel room. J: Exactly. G: Hey Johnny, you don't live with anyone? You're single? J: I'm married but I'm separated from my wife, my wife and I are separated. G: Really? J: Thanks for reminding me. G: I should stick my foot in my mouth! J: No, no it's ok - everything's cool. We're actually really great friends. G: Do you all have any kids? J: Noooooo! Just a dog. G: Well those are kinda like kids, really. I mean you have to take care of them J: Yeah, yeah. M: Well they're more like kids to some people than others. G: And who has the dog? J: The dog lives with her mom. G: See? They are like kids! M: Yeah yeah - I know what you're saying. J: She always slept with us - you know? She's like this 80 pound lapdog - you know? What a baby. G: What is your dog's name? J: Chloe. G+M: Awwww... J: Chloe's just a big beautiful yellow lab. G: My husband and I don't have kids and we're always thinking about getting dogs, as well. J: Yeah - dogs are great. G: It's a substitute. J: Yeah, you've got to clean up after them - you know - when they're babies, and you've got to - you know - teach them right from wrong. G: Yeah - and when they get sick - you worry about them just the same. J: Oh yeah - last time I was home Chloe got the kennel cough - you know - so I had to take her to the all night vet - you know - and she was coughing , and I was like 'when did the dog start smoking???' It was really weird, but ahh...you know - so I had to take her to the all night vet and got her taken care of. She was so sick - you know - and she was just laying on me, she was laying her head on my lap and I was petting her - and you could tell she was just so sick - she just felt so bad. Then I wound up sitting on the couch with her laying across my lap - just petting her. M: That's a Kodak moment. J: It is - it is a Kodak moment. M: I'm sure you've been asked this a million times - let's make it a million and one. J: Wait - OK - I'll tell you. M+G: OK. J: It was out of the back of a magazine. M+G laugh: No no, not that one. The name of the group - how it came about. J: That's what I did - that's what I just answered! M: NOOOO!!! The back of a magazine? J: Yep, yeah it came out of the back of a magazine. G: What magazine were you reading? J: True Detective. G: And they were pushing Goo? J: Goo Goo Dolls - yeah - some doll from the '50s. M: I had heard that you guys were known as the Sex Maggots before. J: I don't know how that lie got started. I think some body was being a wise guy during an interview and it kind of stuck - but that is FALSE. G: Well, the Behind the Music deal on VH1 - you guys did have another name, though - right? J: Ahhhhhhhhhhh yeah...but I don't remember what it was. We always lie about that stuff. M: I've heard that musicians and some celebrities have various stories for different questions and it just depends what mood their in which way they're going to answer it. J: Yeah - pretty much. It's kinda funny - for a while I was telling people that the name of our band...what a Goo Goo Doll actually was - was this sort of land mine that they used in Vietnam - and those little round things - those little triggers looked like a face. You know - blow your leg off. G: And we fell for it. What do we know? M: Well I like that one much better than the back of a magazine story. J: Yeah, I got my leg blown off by a Goo Goo Doll. M: And - do you ever regret calling yourselves the Goo Goo Dolls? J: Yeah I hate that name. You know we should have a contest and rename the band! G: No way John - no way! It's a great name! J: I think we're kind of stuck with it now. M: Yeah - yeah I'm sorry to hear that but yes you are. Well is there any truth to the rumor that you can swear in Polish proficiently? J: Yes I can. My mother... - my mother had a mouth like a sailor. She really did. She was an artist with profanity. She really was - she was a master. G: See that's what I try to tell Mike - 'cause they make fun of me for the very same reason! J: 'Cause you've got a mouth like a sailor? Oh no no no - I like a woman who can tear it up. G: Yeah - I just say it makes my language colorful. J: Exactly - it does. M: I've got an idea - you swear in polish - and grace will swear back at you in spanish. J: OK - yeah let's do it! G: OK! J: Go ahead - call me something! G: J: Wwwwhhhaaaatttt??? Ok Ok - I got one: G+M: Woohooo....I think his sounded much worse! G: Alright John - you won! J: I'm not going to tell you what I called you. G: And I'm not going to tell you what I called YOU. J: Ok - we'll keep it that way. M: So you guys are going to entertain the troops in a few weeks, huh? J: Yeah - we're going to Bosnia. You know - but I think it's cool - 'cause I mean, it's just a bunch of kids - 18 to 25...30... And they're working their asses off, and they can't be home for christmas - so we figured we'd go over there and kinda try to help them get happy. M: That's a beautiful thing, Johnny. J: It's cool - we've had a good run...so... M: So which would rank higher on your scale, playing for the troops abroad, or doing a duet with Elmo which I hear you're also doing? J: Yeah - I did that - it was AWESOME. It was awesome, man. G: Elmo as in S. Street? J: Yeah - I was on S. Street with Elmo. G: And how was that? J: It was amazing! M: What did you all sing? J: We sang SLIDE but they changed the words to PRIDE. - Elmo whisper in my ear, I really wanna hear, the things you did today, that satisfied you. Then Elmo sings: Elmo learned to tie his shoe, he counted two and two, he ate up all his peas, and drank his milk. You're feeling that Pride... The best line in the song is: Elmo, nothing is beyond you, let those good thoughts fill your head, cause you're furry, proud and red! M: I love that! J: Yeah - it was great. G: What is it about S. Street that we adults just can't let go of? J: Well, I mean - we grew up with that - that's where we learned our alphabet - how to count to 10. G: Who is that screaming in the background? J: It's a screen saver on this computer - it's Hanky. Listen to what he's doin'! G: Oh - from South Park! J: Hear that? Guess what he's doin'? G: Yeah we know what he's doing! J: Wait - I'm going to wait til he stops cause he says this thing... Oh - wait - here it comes... - I love South Park. J: Very Weird! M: You can tell you like him - he cracks you up doesn't he? J: Yeah - yeah - I love that - and when he gets flushed down the toilet. G: Well John - thanks alot - we really appreciate... Blah Blah Blah - and they say bye bye :) ENJOY!!! It's a great interview - John has a lot of charisma :)