GOO GOO DOLLS
MODERN ROCK HEROS FIND MAINSTREAM SUCCESS AT LAST

before the appearance of last summer's smash hit "iris"(the "There" to the 
romance-fantasy film city of angels, there wre probably more than a few 
people out there who thought the "goo goo dolls" were a product of mattel 
corporation.  but don't get any ideas about labeling this modern-rock 
threesome an "overnight success."  when "iris" finally hit no. 1 after a 
long hard climb, it became the first time in 13 years that the band has 
scored such a monumental feat.
after forming in their hometown of buffalo, new york, back in 1986, the goo 
goo dolls would spend their next seven years and four albums gathering a 
moderate but loyal following, all the while looking to grow beyond the "cult 
band" roots.  then in their ninth season, the got their "breakthrough"-the 
ballad "name" from their 1995 album, a boy named goo.  their years of 
working hard to gain mass acceptance had finally paid off.
and then they celebrated by almost breaking up...

IN THE BEGINNING
the goo goo dolls began as a union of threee teenage 
acquaintances-guitarist/vocalist johnny rzeznik, bassist robby takac, and 
the original drummer george tutuska-all hailing from buffalo's east side.  
for the most part, it's been the vision and the songs of rzeznik, the band's 
chief writer, that's kept the group moving forward.
rzeznik's teen years were not the best of times.  when rzeznik was 14, his 
father died after years of alcohol abuse; his mother passed away less than a 
year later.  despite his tough adolescence, rzeznik developed a love for 
hard rock early on "citing the clash's london calling as an early major 
influence" and began a quest to for his own band.
by the time he was 20, rzeznik-already an accomplished guitarist-had hooked 
up with tutuska and takac, and after some brief rehearsals the trio hit the 
buffalo club circuit.  within weeks they were inside a local recording 
studio, set to cut their first "indie" (independent) release.

GROWTH SPURTS
the group's first two indie releases, goo goo dolls (1987) and jed (1989), 
captured the raw energy that had been an essential part of their early live 
work.  drawing on the influence of '80's power-pop groups like the 
replacements and husker du, the goo goo dolls began tightening up their act, 
toured the country and garnered their first round of press attentio.  
comparisons to replacements main man paul westerberg became widespread, and 
with the demise of that band in 1991 the goo goo dolls ( and rzeznik in 
particular) suddenly found themselves being touted as teh 
replacements'...well, replacements!
that connection took on a whole new meaning when westerberg actually helped 
rzeznik pen "we are the normal," which became the featured track on the goo 
goo dolls 1993 album, superstar car wash.  though that album contains echoes 
of their hard-edged period, the songcraft had become noticeably more 
polished.  by then the band was signed to a mark label (warner bros.), and 
their national exposure continued to grow.  and yet eight years into their 
career, the goo goo dolls still hadn't achieved anything resembling mass 
commercial success.

THE "NAME" CHANGE
But with the release of their 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo, and the 
appearance of the Rzeznik-penned ballad "Name," the Goo Goo Dolls finally 
reached the wide audience they'd previously lacked.  Like their peers Soul 
Asylum had done two years earlier with "runaway Train," Name" traded in 
brash guitars for a simple, acoustic-based rhythm track, and radio stations 
started playing the song in a big way.  With MTV heavily rotating the "Name" 
video clip at the same time, A Boy Named Goo became the Dolls' first 
major-league success.
Ironically, the band almost broke up before they could enjoy any of it!  
Never one to understand the MACHINATIONS of the music business, and 
disillusioned by the industry as a whole (and his own label in particular), 
Rzeznik had only months before considered quitting the business altogether.  
Eventually he came to terms with his lot in life and, with new drummer Mike 
Malinin now onboard, soldiered on.  Now assuming practically all of the 
band's songwriting duties, Rzeznik began compiling material for the next Goo 
Goo Dolls project.  And from out of that batch of work would spring the most 
identifiable tune of his entire career.

"IRIS" AND BEYOND

Working in an acoustic framework once more, Rzezsnik came up with yet 
another jangly ballad, "Iris," written for the Nicholas Cage-Meg Ryan film 
City of Angels.  It would become one of the most frequently-heard tunes of 
all of 1998, eventually reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock and Adult 
Top 40 charts.  But although the band had begun taking on new listeners by 
the thousands, a few long-time Goo Goo Dolls fans argued that the group had 
fosaken its hard-rock roots in favor of "easy-listening" mainstream pop.
Rzeznik was able to silence many of those critics with the release of the 
Goo Goo Dolls' newest collection, Dizzy Up the Girl, issued late in 1998.  
The album's opener, "Dizzy," sets the tone: melodic, tough, but with an 
instant hook, it's Rzeznik in top form.  Combined with the pop leanings of 
the current radio fave "Slide" (and "Iris" is on the album as well), Dizzy 
Up The Girl is the work of a confident, maturing songwriter.  Sure, it's a 
far cry from the group's early sound, but it shows that the Goo Goo Dolls 
can produce good, universally appealing pop music-and still rock with the 
best of them.