'It's kind of what we do'
By Cooper Sullivan
Even after racking up millions of sales and billions of streams with classic hits such as "Iris," "Slide" and "Dizzy," Buffalo-based rock band Goo Goo Dolls aren't done yet.
Goo Goo Dolls, which released its 13th studio album "Chaos in Bloom" last August to the pleasure of fans and critics, has just gotten back from a tour in the U.K. and Ireland and are about to embark on another one stateside.
"The Big Day Out Tour" with O.A.R., which kicked off earlier this week in Florida, will be making its way to the Triad with a performance at the White Oak Amphitheatre in Greensboro on Aug. 2. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are available online starting at $22.
We spoke with bassist and founding member Robby Takac about the upcoming tour, what keeps the band going after almost 40 years of performing, Japanese rock music and all those covers of their song "Iris."
You and John Rzeznik have been doing press interviews for the last few weeks and now The Big Day Out Tour is about to start. How are you feeling about hitting the road finally?
It feels great. It's actually been the last few decades we've been doing these. Nah, man, it's been great. It's good to get started again. Sometimes it feels we never really stop playing — maybe two, three gigs a month, five, six gigs a month, whatever — but it's kind of really jerky. You're not in the process of being on the road and doing shows every night, so it'll feel good to get back in the groove again and start sharing some music with folks.
What keeps you guys coming out and touring and performing and going through this exhausting next couple of months?
You know, that's a good question. I think it's kind of what we do. Since we were kids, this is just kind of what we do. We figure out how to get in front of people and play music. We've been blessed enough to have an opportunity that provides us a way to do this over and over again, all over the world. So, it's just what we do this over and over again, all over the world So, it's just what we do.
What do you do during a tour to have a break from performing and to stay relaxed?
Everybody's got their thing. John likes to go to the gym and watch old movies and stuff . I tend to walk around a lot. I do a lot of walking. I've got a couple of little projects that I work on, you know, that are kind of not Goo Goo Doll-related, that sort of keeps my mind flexible and in other directions. But more than anything else, we're just busy getting to the next place and trying to make sure that we get enough rest so we can get out there and do the best show we can.
Are these solo projects?
I'm part of a festival [Music is Art Festival] that happens in Buffalo every year, I have a little record label [Good Charamel Records] that my wife and I run that has Japanese bands that we bring here to the U.S., and I've got a recording studio in Buffalo [GCR Audio] that I run as well. Just kind of a bunch of other things that, like I said, keep my mind busy in other ways.
I'm sure this is something you get through trial-and-error, but have you found out the best way to go through your creative process and in finding a rhythm?
I'm not sure about that. We're not the kind of band that likes to just do the same thing every time, you know? We like to try to change things up. Our first couple records, it's not even recognizable as the same band as we are today. That's because we tried to change things up. So, I think for us, we just try to keep it interesting within what we're doing. That the process is completed, you know, when you're singing your song and the song is being sung back to you and that's where the magic happens. I think you just got to focus on that, remember why you're there.
When people hear the name Goo Goo Dolls, a lot of people go to some of that earlier work, like "Iris," "Slide" or anything from the '90s, but you guys are still putting out music and, like you said, there's kind of a different kind of sound between your early work and now. How does that feel knowing that some people connect with the older work more so than the newer?
You know, man, it's all what we do. And if some people dig parts of it a little bit more than others or whatever, I just hope they come to the show and can appreciate the whole thing while they're there, that's all.
What is your favorite kind of song to perform for everyone, or maybe you guys don't perform it much because you know it won't get the same amount of reaction as others?
Obviously when you play a song like "Slide" or "Iris" or "Black Balloon" or something like that, you know, it's amazing to share that experience with a roomful of people. It's pretty amazing. Inspiring, really. But for us, I think the moments that we love the most are when we're really throwing down, turning it up and having more of an aggressive side of the band. I think that that's what we were born of and so I think that those moments when we're really clicking are pretty intense, sometimes within the group. It's pretty amazing.
You guys are touring with O.A.R. and have actually put out music with them in the last few months, covering Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down" and releasing a new song, "Run All Night." How did that come about?
We knew the tour was going out and Mark [Roberge, front man of O.A.R.] and John live not too far from each other so they work out in the same studio occasionally with a guy named Greg Wattenberg, a producer both bands work with. They just got to talking and thought it'd be a cool thing for the tour and a fun thing to do live maybe. So, we just did it for the first time with Goo Goo Dolls' band playing and Mark just came in and sang with us on Good Morning America. We did an ungodly early performance of that there but we plan on doing that during the tour, too, so it should be a lot of fun.
Do you have any dream collaborations that you would like to do in the next few years?
That's a good question that I should probably be more prepared to answer, but I don't know. I always thought it'd be fun to make a record with Rick Rubin one day.
Do you know Rick Rubin?
No, I've never met him before. I just follow his Yoda-like musings on Instagram.
Who are your favorite artists that you like listening to right now?
It's funny, I've been listening to a lot of deep funk stuff . I love just putting on Spotify and then starting a channel with two or three bands that I'm familiar with. I'll tell you, man, I love living in the algorithms. When I was a kid, there were a couple of record stores that I used to go to and I would stand around all day and we'd listen to a record. That would sort of lead to another record and, you know, people in the places would just kind of do that for you. I sort of feel like it's sort of the same experience with these algorithms right now. Although, it's been a cannonball into the music industry, I don't know, man, musically for me, I just love the availability of the largest music catalog in the world. I never had that when I was young. I just sort of listened to what I had, but it really is amazing with some of the things that you stumble across these days, as you're listening to stuff . But let's just look here in my Spotify and see what I've been listening to. There's a band called CHAI from Japan that I really like listening to lately. There's a couple of Post Malone songs that I actually like. He's an interesting artist, I think. I think his personality really shines through his music, you know? So, when I listen to his stuff , I don't know if I necessarily have the same appreciation for everything else in that genre, but I feel like his personality really shines through. There's a band – well it's more of a DJ – Slow Magic. I don't know if you're familiar with him at all, but I've been listening to stuff by him lately. What else do I have here? Depeche Mode had a new record out that I listened to a little. Cornelius, another Japanese artist, he's sort of like a DJ, kind of producer type. There's a lot of stuff out there right now it's awesome.
Do you feel like this easy access to all these different sounds is really impacting your creative process and the music you put out?
It sure does have you listening to a lot more stuff , a lot more different types of music. I write in a little bit of a bubble personally, like when I write a song. But I'm sure everything you're influenced by has some sort of effect, you know, on the artistic or on the musical things that you put out. I think everything you see and do sort of pushes you in a certain direction, so I guess it does.
A lot of younger fans have been introduced to your work through covers of songs, especially "Iris." What are your thoughts when you come across a cover and new fans are coming to appreciate your work?
It's just amazing. I mean there's so many ways that it's been happening, too, lately, like Sleeping with Sirens or Phoebe Bridgers or someone covering a song to people speeding them up and using it as background music on TikTok, even the song itself, tons and tons of independent people covering the songs. Yeah, man, there's just so many places for people to experience music right now, and "Iris" is just kind of one of those songs that makes it through all the screeners to the next generation. It feels like we're working on our third generation of kids here right now.
Do you feel like you always have something new or another message to say that you can put out to your fans through your art?
I think currently. I guess you have to keep revisiting that question, but I think currently we feel like there's still some room for us to grow, so that's why we're releasing new records. Maybe someday we'll just sit back and play casinos, but right now, we're about writing records and putting records out into arenas.
https://greensboro.com/its-kind-of-what-we-do/article_7f5c51d1-de86-52b9-b594-3aa15fefac9b.html