As most musicians around long enough to remember the era before streaming music - also known as the 1990s - understand the challenges of simply staying in the minds of listeners.

But for Grammy Award-nominated, platinum selling rock veterans Goo Goo Dolls, radio stalwarts and road warriors with a reputation for rocking a little bit harder live than studio recordings would lead casual listeners to believe, it's just part of the fun.

Speaking by telephone somewhere between Peoria, Illinois and Appleton, Wisconsin, bassist Robby Takac discussed the band's new EP (extended play), "You Should be Happy," as well as what listeners can expect to hear when the band stops by Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. on Aug. 9 and the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston on Aug. 15

"Mohegan has become a pretty routine stop for us. We spend maybe 6 months a year in a pretty fancy 'mobile home,' you know, so we're usually pretty comfortable while on-the-road," said Takac, noting that despite the rigors of touring, the band has managed, within the span of just over a year-and-a-half, to produce a full-length record, "Boxes," in May 2016 and most recently released a new EP, "You Should be Happy," featuring single "Use Me."

Despite the band's prolific output - which only seems to accelerate as the band approaches both a dozen albums spread across thirty-one years - Takac said part of keeping the band fresh for listeners - as well as themselves - involves embracing a more "modern" approach to releasing music.

"When you're dealing with trying to stay in people's consciousness, which is what we do, people are bombarded with tens of thousands of pieces of information every single day. To release things in short bursts, so you have a little more to talk about, is a good thing," he said.

Takac also said that this approach allows the band to work a little more efficiently in the studio, too.

"Being in a band for a long as we have, its a little bit more of a pleasant time. It's a little less stressful to come up with four or five songs instead of fifteen. I don't want to say it's more enjoyable, but it's less stressful. It's difficult to be objective about fifteen songs at a time," he said. "When you put out an album, and the label releases a single and says, 'put out another album,' you ask, "what about the other twelve songs?" There's not unlimited resources like there once was."

But despite the pros-and-cons of recording extended plays between albums and dealing with a constantly-changing recording industry, Takac said one thing hasn't changed for the band: putting together the setlist is never easy.

"After 12 albums, of those 12, we probably play songs off of eight of those. There's the dozen songs you're sure people are coming to see, and we play about 23 songs, so you have to pick and choose what you're going to do," said Takac. "It gets harder and harder, honestly, to put a set together as you get older. It's a lucky problem to have. We're managing that situation and doing our best every night. We try to play as many of the hits as we think are going to make for a great show. Then we try to put in some special moments."

For longtime fans, Takac said those "special moments" may come in the form of a deep, rare cut. For new fans, Takac said they could expect to hear songs sound a little bit different than they do on record.

"If you're used to coming out and seeing the band I hope you're having a good time. If you're not, I think people see our roots of being a pretty hard rock band are worn on our sleeves. I think people are surprised by that," he said.