James's Gotta Brand New Blog

By James Reaney

The Free Press's resident A&E columnist on the London arts scene and his place in it.

Posted: 2006-10-25 11:18:58 Last updated: 2006-10-25 11:18:58
Celeb interview spikes with Alice cover memories


The Goo Goo Dolls' Robby Takac is my kinda celeb interview.

Over the years, I've had Reggie Jackson fart in my general direction and Tom Green hang up the phone two seconds into the interview because I sounded too bored.

With memorable low points like that, it was great when Buffalo-raised rocker Robby Takac booted off his celeb phone interview with memories of a rawkin' candle day right in downtown London.

"I've celebrated a birthday . . . at the Office?" the bassist and vocalist said in his celeb interview to promote the Goo Goo Dolls' Nov. 15 concert at the RBC Theatre at the John Labatt Centre. (Mission accomplished already. You see how easy these things are, Reggie? Tom?).

Robby time travelled back to Call the Office on a Sept. 30 - his birthday - and even if we didn't nail down the year exactly, his memories were pretty good. (I am working on which year this happened. It's London rock history, etc. If anybody was there, I would love to know and fill in a few other Goo points about the night.)

Here's what Robby remembers.

On a birthday sometime between 1986 and Goo superstardom, which made them too big for clubs, he was pretty drunk and so, it seemed, were the other Dolls. Enough for partying anyway.

"John (Goo guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik) let me use his guitar. I sang I'm Eighteen by Alice Cooper," Robby recalled.

Will there be a repeat at the downtown London arena when songs from the new Goo CD Let Love In (Warner)?

Unlikely. "I don't drink as much now, so I probably wouldn't do it again," the party boy said.

Anecdote done. Angle nailed.

For the record, most of these celeb interviews are pretty good exchanges. People often ask me about talking with the stars and it's - mostly - a rewarding part of my day job.

The Billy Martins, Boomtown Rats, Reggies, the Toms and the (someday, someday we'll talk) Neko Cases stick out.

So, and it's a pleasure to say this, does Robby Takac.

Now, let's party with those Sept. 30 - 1989? 1990? 1992? somebody's gotta know - details from Call the Office.

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