Hey Hey In Rockers and welcome to The Lobby for this month’s edition of this magical column we’ve shared together for so many years now, and as always, I’m super glad to be back to visit with you all! Goo Goo Dolls have begun recording new material as we move into Spring and what looks like a Summer with potentially a bit more “normalcy” for all of us. It looks like the summer of 2021’s ability to have large gatherings will still be affected by the Covid 19 restrictions, but there is light at the end of the tunnel as we see vaccinations and immunities begin to build in the cities and communities around the world. With things happening such as Japan’s decision to keep the Olympic crowds to domestic attendees only it feels like we’re still on a long road back to our old way of life.

We have a tour booked across the United States this summer in support of our 2019 Miracle Pill album, a tour rescheduled from 2020, but we are still waiting to see if the shows are going to happen as we watch regulations and safety protocols be determined in each of the states we will visit on the trip. In the meantime we are out in the middle of the woods recording music with the band, we’ll be here for months making writing and recording in an old church converted into a recording studio in the early 70s. We’re all staying out here together in an "enchanted forest" finding ourselves in a situation that feels a little bit like camping!

We’ve already recorded songs for a soon to be released EP of acoustic versions of some older GGDS songs, more on that soon. There’s also a double album of rarities coming out called, you guessed it, “Goo Goo Dolls - Rarities” that will be released on vinyl as well as the normal streaming platforms May 21st. It includes a bunch of tracks that have been released as B Sides, live performances and a few alternate versions of songs from radio shows and foreign releases. It’s a pretty fun listen, lots of cool old photos and such with a forward by MTV legend Matt Pinfield. The albums will be released with a brand new set of merch celebrating some of the old albums and past eras of the band.

My wife Miyoko and I are involved in putting on the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival every year, we handle the musical portion of the event and are again doing an online version of the entertainment portion of the event. We feature Japanese many types of Japanese music at the event, from Japanese rock bands to the more traditional fare, this year we will be keeping to a pretty traditional theme for the online performances as our friends from Japan are still unable to travel to the US for the time being. We will be tapping our local Japanese community featuring a local Taiko troupe called JGB Shibuki Japanese Drum Group, a new Shakuhachi group that has formed here in town, performances on the Shamisen and the Odori No Kei traditional Japanese dance group. We’ll be filming this month and I’ll provide a link to the performances in the next column!

Ok that’s it for this month’s installment of The Lobby; I hope you enjoy the blossoms, the sunshine and welcoming vibes of spring …. And please keep your masks on! We’ll get through this crazy thing and we’ll all be together soon!

Peace!

Robby