Twenty-four years later, the Goo Goo Dolls are proving they’ve still got it.
Since they were first introduced to the music scene in 1986, the Goo Goo Dolls have been nominated for four Grammy Awards and sold more than 10 million copies of their nine albums.
With 2010 marking nearly a quarter of a century of making music together, Goo Goo Dolls front man Johnny Rzeznik told The Daily Republic in a recent interview that the band’s longevity is a great accomplishment.

By: Jennifer Jungwirth , The Daily Republic

Twenty-four years later, the Goo Goo Dolls are proving they’ve still got it.

Since they were first introduced to the music scene in 1986, the Goo Goo Dolls have been nominated for four Grammy Awards and sold more than 10 million copies of their nine albums.

With 2010 marking nearly a quarter of a century of making music together, Goo Goo Dolls front man Johnny Rzeznik told The Daily Republic in a recent interview that the band’s longevity is a great accomplishment.

“Not many bands have that anymore,” Rzeznik said. “At least for the past 15 years, we’ve been full-time musicians.”

They’re staying on a successful track following the August release of their ninth album, “Something for the Rest of Us.” The album’s first single, “Home,” instantly entered the top-10 on the Top-40 Adult Billboard chart, making it the Goo Goo Dolls’ 14th top-10 single. It joins a host of other hits including, “Iris,” “Black Balloon” and “Broadway.” With the recent single clocking in at No. 7, the Goo Goo Dolls broke their own record for the most top-10 hits on the Adult Billboard chart.

The Goo Goo Dolls will bring their new hit, along with others from “Something for the Rest of Us,” Monday to the Elmen Center on the Augustana College campus in Sioux Falls. The band tours with Sioux Falls natives The Spill Canvas. General admission tickets are $32.50, and the doors open at 7 p.m.

Rzeznik credits many things for the band’s success, but mostly it’s hard work that’s kept them going.

“I never underestimate luck, but there’s also a lot of determination that’s kept us together. We keep our heads down and keep going at it,” Rzeznik said.

When writing “Something for the Rest of Us,” Rzeznik said he and the rest of the Goo Goo Dolls searched for ideas their fans could relate to. He watched the news and took in his surroundings to find themes from everyday life.

“There’s a huge population in this country that can relate to the themes of home, family and the uncertainty of the times we live in,” Rzeznik said. “It’s about how the uncertainty of 2010 sort of colors everyone’s interactions with each other.”

“Something for the Rest of Us” sends a different message than previous Goo Goo Dolls albums.

“You see a change. I tend to be looking a little more outward than inward on this album,” Rzeznik said. “I wanted to send some sort of message out that we are in this together and we need each other.”

It wasn’t until the Goo Goo Dolls’ third album, “Hold Me Up,” released in 1990, that they created the unique sound that would be refined and featured on all future Goo Goo Dolls albums. In 1995, the single “Name” off the album “A Boy Named Goo” hit the charts, and the band gained in popularity.

Three years later, “Iris” was released. The song was originally written for the “City of Angels” soundtrack. Found on the album “Dizzy Up the Girl,” “Iris” remained at the No. 1 spot for 18 weeks, proving the Goo Goo Dolls were no one-hit wonder. “Dizzy Up the Girl” included other chart-toppers “Slide,” “Black Balloon” and “Broadway.”

The Goo Goo Dolls look to accomplish that same success with “Something for the Rest of Us.”

Most of the album was recorded in Buffalo, N.Y., where Rzeznik grew up. Rzeznik said Buffalo, a working-class environment, has been hit hard at times. But as long as he and the rest of the Goo Goo Dolls cling to their working-class roots, he said, they will continue to find success.

Rzeznik said the upcoming Sioux Falls show will include many of the new singles off “Something for the Rest of Us,” along with a variety of others from the past 15 years that made the band known.

This is the Goo Goo Dolls’ second trip to South Dakota this year. The band put on a May show in Brookings.

Rzeznik compares the Midwest to Buffalo, saying “we grew up on the cusp of the Midwest. It’s a certain pragmatic quality of the people that I really enjoy. They are just genuinely good people.”