Interview

InterviewAugust 3, 2011New Raleigh

The Goo Goo Dolls are performing at the Raleigh Downtown Amphitheater tonight, August 3rd, in support of their newest album, Something For the Rest Of Us. New Raleigh recently spoke to lead singer John Rzeznik about where the band has been, where they are now, and the new album.

New Raleigh: How's the current tour going?

John Rzeznik: So far, so good. We had been on the road for a year and a half straight before this tour, so this is a whole new tour. It's a new set, new lighting; basically we felt that it was time to put a whole new show on.

NR: Although you guys have been around since the '80s, you really hit the peak of your popularity in the late '90s with the singles "Iris" and "Name." Have you found that radio stations have become less open minded about playing the band's new music?

JR: I don't know, we seem to be doing well. We've had fourteen Top Ten hits. The thing with radio is, it's been split into so many formats that it's hard to get played on certain stations because their playlists are so tight.

NR: So how hard has it been getting songs from the new album, Something For the Rest Of Us, onto the air?

JR: We have a new single out now from the Transformers 3 soundtrack, "All That You Are,"  that's only been out for three weeks. I don't want to get too "businessy" about how it works, but the research has been good on it and it seems to be picking up traction.

NR: Is there a story behind the new album's title?

JR: Yeah. I just wanted to make it clear that I realize that the band isn't pop in the vein of Katy Perry or Ke$ha, and we're not an underground hipster act. We are who we are, and I feel that the vast majority of people fall into that category.

NR: I've read that it took you guys two years to record the new album, traveling between studios in Los Angeles and Buffalo. Why so long?

JR: It wasn't right. We made a bad decision, we chose the wrong team of people to produce the album with us, so I had to change that. We basically had to create the same album twice.

NR: What was it like working with Butch Vig on one of the new tracks, "Hey Ya"?

JR: Butch is a genius, and I never say that. I know a lot of clever people, but I don't know many geniuses. He is definitely one of them. He took that song and really made it special.

NR: Finally, looking back over your career, what are the major differences between the Goo Goo Dolls on the road when they were first starting out and now?

JR: We're more responsible adults now than we were in the past. We just take our work very seriously and try as hard as we can to put on a good show.

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