They’ve been together for the last 24 years. Most bands would have broken up 3 times and gone to rehab during such a span. Not the Goo Goo Dolls. “This is what we do,” Robby Takac, the bass player for the Goo’s said. “And until I’m told otherwise, I’m showing up for work.”
Work has them out on the road promoting the upcoming release of their 10th studio album, Something for the Rest of Us. Their first record in more than 4 years. “I think all our records tend to be a little different then the last,” Takac said. “This is just the pendulum swinging in a different direction. We always try to be a little harder and a little gentler than we’ve ever been.”
The band, known for such hits “Iris”, “Slide”, “Name” and “Here is Gone” will descend on Tucson June 7th, at the Ava Amphitheater. Far from their home of Buffalo, New York, the band feels right at home at the Hotel Congress and their music room, the Club Congress. Takac remembers his last visit to the club about a year ago. “I went in and walked around a little bit. There was a band playing in there and it just made me think, man, we’ve been coming to Tucson for a long time”.
Takac, one of the founding members of the band along with guitar player and lead singer, Johnny Rzeznik, has always valued the rich, musical history in Tucson and the chance Club Congress has given local bands to shine. “They’re providing rock music for their home town and it’s heart warming to see that tradition continue. (Tucson) has always had a great scene.”
The Goo Goo Dolls have 13 Top Ten hits in the Adult Top 40, which is tied most all time with Matchbox Twenty. The band will perform many of those songs, all written and sang by Rzeznik, this Monday night. The hits and their longevity, Takac says, are not because of them, but their fans. “You’re only as valid as the fans allow you to be and I think that something a lot of people (bands) take for granted. I don’t think you have any right doing this if you lose sight of that.”
The Goo Goo Dolls have worked with USA Harvest, a non-profit organization committed to moving food from people who have too much, to those who have much too little. They ask their fans to donate canned goods at every show.
The Goo Goo Dolls perform Monday, June 7th at Ava Amphitheater.
