Post by DeEtte on Jul 5, 2008 7:20:38 GMT -5
DESPITE two platinum studio albums, a platinum live album and three gold singles including the smash hit Iris, The Goo Goo Dolls are still not really on music's A-list.
They've been active for more than two decades and are currently working on their ninth album. But bassist Robby Takac insists the band have no complaints, despite the lack of consistent success,
"After selling millions of records and touring every part of the world doing what I love every day, it's hard to complain too much - it would sound pretty ungrateful!
"Not everyone can have the biggest car on the block. You work as hard as you can to get the biggest car you can and then enjoy the car that you've got and be thankful that you've got one. We've been lucky enough to be able to write songs for 20 years and that's what we like to do, so everything's pretty cool."
And does it feel like 20 years?
"Some days more than others!" he laughs. "But it's a tough question to answer since I've been in the middle of it for so long that it's just what I do every day.
"I don't know what life would be like if I wasn't doing this. I was only around 20 when we started playing together and the first 1ten years was just driving around in a van. After that, things changed gear and it became a real job."
With songs featuring dark undertones of things like drug abuse, could this darkness have affected the band's mainstream success?
"We come from a background where we write about things that are real and pertinent to us. We don't really think about how big a song is going to be when we're in the writing process. We just try to write the best and most interesting songs we can.
"We've just built a new studio space in our home town of Buffalo, in the space where we started playing as kids. We're spending a lot of time there and listening to new things and trying new things and watching the industry change as we do it.
"I guess we need to figure out our place in it, as it seems to change every six months!"
So how does Takac see the fluctuating industry going?
"Internationally, things have gotten easier with the internet. You can reach out in a more personal way. People have more personal access, which is great and exciting especially in regions where we're not so popular already.
"I can't say that it sucks to be a shoemaker even if everyone seems to be getting shoes for free these days, but records were the oil that used to feed the machine that was the music industry, so the access to free music has really affected it.
"On one hand it's frustrating, as the old model of the industry was one we were used to and comfortable with, but on the other hand, it's interesting and exciting to see it change. It's all part of learning new lessons."
The band's major breakthrough was the song Iris that was written for the City of Angels soundtrack. The track, which brought them international success, is one of many that the band have written for film soundtracks, which the band do for the added exposure and also for creative reasons.
"The biggest lift we had as a band was with Iris.
"We'll probably never have a song that big again. We were amazed by the power that being on a soundtrack has to reach so many people.
"Another reason was songwriting, as before doing movie songs, we'd always written about our own lives and experiences, but a film lets you step outside that and write from someone else's perspective."
With their new studio space, the band have been working on their new material, and it wasn't long before the had something they were happy with.
"We did some demos and we liked one of them so much, a song called Real, that we decided to release it in the interim before the new album. We'll be debuting it as a live song on the current tour.
"The process of the new album has been exciting and it's great to already have something out there from the new studio. Now it's a matter of getting back there and saying 'OK, these are the songs we're going to use and this is what we're going to sound like for the next few years.'"
Before that, the band are here in the UK for a tour promoting their greatest hits albums and they're really happy to be over here.
"We really enjoy coming over. It's a different experience for us after touring the US so heavily for so long. It'll be as exciting for us as it will for the people in the crowd and that always makes for a good show."
www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133942&command=displayContent&sourceNode=244910&contentPK=21017850&folderPk=103546&pNodeId=244911
They've been active for more than two decades and are currently working on their ninth album. But bassist Robby Takac insists the band have no complaints, despite the lack of consistent success,
"After selling millions of records and touring every part of the world doing what I love every day, it's hard to complain too much - it would sound pretty ungrateful!
"Not everyone can have the biggest car on the block. You work as hard as you can to get the biggest car you can and then enjoy the car that you've got and be thankful that you've got one. We've been lucky enough to be able to write songs for 20 years and that's what we like to do, so everything's pretty cool."
And does it feel like 20 years?
"Some days more than others!" he laughs. "But it's a tough question to answer since I've been in the middle of it for so long that it's just what I do every day.
"I don't know what life would be like if I wasn't doing this. I was only around 20 when we started playing together and the first 1ten years was just driving around in a van. After that, things changed gear and it became a real job."
With songs featuring dark undertones of things like drug abuse, could this darkness have affected the band's mainstream success?
"We come from a background where we write about things that are real and pertinent to us. We don't really think about how big a song is going to be when we're in the writing process. We just try to write the best and most interesting songs we can.
"We've just built a new studio space in our home town of Buffalo, in the space where we started playing as kids. We're spending a lot of time there and listening to new things and trying new things and watching the industry change as we do it.
"I guess we need to figure out our place in it, as it seems to change every six months!"
So how does Takac see the fluctuating industry going?
"Internationally, things have gotten easier with the internet. You can reach out in a more personal way. People have more personal access, which is great and exciting especially in regions where we're not so popular already.
"I can't say that it sucks to be a shoemaker even if everyone seems to be getting shoes for free these days, but records were the oil that used to feed the machine that was the music industry, so the access to free music has really affected it.
"On one hand it's frustrating, as the old model of the industry was one we were used to and comfortable with, but on the other hand, it's interesting and exciting to see it change. It's all part of learning new lessons."
The band's major breakthrough was the song Iris that was written for the City of Angels soundtrack. The track, which brought them international success, is one of many that the band have written for film soundtracks, which the band do for the added exposure and also for creative reasons.
"The biggest lift we had as a band was with Iris.
"We'll probably never have a song that big again. We were amazed by the power that being on a soundtrack has to reach so many people.
"Another reason was songwriting, as before doing movie songs, we'd always written about our own lives and experiences, but a film lets you step outside that and write from someone else's perspective."
With their new studio space, the band have been working on their new material, and it wasn't long before the had something they were happy with.
"We did some demos and we liked one of them so much, a song called Real, that we decided to release it in the interim before the new album. We'll be debuting it as a live song on the current tour.
"The process of the new album has been exciting and it's great to already have something out there from the new studio. Now it's a matter of getting back there and saying 'OK, these are the songs we're going to use and this is what we're going to sound like for the next few years.'"
Before that, the band are here in the UK for a tour promoting their greatest hits albums and they're really happy to be over here.
"We really enjoy coming over. It's a different experience for us after touring the US so heavily for so long. It'll be as exciting for us as it will for the people in the crowd and that always makes for a good show."
www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133942&command=displayContent&sourceNode=244910&contentPK=21017850&folderPk=103546&pNodeId=244911