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        Goo Goo Dolls >> Goo Goo Dolls >> Article in Pittsburg Post-Gazette
        
(Message started by: Shannon on Jul 13^th, 2006, 9:56am)

Title: Article in Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Post by Shannon on Jul 13^th, 2006, 9:56am

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06194/705375-42.stm

Music Preview: Goo Goo Dolls return with new record -- and a Pittsburgh connection
Thursday, July 13, 2006

By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Before venturing into an eighth record and the band's first in four years, the Goo Goo Dolls did a little bit of soul-searching -- the kind that naturally comes after having been around for two decades.

The band members had scattered off in various directions after touring with "Gutterflower" in 2002 and 2003, and there was a chance that we had seen the last of the

"We were definitely trying other things and seeing what was out there, for no discussed reasons whatsoever," says bassist/singer Robby Takac. "When we got back together again to talk about what we were doing, we decided we were lucky to be one of those few bands that's been allotted the chance to have a career. We looked at ourselves and gave a hard going over and talked about, 'Can we progress from here?' The answer was yes, obviously yes."

Having decided that the Goo Goos would go on, Takac and co-founder Johnny Rzeznick started working on "Let Love In" in Los Angeles, where they now live, but realized they were coming up empty. They ended up going back to Buffalo, where they launched 20 years ago with a mission of not only sounding like the Replacements, "We were trying to be the Replacements," Takac says.

As for the record, it began in Los Angeles, "but that got a little strange," Takac says. "We were in the mindset of 'the business is out here,' but God bless their hearts, most folks in the business are mostly concerned about the next 16 weeks of your life. I don't think that's a good atmosphere for making life decisions, like what you're going to put out to represent yourself and your next batch of music. The logical place to go was back home to Buffalo. We spent some time in a Mason's hall there and put together the body of the record."

The next move was to hook up with a producer. In the past, they had Rob Cavallo guiding them on megahits like "Name" and "Iris." This time, they turned to song doctor Glen Ballard, who's had the magic touch with Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette and the Dave Matthews Band, among others.

"The songs were pretty much in shape by the time he came in, as far as verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge goes," Takac says. "What we were looking for was someone who could muscle the songs around a bit, make better songs. We got that. Of course, he's a brilliant arranger, master of musical theory. The other end was that he brought this freeing and empowering vibe to the session."

Although The Goo Goo Dolls had gone back to Buffalo, they didn't return to the punk-inspired sound of old. "Let Love In" is another mature record stocked with ballads and mid-tempo songs like "Better Days," which began as a Christmas song but took on a new meaning when CNN used it for background music in its coverage of Katrina.

Along with the originals, The Dolls threw in one of their favorite encore songs, a cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit."

"We had done it as an encore song for the live show in Buffalo that became the DVD ['Live in Buffalo, July 4, 2004']. It was pretty crazy. It had been pouring rain and by the end all our stuff was all wet and pretty much destroyed. We were playing on whatever worked and even under those conditions the song worked, so we decided to actually give it a whirl."

When they play Pittsburgh Saturday night with Counting Crows, the Goo Goo Dolls will have a Pittsburgher in their midst. Korel Tunador, who grew up in Pittsburgh and was best known here for playing in the band Crisis Car, has joined the Dolls as a guitarist and keyboard player. Since moving to Los Angeles, Tunador has been working as a hired gun for such acts as Charlie Mars and Jada Pinkett's Wicked Wisdom.

Tunador still works on his own music, but now revels in the life of a musician traveling the world and he enjoys the range of stuff he's playing.

"All these different bands that I've ended up playing with have been stylistically different from each other," he says. "But I really enjoy going out and playing songs, and there are some good songs going on here and I was really happy to learn them."

Takac says of Tunador, "He's a really unique dude, really a joy to have around. Having been brought up in Pittsburgh, he has the same kind of inner workings as guys from a band in Buffalo."

While the Goo Goo Dolls may sound tame on record, Takac promises that the live show will take it up a few notches.

"I think when we go out live, it's still a different ballgame. When we go out we are trying our best to grab folks and bring them into these songs. I think our adrenaline and our desire to do well has made our shows a little heavier and more spirited than most people expect. We have a great time when we go up there, and that's a huge part of keeping it fun for everybody."

With: Counting Crows.
Where: Post-Gazette Pavilion.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets: $39.50 to $67.50; 412-323-1919.

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(Weekend Mag editor Scott Mervis can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-2576. )

Title: Re: Article in Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Post by SuzieGoo on Jul 14^th, 2006, 10:25pm

I am in the Pittsburgh area...I should have picked up the Post-Gazette too! I DID pick up the Beaver Valley Times and they are in the weekend magazine!! ;D

I am going to scan it and post it when I get home to Florida.

Thanks for posting this. ;)

Less than 24 hours now!! I am sooo excited!

~ Suz