Although they are most famous for their 1998 hit "Iris," the Goo Goo Dolls continue to make hit music after being in the industry for almost 25 years. The band, consisting of John Rzeznik (vocals and guitar), Robby Takac (bass and vocals) and Mike Malinin (drums) will come to a sold-out crowd at Oswego State’s Campus Center for the annual Student Association Programming Board Spring Concert this Saturday.
The band got their startin Buffalo, N.Y. in 1986 as a punk rock band with Rzeznik, Takac and drummer George Tutuska. They found moderate success on college and independent radio stations and even had some of their songs featured on movie soundtracks, including "Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare."Theydidn’thave their first hit until their fifth album,"A Boy Named Goo" (1995), with the song "Name."With the success of "Name" the band changed their sound to the popular, polished and commerical alternative rock that the band is known for today.It was after this album was released that Tutuska left over royalties disputes and Malinin joined the band.
Their next album, "Dizzy up the Girl" (1998), became a monster hit largely due to the success of "Iris." The song was written for the movie "City of Angels" and it is said that Rzeznik wrote the song in five minutes after dealing with a tough case of writer’s block. The song brought the Goo Goo Dolls into the mainstream and earned the band three Grammy nominations."Dizzy up the Girl" also featured the hits "Slide," "Black Balloon" and "Broadway."Their next album, "Gutterflower" in 2002 also achieved success thanks to songs like "Here is Gone," "Sympathy" and "Big Machine." In 2006, they released "Let Love In" which featured the songs "Better Days," "Stay with You" and the title track, "Let Love In." Their song "Before It’s Too Late" was featured on the "Transformers"soundtrack.
When they aren’t recording and touring, themembers of the band have various side projects. Takac is the founder and president ofMusic is Art, a non-profit organization in Buffalo. The organization focuses on music education and its importance in the community and to ignite "a personal connection to the artistic merit and acceptance of all forms of music," according to the Music is Art Web site. In addition, Takac has his own record label called Good Charamel Records and is on the Board of Trustees at Medaille College, his alma mater.
Rzeznik writes and produces music for other artists, including Ryan Cabrera. He also wrote music for the 2002 Disney movie "Treasure Planet"and in 2008, he was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Malinin has a band called Forty Marshas that released an album in 2007.
The band has not forgotten their Buffalo roots and often returns to their hometown. Most notably, the band put on a free concert for the city on July 4, 2004 during atorrentialdownpour. The concert has become legendary in Buffalo and the band released a DVD and CD of the show later that year. The band even came back to the city to work on the album "Let Love In" after feeling uninspired in Los Angeles, where they moved after releasing "Dizzy Up the Girl."
Currently, the band is getting ready to release their ninth studio album called "Something for the Rest of Us," which is scheduled to come out this year. Their stop in Oswego is part of their spring tour where audiences will no doubt hear the classics as well as some of the new tunes from "Something for the Rest of Us." A reminder for those attending, the doors will open at 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. show.
