Post by kellbells on Aug 10, 2011 9:57:52 GMT -5
I guess this qualifies as gossip. Anyone remember anything about this? Second to the last paragraph.
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
© August 9, 2011
By Alan Sculley
Correspondent
Johnny Rzeznik, singer/guitarist in the Goo Goo Dolls, is no songwriting neophyte. He's been the band's chief songwriter throughout its two-decade history, and he's written or co-written an enviable number of hits, including tunes like "Iris," "Slide" and "Name."
But over the course of writing and recording the ninth Goo Goo Dolls studio CD, "Something for the Rest of Us," Rzeznik learned more about songwriting, particularly in handling the times when ideas aren't flowing.
"It's really frustrating," Rzeznik said in a phone interview. "It's kind of scary looking at the blank page. You look at the blank page and say, 'Oh God, what am I going to say? How am I going to say it in a coherent way?' Sometimes that causes me a bit of anxiety."
Another songwriter, Andy Stochansky, helped Rzeznik over those hurdles during the writing of the latest CD, "Something for the Rest of Us."
Stochansky is "an amazing songwriter. I actually produced an album for him about seven years ago," Rzeznik said.
"It's always a learning process with Andy, because he's kind of prolific. It's like I'll write 20 songs in a year, and he'll write 100. I'm always astounded by people who can do that."
Rzeznik had specific inspiration for some of the songs on "Something for the Rest of Us," which was released in August 2010. His previous songs about love and relationships ceded to topical themes.
"It's not like a concept album, because I hate that term, but a lot of the subject matter on the album is kind of addressing what people seem to be going through in a very angst-ridden time in America. There's a lot of separation anxiety with a lot of people who have loved ones who are off fighting two different wars right now, and people losing their jobs and feeling very insecure about that and losing their homes. I just wanted to... just kind of try to give them some kind of hope or something."
Work on the album stretched out over about two years. The group (Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, drummer Mike Malinin) produced much of the CD itself. Its original fall 2009 release date was pushed back when the group realized it could be better.
"We had the album in our hands, and we listened to it and we were like, 'Wow, this is really good,' " Rzeznik said. "Then we had Paul (Hager, who for several years has mixed the Goo Goo Dolls sound at concerts) come in and mix a couple of songs, and it was just, it just exploded out of the speakers. It was like, 'Wow, this is so much better.' Then we started playing the songs in rehearsals as a band, as a five-piece, and they started evolving even more. We were like, 'We need to go back and redo this.' It is so much better now."
Not only does Rzeznik feel good about "Something for the Rest of Us," he feels better about the Goo Goo Dolls' standing as a band. He voiced uncertainty about whether the group would stay together after touring behind its 2006 CD "Let Love In," but he, Takac and Malinin smoothed out some friction, and things are in a good place, he said.[/i][/u]
"It's nice because everything feels really comfortable. We're one of the few bands lucky enough to be able to go out and earn a living playing live. And that's a really comforting feeling because you don't have to worry so much about chasing hits. Let's face it, selling records is really hard now. It's nice that we can go out and get our music out to people and they come out to see us."
Alan Sculley,alanlastword@gmail.com
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
© August 9, 2011
By Alan Sculley
Correspondent
Johnny Rzeznik, singer/guitarist in the Goo Goo Dolls, is no songwriting neophyte. He's been the band's chief songwriter throughout its two-decade history, and he's written or co-written an enviable number of hits, including tunes like "Iris," "Slide" and "Name."
But over the course of writing and recording the ninth Goo Goo Dolls studio CD, "Something for the Rest of Us," Rzeznik learned more about songwriting, particularly in handling the times when ideas aren't flowing.
"It's really frustrating," Rzeznik said in a phone interview. "It's kind of scary looking at the blank page. You look at the blank page and say, 'Oh God, what am I going to say? How am I going to say it in a coherent way?' Sometimes that causes me a bit of anxiety."
Another songwriter, Andy Stochansky, helped Rzeznik over those hurdles during the writing of the latest CD, "Something for the Rest of Us."
Stochansky is "an amazing songwriter. I actually produced an album for him about seven years ago," Rzeznik said.
"It's always a learning process with Andy, because he's kind of prolific. It's like I'll write 20 songs in a year, and he'll write 100. I'm always astounded by people who can do that."
Rzeznik had specific inspiration for some of the songs on "Something for the Rest of Us," which was released in August 2010. His previous songs about love and relationships ceded to topical themes.
"It's not like a concept album, because I hate that term, but a lot of the subject matter on the album is kind of addressing what people seem to be going through in a very angst-ridden time in America. There's a lot of separation anxiety with a lot of people who have loved ones who are off fighting two different wars right now, and people losing their jobs and feeling very insecure about that and losing their homes. I just wanted to... just kind of try to give them some kind of hope or something."
Work on the album stretched out over about two years. The group (Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, drummer Mike Malinin) produced much of the CD itself. Its original fall 2009 release date was pushed back when the group realized it could be better.
"We had the album in our hands, and we listened to it and we were like, 'Wow, this is really good,' " Rzeznik said. "Then we had Paul (Hager, who for several years has mixed the Goo Goo Dolls sound at concerts) come in and mix a couple of songs, and it was just, it just exploded out of the speakers. It was like, 'Wow, this is so much better.' Then we started playing the songs in rehearsals as a band, as a five-piece, and they started evolving even more. We were like, 'We need to go back and redo this.' It is so much better now."
Not only does Rzeznik feel good about "Something for the Rest of Us," he feels better about the Goo Goo Dolls' standing as a band. He voiced uncertainty about whether the group would stay together after touring behind its 2006 CD "Let Love In," but he, Takac and Malinin smoothed out some friction, and things are in a good place, he said.[/i][/u]
"It's nice because everything feels really comfortable. We're one of the few bands lucky enough to be able to go out and earn a living playing live. And that's a really comforting feeling because you don't have to worry so much about chasing hits. Let's face it, selling records is really hard now. It's nice that we can go out and get our music out to people and they come out to see us."
Alan Sculley,alanlastword@gmail.com
