AUG 17 | Goo Goo Dolls

Formed in Buffalo, NY in 1986 by John Rzeznik and Robby Takac, Goo Goo Dolls quietly broke records, contributed a string of staples to the American songbook, connected to millions of fans, and indelibly impacted popular music for three-plus decades. Beyond selling 15 million records worldwide, the group garnered four Grammy Award nominations and seized a page in the history books by achieving 16 No. 1 and Top 10 hits. As a result, they hold the all-time radio record for Most Top 10 Singles. Among a string of hits, “Iris” clutched No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 18 straight weeks and would be named a No. 1 Top 40 Song. Thus far, A Boy Named Goo (1995) went double-platinum, Dizzy Up The Girl (1998) went quadruple-platinum, and Gutterflower (2002) and Let Love In (2006) both went gold as Something for the Rest of Us (2010) and Magnetic (2013) bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200. 2016’s Boxes attracted the praise of People and Huffington Post as Noisey, Consequence of Sound, and more featured them. Their music has been covered by everyone from Taylor Swift to Leona Lewis. Among many accolades, Rzeznik received the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award in 2008 as well.

Following a sold-out 2018 20^th anniversary tour in celebration of Dizzy Up The Girl, Goo Goo Dolls wrote and recorded their 12^th full-length album Miracle Pill (2019), igniting a bold and bright new era in the process. In fall 2020, the band began a new chapter with the debut of their first-ever holiday LP It’s Christmas All Over, and most recently released their brand new compilation record Rarities (2021), a double album filled with rare and never-before-heard songs from the band’s career spanning 1995 to 2007. With over 30 years together as a group, over 15 million albums sold, and 16 No. 1 and Top 10 hits, Goo Goo Dolls remain at the top of their game and in a league of their own among rock bands as they release their highly anticipated 13^th album Chaos in Bloom in August 2022.

Biography provided by artist management.

“These songs should make you want to fall in love with somebody, or miss somebody, or want to do something outrageous with your life,” says Justin Furstenfeld, vocalist and lyricist for the unstoppable alt-rock band Blue October. He’s talking about the tracks on the quintet’s 10th studio album, This Is What I Live For, released in 2020.

How does it feel to have a Top 10 single with “Oh My My,” the band’s first Top 10 single since 2009?

“Honestly, I’m blown away,” says Furstenfeld. “We started releasing our albums independently several years ago. It’s good to see that it doesn’t matter what label you’re on. As long as you’re writing good songs ,you have chance to be heard. Hopefully that inspires others.”

The San Marcos, Texas-based band (vocalist Justin Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, guitarist Will Knaak, bassist Matt Noveskey, and drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld) have earned a reputation for being remarkably dynamic, consistently delivering anthemic songs filled with rousing melodies and precision playing. And with their latest release, This Is What I Live For (2020), the members are even more in sync than ever. They wrote much of the material while they were on the road supporting their last album, 2018’s I Hope You’re Happy (debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Album Chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Independent Album Chart), often fine-tuning songs in front of live audiences. In this way, the song “I Will Follow You” had already become a favorite even before it was recorded for the new album.

“This album is going to catch some people off-guard,” Noveskey says. “A lot of it is about interpersonal relationships—years and years of marriage, growing older, and some of the issues that you may run into with that. I know that other albums are about that, but we get into some corners of life that we haven’t explored before.”

This determination to always speak the truth, even if it’s difficult, is the way Blue October has operated from the very start, since Justin and Jeremy Furstenfeld and Delahoussaye formed the band in 1995 when they were still in high school. When Noveskey joined three years later, Blue October really coalesced as the members found inspiration in bands like A Perfect Circle, Jimmy Eat World, Radiohead, and The Cure, reworking those disparate influences into an epic yet introspective sound that is entirely their own.

Blue October members themselves have admitted in characteristically candid fashion, things certainly haven’t always been easy. Their struggles over the years with substance abuse, and their subsequent treatment and recovery, have been well-documented in their songs. They also allowed themselves to be filmed over the course of seven tumultuous years for a documentary, Get Back Up, which was released in 2020. The film takes an unwavering look at the band—Justin Furstenfeld, in particular—as they grapple with the fallout from addiction and the resulting damage done to their families, professional relationships, and each other. It is ultimately a redemptive story, with all members now sober and mending their relationships, but not without going over some harrowing ground first.

“We made it out the other side, and it was hard,” Noveskey says. “There were times where we weren’t sure we would. But when you go through a lot together, you grow together, and you realize

what’s important. Then you realize, maybe there are things I’ve taken for granted over the years, including each other. We’re not going to let that happen anymore.”

Delahoussaye, who joined the band two years ago, agrees: “When a lifestyle change occurs, it filters in on all levels. Their positivity feeds mine, and I think it’s been really serendipitous that we met at a good time in all of our lives. I’m gaining a lot from their wisdom, and maybe they’re getting a little kick from my fresh perspective.”

After struggling with being incorrectly categorized because there was no easy label to apply to a group that is so musically powerful yet lyrically sensitive, it is particularly gratifying for the members to finally gain recognition for being distinctive.

“As much as people wanted to change me into something else, I always said no,” Justin Furstenfeld says. “I’m always a reality writer. I write bluntly, for the people that want to talk about things that aren’t dinner conversation pieces.”

This unswerving belief in Blue October’s music and message—and fans’ unusually strong connection as a result—has carried this band through many good and bad times.

Biography provided by artist management.