Takin' A Ride

I first heard of the Goo Goo Dolls when their first album was released in 1986. A copy got sent to us at KSDT, the college radio station I was working at and had a metal and alternative radio show on. I immediately fell in love with it the very first notes. I almost never pay attention to lyrics of any songs mainly because I can’t relate to them. I didn’t know anything about politics at the time. I never worshipped satan. I never slew any dragons. So I just really had nothing to relate to many of the bands and songs that I loved and listened to. But I loved the music of the bands I listened to.

But the Goo Goo Dolls? This first album? I immediately related to them! “I can smoke and drink, but I can’t pay my rent”?!? Bingo! I mean, I never really smoked, so ok, but at the time I was living on $5 a day and $1.60 of that was bus fare to get to my job at Off The Record so I could afford the $5 a day. Not to mention their sense of humor. “Don’t Beat My Ass (with a baseball bat)”? Genius! They summed up my attitude at the time with the same energy that I was carrying around me with at the time. Only they had a much more positive attitude about things than I did. Which I took to heart and applied to myself over the years. Yeah, other bands sang about girls and love lost and all that too, but the Goo Goo Dolls did it with the conviction that I would’ve done had I had the talent to write songs.

So I immediately fell in love with them. I forgot all this until I was reminded by Diana at Metal Blade, but she gives me credit for getting them signed to Metal Blade! Johnny told me once “So you’re the one to blame!” lol. Having my metal and alternative/punk radio show on KSDT, I would regularly talk with the people at Metal Blade Records. This included Diana who did publicity for them and also William Howell who did a ton of jobs behind the scenes for Metal Blade. Well Diana asked me what once what was going on this particular weekend, I mentioned how I may hitch a ride up to Fenders in Long Beach to see the Goo Goo Dolls who were opening a tour with Gang Green. I totally raved about them and told her YOU have to go see them. She was asking me if they were “signable” and I told her I would sign them in an instant if I could. She went (with William Howell) and basically told me they were signed “on the spot”. However, reading Brian Slagel’s book, he says they were signed to Metal Blade because of another person who worked there who was from Buffalo and knew about them.

First time I had actually seen them myself was in 1989 on the Jed tour. They played the Spirit in San Diego opening for the Gun Club. They were incredible! They ended up staying at a friend’s condo. I didn’t have a car at the time, so I got a ride with William Howell and Robbie and George from the club to the condo. Only I couldn’t remember where the condo was (they all looked the same). So we had to drive to the radio station I worked for (KSDT), find her phone number, and call her from the payphone outside to find where her place was. Remember, there were no cell phones back then. William was pissed. Somehow, I always rubbed him the wrong way, though I do love and respect the guy quite a bit. Even to this day, he’s irked at me for one reason or another and unfriended me on Facebook. Some personalities just don’t mesh well, I guess.

But the thing I remember most is that they had a demo of five songs from their next album, which would be “Hold Me Up”. And they let me hear it. But wouldn’t let me copy it. So I played it over and over and over and over again on a little portable tape player. Basically all night. William wasn’t happy about that either. That was totally my fault. But the songs were incredible and I just couldn’t stop listening to them. Some of the songs were “Hey”, “You Know What I Mean”, “Know My Name”. So I was basically up all night listening to this demo while everyone slept. In the morning, I took a bus directly to my work at the liquor store. Of course it was a 3 hour bus ride because the bus system sucks going from La Jolla to Rancho Penasquitos and I was late to work, very hungover (actually probably still drunk), and pissed off my boss whom I also loved and respected. I made sure never to do that again.