The Goo Goo Dolls put their words into action.
Just what are the Goo Goo Dolls thinking?
If you go
Goo Goo Dolls with Switchfoot and the Spill Canvas
Where: Pier Six Concert Pavilion, 731 Eastern Ave., Baltimore
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Info: $30 to $70; ticketmaster.com
Don’t they know that rock bands founded circa 1980 are supposed to fade slowly away, turning up only at some of the “remember your youth” shows and festivals that sprout like dandelions every concert season? Apparently these guys missed the memo because the Goo Goo Dolls, known for such classic hits as “Iris” and “Slide,” have just completed a new album, “Something for the Rest of Us,” which is supported by a jampacked tour schedule.
“It’s gotten so busy, it’s almost where selling albums appears to be an afterthought,” co-founder Robby Takac, who performs vocals and bass, said. “But we’re still focused on that because we know the whole thing has to grow more for us to move ahead.”
Moving ahead for the Goo Goo Dolls means three bonus tracks, a lithograph and more to those that pre-order the album. It also means plenty of meet and greets and side projects including charity such as “Music is Art,” a nonprofit project with many facets — including an annual festival — that bassist Robbie Takac formed in his native Buffalo, N.Y.
That sort of “back to the roots” philosophy — which the Goo Goo dolls have maintained since they burst onto the scene from Buffalo in the 1980s — is why the band continues to thrive.
“We do whatever we have to do to work this band, to reach our fans,” Takac said, noting that often comes with a very real financial cost. “We aren’t living in castles. We do this because it’s still incredibly satisfying to us. If we felt the lack of relevance, we’d break up.”
There’s no real chance of that happening. After all the Goo Goo Doll members have such a synergy among them they might as well be family members. In many ways — including their links to Buffalo — they are family and rarely miss a chance to return to the area.
Consider this latest record.
“This record started about two years ago back in Buffalo,” Takad said. “We started writing it with no producer. We just went in with the live sound guy … who worked with us for about six months between Buffalo and L.A. When you do this every day, you see where it comes from. You get really, really inside yourself and find that [feeling] you had [when you began in music] because you really had to do it. … It’s still something I need to do in my life.”
