Armed with arena-sized choruses and stadium-sized anthems, one of the most important hit-making rock groups is making its way to the Philippines, courtesy of Random Minds Inc.
There’s good music, there are trends, and there are great rock n’ roll bands… but not all can lay claim to having more-than-just-a-few gargantuan hit singles worldwide, and it is rare that you find a group that is still consistently as relevant and sonically evolving in a time of cross-genre confusion and three-minute, sugar-coated and over-produced rubbish.
Thank God for the Goo Goo Dolls.
Responsible for some of the biggest, chart-topping singles in the 90s, like “Name” (off of 1995’s A Boy Named Goo), the humongous and now-historic “Iris” – which originally appeared on the City of Angels Movie Soundtrack and nominated for three Grammy Awards (for Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance and Song of The Year citations) while spending a whopping 18 weeks at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart, “Black Balloon” and “Slide” off of 1998’s four-time platinum release Dizzy Up The Girl, up until recent hits like “Before It’s Too Late” (from the first Transformers movie OST) at the start of the millennium, it’s clear to see why the band – led by frontman/main songwriter/guitarist John Rzeznik – is easily hailed as one of the most successful hit-making machines the world has ever seen and heard.
And the band’s connection with its legion of Filipino fans is a strong one: Rzeznik, with longtime bassist-collaborator Robby Takac and the rest of the band – definitely has a strong penchant for indelible melodies, intimate and heartfelt lyricism and a generally uplifting and anthemic vibe from their music throughout the decades. Celebrating their 30th anniversary as a group in 2016, the group – though earning a reputation for producing some of the biggest singles for some of the biggest films in history – refuses to be boxed-in with a singular sound and approach to music, evident early-on in their career, incorporating clever guitar tunings, sing-along-melodies and odd-timed rhythm patterns to their music.
Throughout the millennium, they’ve consistently released new music, like 2002’s Gutterflower, 2006’s Let Love In, 2010’s Something For The Rest of Us, 2013’s Magnetic and their most recent 2016 opus Boxes, which finds Rzeznik and the band collaborating with various songwriters, and producing some of their most personal, introspective work to date, fueled by the single “So Alive.”
“I want people to listen [to the music] hard. I want them to read the lyrics. I want them to be ecstatic and I want them to cry. I want them, at the end of it, to feel satisfied,” says Rzeznik of their latest album, and in more ways than one, their collected body of work. “I want them to take a little piece of it for themselves and own it. Make it their own.”
And of course, Manila will be happy to oblige, and fans are excited that Goo Goo Dolls are bringing the music this way – definitely a long-overdue musical spectacle. And you can expect the sound of thousands of Filipino fans singing-along to their personal favorites to be beautifully deafening.
Goo Goo Dolls: Live in Manila is slated to happen next year on February 11, 2017 at the famed Araneta Coliseum. Ticketnet has recently announced the sale of tickets (www.ticketnetonline.ph) and prices range as the following: VIP – Php7,000, PATRON – Php6,000, LOWER BOX – Php5,000, UPPER BOX – P3,000 and General Admission seating at Php1,200. Interested parties can also call 911-5555 or follow them on facebook @TicketNetPH.
The show is produced by Random Minds Inc., the same company that has consistently brought over top-caliber acts such as ranging from both legacy artists – like The Jets, Wlison Phillips, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Gin Blossoms – to the finest and most-happening new music from diverse artists like The XX, The National, Warpaint, Mobb Deep, Demi Lovato, Youth Lagoon and everyone in between, such as Mogwai, The Piano Guys, Skratch Bastid, and even the biggest local Filipino acts with their recent production of Tugtog Pinoy.
For more information on Random Minds Inc. and details of both Goo Goo Dolls: Live in Manila and upcoming shows, be sure to log-on to (and like…) their Facebook page www.facebook.com/RandomMindsInc and follow them on Instagram and Twitter via @RandomMindsPH.
ADVT