They never expected to last this long, but three decades after their formation, Buffalo’s Goo Goo Dolls will headline the S.B. Bowl with guests Collective Soul and Tribe Society on Saturday, July 16. Since their breakout hit “Name” charted in 1995, they’ve become one of the biggest and long-standing names in alternative rock. I spoke with lead singer Johnny Rzeznik about how he and bassist Robby Takac have kept a Goo thing going for so long.
You guys have been doing this for decades. Does it feel different now than it did when you started?
Yeah, very much so. It feels like we’re doing it for ourselves more than it has in a long time. I always sort of relate it to us listening to the mixes in the studio in L.A., saying, “Dude, we won! We won!” It didn’t matter if we sold 30 copies; we won because we persevered and we did the work, and how many guys from our generation can still do it and still do the work? It’s not that they’re not good — how come we still get the opportunity? That’s what blows my mind.