The World's Gone   Goo Goo  From 'Celebrity Style' June/July 1999  By Michael Slezak

    "I just want you to know who I am."  All last summer, straight through the fall, and even into winter, that refrain from the hit single "Iris"--from the City of Angels soundtrack--dominated radio airwaves and music video channels alike.
    Ironically, not much was really known about the man whose pleading, tortured vocals were at the heart of the angst-ridden tune--Johnny Rzeznik, lead singer for the Goo Goo Dolls.
    So what is the real scoop on the dangerously handsome Rzeznik and his rockin' bandmates?
    When the band arrives--about a half-hour late--to a prescribed downtown New York city loft, Rzeznik bursts into the room as though it were the digs of a close friend.  After greeting everyone, he quickly gets to the most important task of the day--getting information about the nearest pharmacy.  "I need to get a prescription filled," he says by way of explanation to no one in particular while he's on hold with a 411 operator.  Rzeznik scurries to the bathroom to get some privacy while he's talking to a pharmacist.
    Minutes later, he's returned to the room and starts thumbing through a vintage car catalog, excitedly talking about his plans to buy himself a snazzy convertible.  He's a bundle of frazzled nerves and energy:  After all, the band just got off a plane from Indiana and has been on a breakneck tour schedule.
    Rzeznik turns back to the catalog.  "Y'know," he says.  "I haven't really bought anything flashy for myself since our success.  I think a car is the thing to get.  Don't you?"  Well, traditionally, one might think so, but the 33-year-old Rzeznik reveals that he got his driver's license only a year ago.

Finally, he plunks down on a couch next to bassist Robby Takac, 34, who sometimes doubles as lead singer, and drummer Mike Malinin, 31, and the steady stream of movement and chatter that signaled the band's arrival finally ceases.        While the Goo Goo Dolls are fairly recent additions to the pop charts, the band formed more than 12 years ago in Buffalo, NY.  They built a solid reputation as hard-knocking alternative rockers with a knack for catchy, hummable hooks.  Really, then, it was no great surprise when the Goo Goo Dolls landed on the pop chart with "Name," which went

    But now that the band's latest album, Dizzy Up The Girl, has sold more than a million copies and spawned the followup hits "Slide" and "Dizzy," the Goo Goo Dolls say they refuse to act like some rock bands who develop an elitist attitude and act like success equals selling out.  "If I was going to be snotty, I would refuse to play with anybody but the cool acts," says Rzeznik, referring to a benefit concert the band is scheduled to play alongside 'N Sync, Monica and Brian Setzer the following night.  "But what do I care?  People mask their feelings of inadequacy with arrogance, and I'm not about to do that."
    Perhaps Rzeznik's refusal to play the role of snob comes from feelings of youthful inadequacy that he says he still carries with him today.  "I'm self-conscious most of the time," he says.  "As a kid, I was a reject and an outcast--and you always carry a thread of that with you."
    Or could it be the band is simply a trio of down-to-earth guys who aren't really letting success go to their heads?
    Rzeznik and Takac recall shooting the video for the band's latest single, "Dizzy," as a particularly enjoyable--and wild--experience.
    Rzeznik explains that the video involves the band driving down country backroads in a vintage car, speeding along in time with the straight-on rock track.  He cranked the car up to 70 miles per hour and scared Takac and Malinin in the process.  "I'm usually a wuss," says Rzeznik.  "I don't know what got into me.  I was watching the video on TV, and I just couldn't believe it."
    "Y'know, Johnny waited 'til he was 32 to get his driver's license," says Takac.  "And now he thinks he's a stunt driver."
    But don't think Rzeznik's behind-the-wheel stunts means the Goo Goo Dolls let themselves get out of control on a regular basis.  "The first ten days of our Dizzy Up The Girl tour, we rivaled Motley Crüe, as far as partying," Rzeznik says.  "I looked in the mirror and realized I had to put on the brakes.  It's the kind of scene where you realize it all tastes good, but it's really bad for you, and you really don't want to develop a taste."

So instead of heavy partying, these days, the band's favorite pursuits include listening to talk radio, especially syndicated AM host Art Bell.  "It's amazing!" says Rzeznik.  "The show gets these wack callers, all these doomsday theorists and people who want to talk about space aliens and the Y2K bug."  The constant stream of on-air paranoia is starting to get to Rzeznik.  "I'm kind of scared," he says.  "I'm going to stockpile beef jerky and water and dig myself a latrine."  Takac has a different outlook.  "If the Y2K problem is that big, I'll grab a bottle of tequila and see what happens," he says, clearly satisfied with his assessment.

    Speaking of talk radio, the Goo Goo Dolls had themselves a peculiar time on shock jock Howard Stern's Saturday-night TV show late last year--smack in the middle of a gay-themed episode.  The band ended up playing while surrounded by scantily clad dancing men.  "There was a lot of meat swinging in that room," says Rzeznik, laughing.  "But I was afraid gay people would hate us after that.  I mean, the gay guys came out looking best in that situation, but I didn't know how people would react.  There are a lot of reasons to be hated in pop culture, and being a straight white male is one of them.  In fact, I almost hate me!"
    Yet Rzeznik says that in all honesty, he's completely comfortable around gay men.  "I can be objective," he says.  "I mean, there were a lot of hot guys on Howard Stern.  It was cool.  Some of them were making out," he says.
    In fact, Rzeznik says, it's none of his business who people have sex with, not even the President.  He immediately turns the conversation to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal: "You know, denying the affair was a reflex, not a lie," says Rzeznik.  "But the President had Gingrich up his ass seven days a week.  It's a shitty job.  The assholes on Wall Street make more money than him.  And he's not allowed to bang a groupie?"  Rzeznik pauses for a moment: "His problem was he should've picked a woman instead of a girl."
    Rzeznik understands what it's like to have zealous fans.  He recently came across a young woman after a concert who had a complicated tattoo on her arm--one that was exactly the same as Rzeznik's.  "I couldn't believe she'd already had that done; I hadn't even had my own tattoo that long, and she'd already copied it," he says with disbelief.  For the record, Rzeznik's tattoo--which was completed after two five-hour sessions--is modeled after artist Randy Howell's colorful, complex painting "The Dream."
    And what was the last dream that each of the band members recalls?
    "I fell off a cliff in mine," says Malinin.
    "I ate a whole bunch of vindaloo, than I had a dream involving Indian people," says Takac.  "When I woke up, I saw John was watching a video tape with Deepak Chopra."
    And as for Rzeznik?  "The one dream I keep having is that there's a tornado coming and I have to get everyone together--all the people we work with, my whole family--and round them up and put them in a van."
    Hmmm.  How to interpret that one?  Could Rzeznik be concerned about the future, about his ability to provide for the people about whom he cares?  Perhaps.  As Takac recalls it, before they signed with Warner Bros., the band spent years on an indie label, in a deal that was financially disastrous.  "We got ripped off and lied to a thousand times," Takac says.  "It was terrible."
    Given their past circumstances, then, can anyone blame the Goo Goo Dolls for wanting their success?
    Rzeznik, for one, won't apologize.  In fact, he says having a hit album has it's perks.  "Look at this outfit," he says, pointing to his tight leather pants and Ralph Lauren turtleneck.  "I got the turtleneck, the pants and the shoes for free.  I'm a shag whore.  Now I don't have to worry about having holes in my socks."
    And if some of that glitz rubs off on the band's public image, that's OK, too, he says.  "For our 'Iris' video, I wanted to wear some nice clothes.  Some people would say it detracts from the music," says Rzeznik, "but I dig getting dressed up.  I'm playing the part."