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Gin Blossoms to Gas Giants? By Tim Schmitt Sun Sports Writer
Exactly how do you say "Hey Jealousy" in Japanese? Robin Wilson, former lead singer of the wildly-popular, Tempe based Gin Blossoms, is quickly learning.
The web page for Wilson's new band, Gas Giants - who are slated to kick off this Friday's Rock & Red Arizona Cardinals event at Wheeler Park - will not only contain info in English about the group, but will also have a complete section of Japanese text.
How come Robin?
"I just want to be big in Japan," Wilson mused. "When you grow up listening to Cheap Trick's 'Live at Budokan' and looking at posters of KISS in kimonos, you think, 'Wow, it would be really cool to be a rock star in Japan.' It's a thought that never left my brain."
Wilson has gone as far as to put a four-part Japanese-style comic book on the cover of Gas Giants new release, "From Beyond the Backburner," which will be available on Atomic Pop records in September.
"I'm fascinated with Japan and I have this attraction that has always made me want to sell records there," he said. "I don't know if we'll be able to pull it off since the Gin Blossoms didn't sell too many records there, but we're going to try."
"I built a lot of Japanese icons into the artwork, hoping to appeal to the Japanese sci-fi public, which I am a big fan of."
After the Blossoms' breakup three years ago, Wilson joined forces with former bandmates Phillip Rhodes and Dan Henzerling and Dead Hot Workshop bassist G. Brian Scott to form a band called The Pharoahs.
The name was later changed to Pharoahs 2000 and the band laid down tracks for the "From Beyond the Backburner," which was scheduled to be released on A & M Records last fall.
Somewhere in the midst of an A & M shakeup, however, the album was shelved and Wilson and his mates were 'relieved' of their contract. Scott eventually left the band.
"It's been the most intensely frustrating year of my career," Wilson said of the fiasco. "We've been fortunate, because we were a lot luckier than some of the other bands, but it was very frustrating, having to wait around for a bunch of faceless millionaires to decide our fate."
"There were times when I realized we were teetering on the brink of non-existence. I was starting to wonder, 'How else do I make a living if I can't get a record released?'"
After splitting with A & M, the record sat in limbo until the band struck a friendship with Atomic Pop, an Internet-based company that also sells comics and features a replica of the game "Quake," on its website.
In the process, Wilson changed the band's name to Gas Giants, leaving behind a tumultuous period.
"Looking back on the last year and all we went through, I thought we needed to call it a false start and rejuvenate our inner momentum," Wilson said. "A symbolic changing of our name seemed like the thing to do. Besides, I was never really pleased with Pharoahs 2000. Once we added the 2000 on there, I wondered if we'd stick with it."
And since the band's plans include a new global strategy, Wilson figured the right time to part with the name was before releasing the record, even if some Arizonans had started to identify with Pharoahs 2000.
The first single "Quitter," has received considerable airtime in the Phoenix and Las Vegas markets, giving the band some visibility.
"Were people familiar with it? Maybe," Wilson said. "But so what? We'll live. Once we get outside Palookaville, and that is our goal, nobody will know who Pharoahs 2000 are."
Being a veteran of mega-hit records, like the Blossoms' "New Miserable Experience" that sold over two million copies, Wilson now knows how the game is played. He realizes Gas Giants will need to tour and produce videos to promote the new record, but he appreciates the creative control of a smaller label affords.
"If we were with a major label, they'd be saying things like, "Oh, there's no picture of the band on the cover,' or stuff like that," he added. "We're fortunate things worked out like they did, where we have a say in how things are done."
And if Gas Giants return Wilson rock-and-roll prominence, will he be more grateful of the limelight?
"I'll certainly appreciate it," he said. "The Gin Blossoms was like stepping onto a moving sidewalk. It was just like I joined a band and BOOM! we were off.
"This is something we built from scratch and are literally behind, pushing it uphill. When we get to coast down the other side, it's going to be a really fun ride."
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