Goo Goo Dolls bring new ideas to upcoming Rose Music Center concert

Robby Takac (left) and John Rzeznik, who cofounded the Goo Goo Dolls (vocals, guitar) in Buffalo, NY in 1986, perform at Rose Music Center in Huber Heights on Wednesday, Aug. 2. CONTRIBUTED

Robby Takac (left) and John Rzeznik, who cofounded the Goo Goo Dolls (vocals, guitar) in Buffalo, NY in 1986, perform at Rose Music Center in Huber Heights on Wednesday, Aug. 2. CONTRIBUTED

Goo Goo Dolls’ 11th studio album, “Boxes” (Warner Bros. Records), was released in May 2016 but the rockers wasted little time getting back in the studio. Twelve months later, Goo Goo Dolls, performing at Rose Music Center in Huber Heights on Wednesday, Aug. 2, released the EP, “You Should Be Happy.”

Robby Takac (bass, vocals), who cofounded the Goo Goo Dolls with John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar) in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1986, recently discussed the five-song release.

Short-attention-span fans: "For the past few years, we've been talking about how the attention spans are very short these days. It seems like when you release an album, it's already time to do something else. We've been toying with the idea of putting out some EPs along the way, but never really did."

READ THIS NEXT: UD’s ‘no hazing’ lady has been protesting for 18 years: ‘I promise you I will not go away’

Bite-sized album: "With this tour coming up, we thought it would be a good opportunity for us to be able to just record a few songs. Rather than putting out a single, we recrafted a couple of things and came up with some new ideas. It was something that was bite-sized for the time we had. We were able to go in, make it happen and feel great about it and then we put out between these summer trips."

Writing in the studio: "Our songwriting process has changed a lot. We're not necessarily going into a producer with a dozen songs anymore to make a full album. We're coming in with an idea that we bring to fruition in the studio and move onto the next thing. It was almost like we were grooming ourselves to get in and record a couple of songs for an EP."

Did you know: 2 of Dayton’s most famous people were high school buddies

Audio snapshot: "An EP isn't necessarily representative of what a band is able to do but sometimes it makes sense to do something shorter like that. I'm not saying we're never going to do another full-length album but this was a cool step."

On the road again: "The music industry was the record business, and now it's become a touring business. We toured a lot anyway, so the change in the industry wasn't a big deal to us. There are a lot of bands that would do 35 dates a year and that would pretty much be it for them. We're used to 100 shows a year so it wasn't a big deal but we do still travel pretty hard. And I'm not 30 anymore, so that's adds another whole level to it but we're killing it still."


Want to go?

WHO: Goo Goo Dolls with Phillip Phillips

WHERE: Rose Music Center, 6800 Executive Blvd., Huber Heights

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2

COST: $50-$70

MORE INFO: 937-228-2323 or www.ticketmaster.com

ARTIST INFO: www.googoodolls.com

About the Author