Alternative rock band comes to Blossom on August 12 

Earlier this year, Goo Goo Dolls put out a new lyric video for “Iris” featuring never- before-seen footage taken from the original Nancy Bardawil-directed music video, giving the 1998 song yet another life.

“That’s the little song that could,” says singer-bassist Robby Takac via Zoom from Burbank, CA, where the band was rehearsing for its summer tour that brings Goo Goo Dolls to Blossom on Tuesday, Aug. 12. “Just last night, someone sang it on America’s Got Talent. It’s crazy. Every so often, it pops up somewhere else. ‘Iris’ would go to No. 1 in Belgium and we would think, ‘What the hell is this?’ Someone would have sung it on TV. That would happen occasionally. Over the past couple of years now, those moments have been happening all the time. It’s crazy."

Takac says he thinks the song has a timeless quality that's enabled it to endure.

"I think [singer-guitarist] John [Rzeznik] wrote an amazing song," he says. "Let’s just start there. The rest of it is time and place. We started saying that the world has gone upside down. Maybe the song is a little bit of chicken soup for the soul. Whatever it is, I’m happy it’s happening. It has always been a great catalyst for what we do.”

When Goo Goo Dolls first formed in Buffalo in 1986, the landscape for independent artists was much different. Groups first went after regional success before seeking national attention. The formula worked well for the Goo Goo Dolls.

“In the ‘80s, there was still regional thought," Takac says. " It’s not really that way anymore. Kids from Cleveland don’t think about being the biggest band from Cleveland. They’re out trying to conquer the world. In 1986, we wanted to make the biggest impression we could in our city. That’s where we started. Our hometown got bigger and bigger as we started touring around the country."

Takac says Buffalo has always had a great music scene, and it's a reasonable place to live too. That fosters talent.

"Cleveland has the same advantages," he says. "You don’t have to worry about paying 3500 dollars a month in rent to do what you have to do. You can focus on making something happen. It’s always been a great city for music.”

Early on, Takac says he took advantage of his uncle’s record collection and used it to develop his love for rock ‘n’ roll.

“My uncle had a record collection that was a little cooler than my dad’s,” he says. “He listened to everything, from Sly and the Family Stone to the Stones, and he had a Tom Fogerty record I liked too. I was a Stones kids versus a Beatles kid. That’s a delineation for our age.”

Initially, the group had a heavier sound. When the group played live, it took some fans by surprise.

“I think we were just doing what we could back then and making the records we were able to make,” says Takac. “We thought they were more musical than they were.”

The group played "some acoustic stuff" as early as late ‘80s and began to hone its ability to write and play ballads, something that would enable its commercial success.

“Prior to [1995's] 'Name,' we did [1993's] ‘We Are the Normal,'" says Takac. "It had Mary Ramsey from 10,000 Maniacs playing viola and [Replacements frontman] Paul Westerberg helped write some lyrics. That was the first time people looked at us in a different way. Their heads titled. We went out and shared the hell out of secretaries across the country as we played radio shows."

The band is currently at work on new material and just released the poppy new single, "Nothing Lasts Forever."

“The next album will be our 15th album if you count an EP,” says Takac. “That’s a lot of fucking records. This new on will be a little shorter. Last year, we worked all year. The plan was to take the year off and just play a few gigs to keep the lights on and pay the guys. More dates started coming in. We went to Australia and Africa. We did a lot of recording at our homes and some in New York. We’re mixing it right now. Within the next few days, we’ll be finalizing the artwork.”

Takac says the band is aware that fans come to shows to hear the hits, and he says Goo Goo Dolls aim to please.

“You don’t want anyone to leave disappointed," he says. "For a band that has been together almost 40 years now, we have a lot of songs. It gets harder and harder to figure out what the 110 minutes will be like. You don’t want to drop stuff out. There are folks who might mean something. We're working on a couple of covers and new stuff in the Tom Petty vein. [Indie rockers] Dashboard Confessional will be out with us. They emotionally connect with people in the way that our music does. It’s going to be a great summer.”