Hey hey In Rockers and welcome to this months’ installment of Robby’s Lobby, my first actually written in this new year 2023 and it’s been a crazy month for us here in snowy Buffalo, NY! We began with a Christmas Eve blizzard they called the “storm of the century” here in our Western New York community, nearly 7 feet of snow fell on the city over a few days, paralyzing the city, causing power outages and stranding motorists all over the city. I’ve been living here for many, many years, since I was born actually, and I’ve never experienced a storm of this severity. As a result we all unfortunately missed Christmas Day gatherings with our families as there was a driving ban in effect in the city of Buffalo until the 28th of December! But we had a nice time cozy in our home and my wife and daughter and I celebrated Christmas just with our little family unit with some time for the kids in the neighborhood to climb the snow mountains left by the plows outside our homes!

Despite the storm the city was eventually cleaned up and on New Years Eve Goo Goo Dolls performed 2 shows at a Casino in the historic Niagara Falls, NY right outside Buffalo. It was the 20th Anniversary of the Casinos opening and they celebrated with a ticketed VIP black tie formal dinner in the ballroom where we played a short set, in all honesty it was a little stuffy, but still a lot of fun. Our families and friends got to come to the show and enjoy having a table at the event, it was a nice warmup for the second set which was a free show for the general public in the Casino right on the main gambling floor!

We played about 20 feet in the air on a tiny little stage overlooking the casino and rang in the new year with about 6000 folks who were all charged up and eagerly looking forward to a great 2023! Everyone had a great time at the show, it was nice to see everyone after a couple of months off! I said my goodbyes and got/gave some New Years wishes and I made my way back to my room to wake my sleeping family at the Casino hotel to pack my bag and catch a car to the airport. I wouldn’t get much sleep, but that is ok with me because my family was headed to a vacation in Kauai, Hawaii for some sunshine and some time in the ocean!

I had been to Kauai before for a show with the band, but I had never been there for a leisure trip, I have to say having been to many of the Hawaiian Islands over the years, I think it may be my favorite. There’s such a laid back vibe there, it really makes you decompress and allows you to exhale for a minute with all of the chaos of life seemingly behind you (until you return home of course). We went snorkeling, horseback riding and enjoyed a fire show and daily extended visits to the beach! Coupled with our favorite Hawaiian plate lunches, some delicious trips for kaki gori, pineapple and all the treats and goodies that a Hawaiian vacation has to offer!

We returned home from Hawaii suntanned and a little jet lagged and as predicted real life was here waiting for us, I’m headed to NY in a few days to do some recording at Gregg Wattenberg’s studio with Goo Goo Dolls, we‘ve got a few dates around the US and Mexico over the next couple of months before a full tour of the UK and a North American tour with OAR this summer and more extended US touring to be announced later this month!

Hope all’s well with you all as 2023 begins to show it‘s path for us all, our Good Charamel Records label is releasing a new album on February 15th by Osaka’s legendary Shonen Knife in February called “Our Best Place” available on Good Caramel in North America and on P-Vine in Japan! Check it out, they are still making music to make you smile no we’re still so proud of being a part of bringing their magic to US audiences and sharing a small piece of Japan’s culture with North America! That’s it for me this month, I’m all out of space! But let’s catch up next time right here in the pages of In Rock! Have a great month and we’ll see you all so9n!

Peace,
Robby