When the Goo Goo Dolls single “Iris” was released following its inclusion on the soundtrack of the 1998 film “City of Angels,” no one had any idea what started out as an add-on cut for the film would become one of the best-selling singles of all time. Nearly three decades later, this ubiquitous ‘90s power ballad has experienced a rebirth.
In addition to the Goos playing it alongside contestant Mattie Pruitt on the Season 23 finale of “American Idol” in May, a clip of the band performing the song at Coachella’s Stagecoach Festival in April went viral on social media platforms.
It was a large enough moment to fuel a significant uptick in ticket sales for the Goo Goo Dolls’ Summer Anthem Tour 2025 with Dashboard Confessional that stops Tuesday at Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park.
It’s all been pretty humbling for founding members Robby Takac (bassist and vocalist) and John Rzeznick (frontman and guitarist).
“We played the Stagecoach Festival at Coachella (in Indio, California) and it was crazy because Instagram and TikTok exploded with Goo Goo Dolls that weekend,” Takac said in a recent interview. “It was that and ‘American Idol.’ John played at Demi Lovato’s wedding. It all happened on the same weekend. We played Stagecoach and the next day, when all those kids woke up, they all posted their videos. We sold 15,000 tickets that day for our tour, which is insane. That’s like four times the amount of tickets we would sell. We’ve been pretty fortunate recipients and gotten a lot of advantage from these social media outlets. These viral moments are really driving things right now.”
Founded in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, Goo Goo Dolls evolved from being a scrappy punk-leaning outfit lumped in alongside peers the Replacements and Soul Asylum to becoming a guitar-driven pop act that’s churned out a series of Top 40 hits. And while the 1995 single “Name” was a breakthrough hit, that song lit the fuse for the commercial explosion that followed with “Iris.”
“Iris” “was phase two of everything changing,” Takac recalled. “We did ‘Name’ and definitely felt like there was a shift there. When we were doing ‘Iris,’ it was before we recorded (the album) “Dizzy Up the Girl.” We recorded it for the “City of Angels” soundtrack. It was recorded as a one-off with (producer) Rob Cavallo. We went in and recorded just the body of the song with the idea of putting strings on it. We brought (arranger) David Campbell aboard and, after playing the song for him, he thought it should be a huge production.
“I remember John and I were sitting on the floor, looking through the studio glass and these 30 people were setting up in the studio getting ready to record and doing that stereotypical orchestra tuning,” Takac continued. “We looked at each other and there was an era beginning. We didn’t know what was happening, but we knew something was happening. As far as having a hit record, that was really the last thing on our minds.”
With the band staring at its 40th anniversary next year, Goo Goo Dolls could easily transition into becoming a ‘90s alt-pop nostalgia act. Instead, Rzeznick has been in the studio mixing the band’s yet-untitled 15th studio album, set to drop in August. Amid these developments, Takac is looking forward to this summer’s tour.
“You’re going to hear a whole bunch of great songs in one night, which I think is a great thing,” he said. “I feel like Dashboard Confessional is really a songwriter’s band. They came up a little later than we did, but I think the crowds are going to be amazing,” seeing the two bands on one bill.
Credit: (Courtesy of Bob Mussel)
Credit: (Courtesy of Bob Mussel)
With plenty of material to sift through, Takac admits it’s a first-world challenge to craft set lists. Longtime fans will be happy to know that the Goos occasionally go as far back as the 1990 album “Hold Me Up” for material. For the two longtime friends and bandmates, song choices can occasionally be the source of disagreements.
“Some of the biggest arguments we get into arise from our trying to put a set list together,” Takac said. “I know some people do this, but we can’t do three-hour shows every night. It would just kill us — we do too many shows. We have to figure out the 23 or 24 songs we can come out and play. We have the dirty dozen, the ones you’re pretty sure you’ve got to play. Most of those make it in. That’s what the arguments end up being about. Then we have a whole bunch of B-sidesy songs that we’ve always loved and have been crowd favorites over the years. We have quite an arsenal of those.”
He added, “We have cover songs that we like to throw in and some new songs. You’re picking and choosing from all that and trying to figure out how to bring it in under a couple of hours without boring the hell out of people. As John has said, it’s a luxury to have too many songs.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Goo Goo Dolls
7:30 p.m. Tuesday. With Dashboard Confessional. $78.25-$676.50. Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park, 4469 Stella Drive NW, Atlanta. synovusbankampatchastainpark.com.
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