Exclusive: Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik on Buffalo sports, Los Angeles & more

By Darren Paltrowitz

Modified May 02, 2019 01:50 GMT

With over 12 million albums worldwide, four GRAMMY® Award nominations and 14 Top 10 hits at Hot AC radio -- "the most of any artist in history” -- the rock band known as The Goo Goo Dolls has been doing things at a high level for well over 20 years.

Last year, The Goo Goo Dolls celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of its Dizzy Up The Girl studio album with a big tour. In addition, in 2018 the group released a new live album, The Audience Is That Way (The Rest of The Show), Vol. 2 via Warner Bros. Records.

Currently, beyond working on its 12th studio album, The Goo Goo Dolls will be hitting the road for a big co-headlining tour with Train this summer. The tour -- kicking off on June 7th in Auburn, Washington -- is part of Live Nation's National Concert Week promotion in which select tickets are $20. That promotion launched today and runs through May 7th.

While speaking with Goo Goo Dolls singer/guitarist Johnny Rzeznik by phone, I threw in a few questions about sports on behalf of Sportskeeda. The full interview will be airing in the near-future via the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast.

I know that you've been living in L.A. for a lot of your life now...

John Rzeznik: I'm out of L.A...

Oh where do you live these days? Are you back in Buffalo?

John Rzeznik: No, I'm not back in Buffalo, though my wife and I were talking about it the other day. Yeah it might be cool, but we live in New Jersey, like a half an hour from the city [of New York] because my wife worked in the city. Yeah it's beautiful, it's a nice little town. I can take my daughter out and run around, you know? No worries. All the neighbors know each other, though, so it's different than Los Angeles.

We decided to move back a couple years ago when my wife was pregnant and I was like, "That's it!" At least for me L.A. isn't a great place to raise a kid... I mean, I was in West Hollywood, in the hills. So it's kind of like, "I don't think that's a really great environment for a kid," you know?

Well your bandmate Robby also moved back to Buffalo when he had a ki . So I guess that's that's such a bad idea. But when I was in Niagara Falls last year I saw that in the back in the Hard Rock Cafe that they had a Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame and there was an item or two I think from Robby in there . I'm curious if you still feel connected in general to Buffalo.

John Rzeznik: Most of my family still lives there. Most of the people I call friends are still living there. I go there to see my family like four five times a year... I don't know, my mind, my heartstrings keep kind of putting me back in that direction...

My wife's family's lives right around us [in New Jersey]. Her whole family lives really close to us which is great... This is not very "rock star s**t to talk about. (laughs)

So being so tied to Buffalo, are you still a Bills fan? Or did your years in California turn you into more of a Raiders or Rams kind of guy?

John Rzeznik: I'm going to go with, "I love the Sabres." Back in the 90s, it was just the whole losing four Super Bowl thing I was just like, "This is it. I can't take it anymore. I'm never watching a football game again." It was just too much for me and I tuned out completely. I'm not a big sports guy, but you've got to root for the Sabres.