When the Goo Goo Dolls single “Iris” was released on April 1, 1998, following its inclusion on the soundtrack of the 1998 film “City of Angels,” no one had any idea what started as an add-on cut for the film would wind up becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Nearly three decades later, this ubiquitous ‘90s power ballad has experienced a modern-day rebirth and will be on full display when the band hits the stage at Jones Beach on Saturday, Aug. 2.
The song’s current popularity was spurred by a number of circumstances.
In addition to the Goos playing it alongside contestant Mattie Pruitt on the season finale of American Idol, a clip of the band performing the song at Coachella’s Stagecoach Festival went viral on several social media platforms.
It was a large enough moment to fuel a significant uptick in ticket sales for the band’s upcoming Summer Anthem Tour 2025, which they’ll be undertaking with Dashboard Confessional. It’s all been pretty humbling for founding members Robby Takac and John Rzeznick.
“We played the Stagecoach Festival at Coachella and it was crazy because Instagram and TikTok exploded with Goo Goo Dolls that weekend,” Takac explained. “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 have gotten a lot of advantages from these social media outlets. These viral moments are driving things right now.”
Founded in 1986 in Buffalo, 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 felt like there was a shift there. When we were doing ‘Iris,’ it was before we recorded “Dizzy Up the Girl.” We recorded it for the “City of Angels” soundtrack. It was recorded as a one-off with Rob Cavallo. As far as having a hit record, that was the last thing on our minds.”
With the band staring at its 40th anniversary next year, it would be easy for Goo Goo Dolls to transition into becoming a ‘90s alt-pop nostalgia act. But instead, Rzeznick is in the studio mixing the band’s yet-untitled 15th studio album set to drop in August while the band is playing a 48-date tour with Chris Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional.
Rzeznick and Takac cut their teeth banging around in a van and playing for anywhere from 10 to 15 people to a couple of thousand ticketholders in the early days. Suffice it to say that Takac is very much looking forward to this upcoming jaunt.
“I think as a whole, you’re going to hear a whole bunch of great songs in one night, which I think is a great thing,” he said. “It’s one of the things I’m most excited about. I feel like Dashboard Confessional is a songwriter’s band.
They came up a little later than we did, but I think the crowds are going to be amazing together. We’ve met Chris a few times and he’s a great guy, along with a couple of other guys from the group. We’re looking forward to that. It’s going to be a great summer.”
While “Name” lit the fuse for the M-80 of commercial success that was “Iris,” the blue-collar sweat equity infused into the first decade of the Goo Goo Dolls’ history was the blueprint for later success.
The D.I.Y. notion of putting in the work, hopping in a van to play markets large and small around the country and visiting as many radio stations to spread the Goo Goo Dolls gospel. It’s a wild ride that Takac even has a hard time believing happened in an age where so many current artists have the gift of technology.
“I feel like it’s an era gone by,” he said. “But there’s also a whole other set of resources and tools people have now that they just didn’t have back then. For us, it was a four-track cassette recorder and a Xerox machine. That’s what we built our careers on when we were kids. Now, you can make a record in your house.”
The Goo Goo Dolls will be appearing on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, 1000 Ocean Parkway, Wantagh. For more information, visit www.jonesbeach.com or call 800-745-3000.
