Goo Goo Dolls cofounder Robby Takac is somewhat smitten with the architectural playground known as City Museum.
“It’s my absolute favorite place in St. Louis,” Takac says. “I will literally run in there for 45 minutes whenever I can. I brought my daughter there when she was really small, and I have really wanted to bring her back ever since because, well, she was really small the last time I took her there. I’ve been there probably five or six times. I love it.”
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Whether he’ll actually get the chance to sneak in a visit when he comes to town August 21 for the Goo Goo Dolls’ Summer Anthem Tour remains to be seen, but on this particular day, Takac can’t help but gush over the one-of-a-kind attraction.
“I just love when you’re allowed to be an adult and be in those types of atmospheres,” Takac says with a smile. “They’re few and far between, so it’s amazing. I don’t know anything about the people who made that place. I just know that they must be pretty special people, because that place is unbelievable.”
A love for nostalgia and returning to one’s childhood comes in handy at a Goo Goo Dolls concert. Though it was first released in 1998, crowds still get excited to come together and sing the band’s iconic track “Iris.”
“When a song gets in people’s psyche and it’s involved in moments in their lives, it’s something special,” says Takac, who founded the group alongside the legendary John Rzeznik back in 1986 in their hometown of Buffalo, New York. “I don’t care what the connection is or the reasons behind it. It’s just awesome when it happens, because it’s rare.”
Granted, The Goo Goo Dolls have released a slew of lyrical mind-bending songs over the years such as “Black Balloon,” “Broadway” and “Name,” but the power of “Iris” has continued to propel the band to new heights.
“I’ve done ‘Iris’ in Milwaukee, and I’ve done it in the middle of a field, and I’ve done it in the middle of India, and we’ve done it in Africa,” says Takac. “Wherever we are and you get to that moment, it just changes. It’s that moment that you can’t even explain. John knocked it out of the park with that, and we’re lucky to have that moment. We’re lucky to have that enormous shadow to dodge in and out of, because it really is a gift that keeps giving.”
But while many a nostalgic band have found themselves resting on a bed of their past hits, The Goo Goo Dolls continue to churn out songs that their fans continue to devour, including new songs such as “Nothing Lasts Forever” and the all-too-relatable middle-age anthem “Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes).”
“We’re writing about where we are, and we’re at a part of our journey where most bands don’t get to be,” says Takac of the songs contained on the band’s new EP, Summer Anthem, out August 22. “We’ve had enormous peaks and valleys over the years. We’ve ridden through all this stuff at various levels of popularity, but we never stopped making new songs.”
The GRAMMY-nominated rock band also keeps touring—this time alongside fellow rock band Dashboard Confessional—much to the delight of the fans that have been with them through it all, along with the ones who have jumped on the bandwagon thanks to the viral nature of some of their biggest hits.
“I don’t even know if some people know that ‘Iris’ is an old song,” laughs Takac. “But that’s OK.”
Wherever the fans come from, Takac is happy they’re here.
“I just did eight Goo Goo Dolls shows and a fundraiser back-to-back with no days off. This life is crazy,” he says. “By now, we sort of figured we’d be playing the casinos by now…so it’s cool.”
