The Gin Blossoms' Robin Wilson On Touring With Sugar Ray, Long Island, July 8th, KISS & More
[Music] about true cats now with their Bell draw Blitz get ready to listen to your favorite art artists [Music] well Robin where are you dialing in from I know Arizona guy lived on Long Island but where you at now uh I'm in Wichita Kansas uh we are performing tonight at the Wichita River Fest and I'm coming to you live from The Drury Hotel um workout gym Health Center yeah keep them at the healthy for the masses the those 12 15 000 people tonight they're seeing a healthy lead singer that's right that's right good day too Darren thank you very much Robin long long long long long time fan over here because I loved the Gin Blossoms in the early 90s I loved the records that came since then and one thing that I'm super curious about is when you kind of realize that this was going to be forever for the rest of your life career because I remember there was The Detour at the gas giants there's been some side practice projects along the years but these days you're playing the biggest crowds that you ever have in my opinion we are we sell more tickets now than we ever did yeah I I suppose it came to realize probably about somewhere in the 2000s which were a grim time for us uh when we reunited in the early 2000s we had to start like rebuilding our fan base and rebuilding our our business and um about to do a lot of shitty gigs a lot of a lot of shitty gigs and it was uh it was uh depressing sometimes you know I heard I heard people ask this question is it something you just never you never want to be asked by your fans but they people used to come up to me all the time and say why are you playing here you know it's just something you really never want to hear and um but it was sometime in the late 2000s where things started getting slowly better and better for us like we started getting paid paid more we started selling more tickets getting bigger better festivals and things started coming around and then by time we did uh the Summerland tour in 2012 with Everclear Sugar Ray um who else was on that um Marcy Playground and um lit um and we really shined on that on that tour and we we consistently got the best reviews and the local papers and that's kind of when I realized uh we were gonna be able to just keep going for as long as we wanted you know we'd be able to just keep playing and things were getting better and better and it was also amazing to me on that tour was that we were the most like organized banned on the tour you know we we look at you know we'd look around and it seemed like we kind of had our [ __ ] together and the other bands on that bill seemed to look to us as uh uh sort of the standard and uh at least that's the impression I got and from just from things to they would say to me and so I guess it was somewhere around 2012 that I knew for sure that we were uh going to be able to just keep going until uh until we can't anymore you know I would have to imagine this point in time and tell me if I'm wrong that the Gin Blossoms have basically two sets they can do they have the like here are the eight to ten massive hits that you know and then you have the 90 to 100 minute here's the hits but here's the stuff that we really want to play and the one or two things from the latest record too like you have those two sets yeah pretty much yeah it's a good good way to put it we also have a third set if we go to uh we do a lot of private parties these days yeah and uh private like corporate functions that sort of thing yeah and we learned uh we learned several years ago that we need to toss in a bunch of cover songs when we do those things because when you're playing for a corporate event um for an audience that maybe didn't even know you were gonna be there uh you know at some convention or something they they want the hits but they don't want to it's hard to get people on the dance floor when you're playing songs like competition smile and uh you know just the B the B-side stuff so several it's probably about six years ago I remember saying to the band if we're going to do these corporate gigs we gotta we gotta toss in some really fun cover songs uh just to keep people on the dance floor so um so we've got a third set where we we have a bunch of covers in there you know does the covers list ever include Christine 16 because that was a great Letterman appearance that the band had back in the day thank you thank you yeah that was pretty cool hub of no it does it doesn't no um and you know there's a faction within the band that doesn't like doing cover songs at all and it's that is extremely bothered by it right and I don't I don't understand that uh you know I mean I didn't write every song that we do right um and certainly this member of the group uh you know didn't write a whole hell of a lot of the songs so I asked him once he's like what's the difference to you it's like you didn't write any of this material anyway you know so why what's what's the big problem with doing covers and for whatever reason he just has this thing if it's like a a point of Pride personal Integrity wants to play original music only and he gets really really really hates playing covers so uh anyway you know you can't that's just part of being in a band is you gotta deal with different opinions personalities objectives you know um we're we're lucky we've been able to work through most of that stuff and still be together after 35 years you know chalk that up to the gym blossoms being one of the most punk rock bands that people don't know is a punk rock band because one of the times I interviewed you I had the pleasure of asking about why you use particular producers and you admitted well there was Replacements influence the whole thing so in other words this band putting out this radio friendly stuff but there's humor and there's attitude behind the whole thing that's how I always looked at the gym Blossom so one of the reasons I really like the band well I appreciate that thank you that's that's nice to hear so with kiss was Kiss an influence on the band or at that time was that like a hey do you want to do this and here's an advance and you'll be on TV for the promo tour huh well for most of the band that's what it was it was just uh just a promotional opportunity but for me it was a lifelong dream come true I I literally would dream about being in kiss when I was like in the sixth grade I spent my entire the entire year of the sixth grade in my best friend's basement pretending we were in Kiss just we would put on kiss records and he would be Peter Chris and I was Paul Stanley and we would just stand at the foot of his bed pretending we were doing kiss shows and um so for me it was a lifelong dream and they were a huge influence on me as a performer as a songwriter and um so when the opportunity came up to participate in the kiss trivia record I was very enthusiastic and uh was able to you know somewhat easily convince my bandmates to go along with it and then you know I had to look through the catalog to figure out like what song would work for us as a band and you know we couldn't really do some of the you know more metallic things like uh almost human or God of Thunder Firehouse or whatever you know we had to had to look towards the poppier stuff and um Hard Luck Woman was already taken right I think Garth Brooks did that one on the on the tribute record so yeah uh I thought I I've suggested Christine 16 because it's a real pop song and oh yeah we were able to uh to get that recorded I spent a a whole day in the studio hanging out with Gene and Paul when we mixed that record and uh it was it was a huge thrill for me I got to bring my kiss lunchbox and get him to sign it and my best friend from the sixth grade I brought his copy of love gun and got it autographed and now that's framed on his on his wall and I actually I lived with him part-time when I'm in Arizona I live with my best friend Paul Paul his kids have moved away and so now I've got a room at his house and that uh autographed copy of love gun is there on the wall every time I go down the hallway nice and uh yeah I was really really happy that I could make that opportunity you know opportunity for him and then I was super proud to go on television with kiss and brunt kiss on Letterman and I'll tell you as a musician when I'm hanging out with other musicians and we're just chatting uh you know if it comes up and I say I got to front kiss on Letterman you know my my peers go holy [ __ ] are you serious you know like you you did what you know and so uh it's a lot of a lot of credibility to be able to think it goes It goes both ways I I have to add that half the people I interview play music partially in some way because of kiss and the other half of people use it as a punching bag kind of band like the other day when I was interviewing the singer of Sparta who's in that the drive-in the one band that he uses his punching bag out of nowhere unsolicited was Kiss so you never know if you're gonna meet a friend for life because they love kiss or the tractor I mean Van Halen yeah one of those yeah well yeah I suppose you're right I mean some people that you know never really were able to get into kiss you know the uh the whole thing with all the the makeup and just the wacky personalities and then you know the music itself it's uh you know a lot of it comes dangerously close to spinal tap like parody of rock and roll you know and so a lot of people just don't get it but uh I've always admired them they're they're fine Craftsmen as songwriters um they're they're the screwedest businessmen in the history of the music industry yeah and uh yeah and I love the music I absolutely love it you know another band that people that people don't understand is uh one of my favorite favorite bands in the world who I consider one of the greatest rock bands of all time is the darkness oh a lot of people a lot of people just don't don't get the darkness and they think it's some kind of a joke um and it's just nothing could be further from the truth there one of the most serious uh and uh uh and strongest rock bands in history and um it's but it's done some of the music is done very tongue-in-cheek totally and a lot of people people can't get it you know I mean I love how Fearless they are you know and it works for them I mean I could never sing I could never write a song about Vikings and make it work or you know these are these are the kind of songs I was trying to write when I was like in the fifth grade songs about you know Vikings and UFOs and stuff uh but uh the darkness that can do that and then at the same time they know how to write like a a universally understood uh love song or just anthemic rock tune um there's no nobody better the darkness have you heard his podcast by the way before I asked my last question the Justin yeah yeah Justin's Justin spread he's he's one of my heroes and uh as a rock singer I think of him as like uh an Olympian God you know I um I usually think that I'm I I know I'm a pretty good singer and I I'd like to think I'm somewhere in maybe the top 500 all-time greatest rock singers maybe one of the top 200 living and working rock singers right now Justin is number one number one living rock singer on planet Earth We're living working current rock star Justin Hawkins and a lead guitarist on top of that which you know he needed more to do but but absolutely on this and the songwriting Vision you know just the the vision of of the uh of a band leader just you know so there's none better totally well my last question before I let you go I'm dialing in from Long Beach Long Island New York New York I guess the skies are yellow oh my God the skies are yellow right now indeed and uh you've spent a lot of time in Valley Stream and when you speak to people who live in value stream they have their favorite pizza place the central the South and the north people which is your go-to pizza place out there well uh I still live there in Valley Stream nice uh yeah and my my ex-wife just sent me a picture of this guy uh [ __ ] that's where she's from um and yeah God it looks you know downright apocalyptic it is right now so so uh you know my heart goes out to you and everybody else thank you you're dealing with that right now um so my favorite pizza place in Valley Stream without a doubt is Ancona oh that and and Kona it's spelled a-n-c-o-n-a and Kona oh that's on uh it's on Rockaway downtown Valley Stream far and away so it's the best uh best pizza and you know every other pizza joint in Valley Stream or on Long Island is is great you can't throw a rock without hitting a great world-class Pizza Joint totally uh but and Kona stands out there's something about like their Grandma's Pie has a sort of a pastry sort of feel to the crust it's really light and Airy crispy um they use the best pepperonis those little pepperonis that like curl up into little cups full of grease it's so good so good and uh you know it's fun uh the uh one of the owners uh his name is Wilson and so every time I walk in it's like hey Mr Wilson and I'm like hey Mr Wilson you know uh so I like that place and then not too far from my house is another place called Genovese Pizzeria and I like Genevieve they have a bigger menu you know so you can get like lasagna or a chicken parm hero and um they deliver Genovese deliver so I I get them a lot so I don't have to leave the house um but uh yeah I uh you know it took me a long time to become to to really start to enjoy living on Long Island it wasn't really until the pandemic uh and I then I finally met all my neighbors because I spent most of the pandemic sitting on my front steps smoking pot and drinking and yeah uh so you know people come by walking their dogs and right at the beginning of the pandemic I would I bought an Arizona flag and so I'm the only guy on Long Island that flies a Arizona flag from my front porch and the neighbors have come by walking their dogs and then be like uh what flag is that you know oh my God Arizona the 48th state you know they're like Arizona you know one guy thought it was like like a Chinese flag or something huh But Eric it's sad to me because Arizona's got the maybe the best flag in the country uh it's right up there one of the best flags and you know if most people from New York have not been to Arizona and don't know much about it but umasso the next time I go to El Paso we'll go to Arizona that is a promise but you're right they have not Robin yeah yeah so I I've been able to uh spread the Arizona love a little bit on Long Island certainly when I when I first got married in the 90s my ex-wife I remember being on the phone with her the first time and I was I was back in Arizona calling her you know trying to woo her in the early days of our courtship sure and she was she was asking about Arizona and she says don't you get sand in your house and I was like what sand don't you get sand all over your house like she literally thought that Arizona was like the Sahara Desert you know or planted arrakis or whatever um so I've been able to educate a lot of people in New York about Arizona and also I want to mention that I during the pandemic I started immediately as soon as the pandemic hit we all went into lockdown I had I had the Good Fortune of having my own home recording studio and I started doing live stream broadcasts like right away and um eventually when it got warm enough I started doing live streams I started doing concerts out in my front yard for The Neighbors uh and it was a it was a great great experience for me to you know be able to entertain all my neighbors during the pandemic these were the only people in America getting quality live music in the summer of 2020 and then in um in the winter of 21 uh my house burned down uh there was an electrical fire the porch went up so one whole side of the house caught fire and I was standing out in the snow two feet of snow in my bare feet because I was in the shower when when the house caught on fire and so I had barely had enough time to grab my phone and a robe and then I was out in the snow watching the House burn and my first thought was well I have right after I called 9-1-1 and then I called my ex and then um uh I uh I was standing there watching the House burn and my first thought was my guitars oh God it was just such a terrifying thought the idea of my guitar is burning uh we were able to save the guitars and anyway it took us about a year and a half to rebuild the house I moved back in and as soon as I moved back in you know the neighbors were all coming over to shake my hand and welcome me back and the first question is when are you going to do another concert for the neighborhood and so I've been looking for an opportunity and I finally found one and so I'm gonna be live streaming for my front yard on Saturday July 8th okay coming up coming up this summer Saturday July 8th um I will be streaming live you're welcome to come bring a couple of lawn chairs a bottle of wine uh some white claw whatever it is do you like to drink and uh I'm looking forward to doing uh doing the show for my front yard I'm pretty excited that my one of my son is in a couple of bands his one of those bands is going to perform I'm going to perform with them and the little acoustic and then also I have uh from New York City uh legendary singer-songwriter Willie Nile all of you joining us yeah so Willy's going to be performing as well so we're going to be live streaming this from my front yard Saturday July 8th approximately 3 30 in the afternoon I haven't really pinned down the exact time yet it's going to depend upon when what time the Sun is going down but we'll we'll try and start about two hours before two and a half hours before sundown I and uh I'm putting that on the calendar in the article Etc and when you get along with Willie Nile you know you're good people I mean let's face it how many people on this planet just Pete Townsend like and uh likes Whitley Niles so yeah yeah he's pretty he's pretty incredible as a songwriter a performer Willie's Willy's is awesome and he's a he's a friend of my ex-wife and I went to see him recently he performed on Long Island and I was at the show and uh who I had a great great time so um yeah so anyway and my my son is in a band called uh Theo in the London outfit they play around Long Island Brooklyn Queens and whatnot they're going to be on the bill Willie and I all hand myself Saturday July 8th approximately 3 30 in the afternoon live stream well thank you for that info Robin thank you for your time welcome for the years of great great music and looking forward to everything that's um including this upcoming tour at Sugar Ray all right yeah yeah we should mention that yeah fastball tonic and Sugar Ray these are my three favorite bands to tour with uh so a good good friends with all of them we've got a lot of history with all three of these fans it's a fantastic Bill even if nobody shows up I would want to I would want to do that you know I just it's so going to be so much fun and so I'm looking forward to that and then we're playing at the Paramount on Long Island uh I believe it's September 3rd
2023-06-17 03:02
