Gin Blossoms

Early years

Gin Blossoms was founded in 1987.^[2] During the band's early years, its members included lead guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, bassist Bill Leen, and lead vocalist Jesse Valenzuela. The lineup shifted multiple times, and other band members included Richard Taylor (rhythm guitar), Steven Severson (rhythm guitar), Chris McCann (drums), and Dan Henzerling (drums). Later, Robin Wilson replaced Severson as rhythm guitarist.^[3] The band's name comes from a photo of W.C. Fields in Kenneth Anger's book Hollywood Babylon, which bore the caption "W.C. Fields with gin blossoms", referring to the actor's telangiectasia-spotted face and rhinophymic nose by the slang term for the skin condition known as rosacea.^[4]

Gin Blossoms became well known around the band's hometown of Phoenix.^[3] In 1988, Wilson and Valenzuela had switched roles, with Wilson taking on lead vocal duties and Valenzuela concentrating on rhythm guitar.^[5] By 1989, Phillip Rhodes had replaced Henzerling on drums. Gin Blossoms independently recorded their first full-length album, Dusted,^[3] which was released in December 1989.^[6]

After being signed to A&M Records, the band began to work on their first major-label album. Initial attempts faltered and the band released an EP, Up and Crumbling, instead.^[7]

Mainstream success

Gin Blossoms named their second album New Miserable Experience. In February 1992, while still working to complete it, founding member and lead guitarist/songwriter Hopkins drank heavily and grew increasingly depressed. With the band members hesitant to fire Hopkins, A&M removed him from the band and withheld $15,000 owed to him until he agreed to sign over half of his publishing royalties and relinquish his mechanical royalties. Hopkins reluctantly agreed to these demands because of his dire financial situation.^[8] Scott Johnson was chosen by the band later that month as Hopkins' stand-in on tour; he became a permanent member in 1994.^[9]

New Miserable Experience became the band's breakthrough album.^[10] The first single released from the album was "Hey Jealousy", which had been written by Hopkins. The song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and later went gold,^[11] largely fueling the success of New Miserable Experience. Estranged from the band, Hopkins died by suicide on December 5, 1993.^[12] The following year, another song by Hopkins, "Found Out About You", also reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. New Miserable Experience eventually reached quadruple platinum status.^[11]

Between their first and second albums, Gin Blossoms contributed the single "Til I Hear It from You" for the soundtrack of the 1995 film Empire Records. It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second major album, Congratulations I'm Sorry, was released in 1996. Yielding one top-ten hit ("Follow You Down", which peaked at No. 9 Billboard Hot 100), the album went platinum.^[13] The song "As Long as It Matters" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.^[14]

With chart success came opportunities to appear as musical guests on late-night television. Between 1992 and 1996, Gin Blossoms appeared on shows such as Late Show with David Letterman (many times between 1992 and 1996), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1993, 1994, 1996), The Jon Stewart Show (1993), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1996), and as a featured musical act on Saturday Night Live (1996). One appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman featured a joint performance with Gin Blossoms and the members of Kiss, performing the latter's "Christine Sixteen". Gin Blossoms became a favorite of Late Show musical director Paul Shaffer, and their music was often featured as the show cut to and from commercials. The band was also a featured performer in the closing credits of the movie Wayne's World 2 (1993), performing "Idiot Summer" on-screen as part of the fictional concert "Waynestock".^{[citation needed]}

Breakup

Gin Blossoms broke up in 1997.^[16][17] Wilson and Rhodes launched the Gas Giants while Leen formed a band called Rai and then retired from music to operate a rare book store. Valenzuela fronted a short-lived outfit called the Low Watts, released a solo album, and kept busy writing and producing. Johnson joined another Tempe-based band, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Wilson ventured into producing as well, at his Mayberry Studios in Tempe, Arizona (now called Uranus Studios).^[18]

Reunion

Gin Blossoms reunited in 2002. In Wilson's words, "We always said our breakup wasn't forever and right now we're all feeling like we want to be Gin Blossoms again. We make a noise together that we can't make otherwise. We respect and appreciate that we need each other to create that sound. This time we hope to avoid being swallowed by the chaos."^[19]

In preparation for the band's official reunion show, Rhodes suffered a breakdown due to his ongoing battle with alcohol. Shortly after entering rehab, he was formally dismissed from the band.^[20] Following the departure of Rhodes, the band went through several drummers.^[19]

The band's fourth album, Major Lodge Victory, was originally recorded at Wilson's Mayberry Studios in Tempe. However, the album was re-recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, where the band had recorded all of their previous albums. Major Lodge Victory was released by Hybrid Recordings on August 8, 2006, and "Learning the Hard Way" was the first single. Major Lodge Victory entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 159.^[21]

Gin Blossoms released a live album, Live In Concert, on May 15, 2009. This album contains live recordings of the band's hits such as "Hey Jealousy" and "Follow You Down", as well as more recent singles such as "Learning the Hard Way" and "Long Time Gone", and a live cover version of Elton John's "Rocket Man". The band's fifth studio album, No Chocolate Cake, was released on September 28, 2010. The first single, "Miss Disarray" was released to radio stations on August 2, 2010. Over the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday the band traveled to Iraq and played a series of shows for American troops stationed there.^{[22][failed verification]}

Gin Blossoms joined Everclear, Sugar Ray, Lit, and Marcy Playground on the Summerland Tour 2012, a 31-date nationwide tour that began on June 28 in Saratoga, California and ended on August 11 in Laughlin, Nevada.^[23] In 2016, Johnson announced in an interview that the band was expected to begin recording its sixth studio album with producer Mitch Easter in the fall.^[24] Two years later, Mixed Reality was released on Cleopatra Records on June 15, 2018.^[25]

The band toured in the summer of 2019 with Collective Soul.^[26]

In January 2022 the band announced a tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of New Miserable Experience.^[27] The tour was cut short in March 2022 due to an accident in which bassist Bill Leen broke his arm.^[28]

Timeline