Transcript of the Yahoo! Chat with the GGD!

Yahoomc: OK, everyone -- the Goo Goo Dolls are here --
John is joining us right now!

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Hello everybody!

quickiegrrl asks: Would you rather be angelically good,
divinely beautiful, or dazzlingly clever and why?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I think I'd like to be dazzingly clever because
the other two seems like they would get boring after a while.

belcat5 asks: I was visiting the BMI site, and noted that John is
listed as a co-writer on Slave Girl.. I always thought that was a
cover, did John co-write that song?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: No, I never wrote that song. I don't know how that
happened, that's wrong. That's a cover by a band called Lime Spiders.
Thanks for the tip-off?

maygirl33 asks: john... what is the tatoo on your right arm?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I have two on my right arm. vh1_goo_goo_dolls: One is Japanese Kanji.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The other one is a tatoo of a Picasso painting called The Dream.

terhurab asks: HOW MANY TATOOS DO YOU HAVE, AND WHY DO YOU HAVE
ONE OF PICASSO'S WORKS PAINTED ON YOUR ARM?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I just thought it was a really beautiful painting.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And it just struck a special feeling inside of me, and if I
wouldn't hang it on my while I wouldn't have it scratched into my body.

luv_johnny_goo asks: What has been the biggest sacrifice you have made for this band?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: LOL! My fallen arches! Just kidding!
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I don't know...a lot of times I miss having some privacy, and anonymity.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: That would be nice. But I'm grateful that the band is doing so well.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And we work all the time, so it would be nice to have some time off.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: But I enjoy what I'm doing, so it's not so much of a sacrifice.

karen_brit asks: I think you are a very honest, real talented and amazing writer,
what do you like to write about, and where do you write at?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I write mostly on the couch in the living room at 3AM,
that's where I do most of my writing.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The most important thing is when a real idea comes to you,
you have to seize it and kind of wrestle it to the ground and turn it into
something real as soon as possible.

Yahoomc: Hey, Robby just joined us -- How's it going Robby?
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: Hi, it's Monday in Columbus, probably the most
exciting place you could be!

wakkohead asks: johnny and robby...when you write music, do you write it
for all parts, or do the others just make up their own part to your song?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: I seem have a pretty clear idea of what I want
to hear from the other musicians in the band, but I don't tell anybody exactly what to play.

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: If somebody wants to embellish an idea, that's cool, but
I basically, at a core level, tend to know what I want to hear.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: I don't play guitar, my knowledge of the instrument
is not that great. So I just come up with the core part of what I do.

josie501 asks: Robby, I saw you at the VEgas show (which was great).
Whats with the no shoes thing?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: Because I play the bass, the stage rumbles, and
I like to feel it on my feet.

lbhod asks: John what was the first instrument you played and at what age?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: I played the accordian, I was probably 8 or 9.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And if I told you why accordian, I'd have to kill you!

GOOGOO_FOR_MY_DOLL_JOHNNY asks: I sing your songs in the shower, whose do you sing?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: Wow. I don't know, sometimes Frank Sinatra, sometimes,
you know, The Tubes.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: Probably BJ Thomas.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head!

dlh3412 asks: What exactly is Rock the Boat? You guys are doing shows at
naval bases around the United States?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: That's some stuff coming up in the fall, it's
mostly in Europe, and the US I guess.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: We're just lining up some shows to play on an aircraft
carrier and some military installations, to play for the guys and gals who
are stuck in those places, and are far from him, to let them know people are thinking about them.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Most of those people are kids, 18, 19 years old, who were
listening to our records six months ago with their idiot friends!
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Now they're in the military, and we thought it would be a
good idea to entertain them if we had the chance.

clockwise_rhyme asks: As an animal lover myself, do you really tour with your dog??

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: The dog came out for a couple of days and that was it.
And then someone got the idea that she was out with me all the time.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: No, Cloe is at home with her mother.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: It's a yellow lab.

UnLcKyOneS asks: Hey Goo's! My name is Sonya and I was wondering if
it's a drag being away from home so long?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: Yeah, it's always a drag being away from your
close people, but it's a pretty cool job, really.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: You were asking about sacrifices before, one of the
biggest sacrifices is not having that stability and having a place to go
back to everyday on that level, you know?

coffeegrrl3 asks: I want to apply to Buffalo State College- is it a good pick?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: Yes, I went to Buf State, yeah, if you want to
chase boys and drink beers, that's the place to go.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: If you want a real education...not that you can't get
an education, but I got more from my extracurricular activities!
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: When you were there the pub opened at 9 AM!

terhurab asks: Since Im going to be in Buffalo this coming Spring,
where are some cool places I can visit?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: You have to go to the Elmwood Lounge to see Lance Diamond, of course.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: You have to Duff's for chicken wings, arguably better than Anchor Bar. vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And the Albright Knox Art Museum, is amazing, huge, one of the biggest collections of modern art in the country.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And Buffalo has a deep historical past.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The Historical Museum is really amazing, you can get an
idea of what Buffalo is about, the glory days.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: And it's 1 1/2 hours from Toronto, and about an hour from Letchworth
State Park, and that's probably one of the most scenic beautiful places in the country, I think.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: And of course Niagara Falls is about 20 minutes away.

one_nut_looey asks: Do you think it was harder or easier to get a record deal
coming from Buffalo as apposed to bands from L A or New York?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: That is a good question. It depends, on what you are looking for.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I think with phone, fax and the Internet, and making the right connections,
I think it's easier now than ever to be a band from wherever. I think it's important to
get in your van and play for people in cities like that.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: But with MP3 it's going to be OK to be based in your own town,
rather than NY or LA which are not easy cities to deal with if you are struggling.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: I don't think back at that point it was very difficult.
You have to remember that our first deal was like a $750 deal.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: But once you get your record out, you have to go out and play, play, play.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: We settled for something that was pretty meager at the time.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Johnny: But we were an alternative rock band at the time, which meant
an alternative to Ratt, Poison, Winger, Saigon Kick.

Lynne_16_83 asks: Johnny: your music has changed since the last album, you seem
to play a lot softer and with more feeling, is there a reason for that?
by the way i live in Ohio near Columber, in Shelby

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: I think there is some dark, heavy stuff on this record.
People change, it's a natural progression for me, I have to remain honest with
myself musically and lyrically.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The songs come to me, I don't necessarily go looking for them,
and when they come I have to take them as they are.

Rinoa asks: Robby, I think your singing voice is really unique. Why have you done
less songs in "Dizzy Up the Girl" than in other albums?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: How's that for a pretensious answer.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Because I didn't write any more.

Emily1231 asks: Robby? What were you like when u were in school...were you
popular or a dork or a gothic?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: LOL! Actually, Gothic skipped a few centuries until a few years ago.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: When Robby was in school, Gothic was a kind of architecture.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: I played trombone in the school band, and at the same time
I played electric guitar and broke bottles in the woods with the other kids. I didn't
really fit into those groups, I was just kind of hanging out.

GooLady asks: John, do you still have the little car that my son gave you?
The black hot wheel?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: Yeah! Absolutely, it sits on my amp every night when I play.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Thank you to him again!

jrk8675309 asks: If you had to choose one of your 6 albums to represent your music,
which would you choose and why?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Hmm. Well, I think each of the records represents us at that
particular time, you know. So that's a hard one to answer, I can't pick one and
say it's my favorite or most representative of the band.

a_lemondrop_4u asks: John: Do you feel that the select singles that are played the
most on the airwaves encompass the band that you guys really are?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: Hmm. They represent certainly a portion of what this band is.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: We unfortunately don't have control over what the record company picks for singles.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The bottom line of it is if it weren't a legitimate part of what the band is about and what I am as a songwriter, then it wouldn't be on the record.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: I think it's representative of what radio plays and the songs
that wind up on the radio.

StoneCold713 asks: How do you react to people that say that "Iris" is one of the
greatest songs of the '90s?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: I giggle and say thank you. I don't know.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Who knows? Who knows? To some people it is the greatest song of the 90's,
to some people, they hate it.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: To those that like it, thank you, to those who hate it, oh well, go listen to Korn.

brad_call asks: so when are you guys gonna start recording a new album??

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Robby: This tour will probably go thru the New Year, to Feb. or March.
Then take some time off, try to get a life, get some songs around then.
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: Then when it's time to go in and do the next record, we'll do it. I would
imagine around fall of 2000 we'll get to it.

MikesGooAngel asks: Robby how long have u liked pez?

vh1_goo_goo_dolls: PEZ is good. Actually interesting story.. When I was a little kid,
probabyl in kindergarten,
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: I was so frantically eating Pez, that I actually swallowed the little
plastic Pez at the bottom, and I had to be rushed to the emergency room so they could
dislodge it from my throat.

twodays_infeb asks: So, who won the Backyard BBQ?????

Yahoomc: (drum roll)
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: Drum roll!!!! BLBLBLBLBLBL!!!!!!!!!!
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: The potential winner is -- Brian A. from the Los Angeles area. Now he just has to get his neighbors and community approval. And we can't give out his full name so people don't crash the party, or go camp at his house!
vh1_goo_goo_dolls: John: We're going to be on Rock Line tonight and thank you for all you interesting questions!
Yahoomc: That's it folk -- Sorry this one was so short
Yahoomc: The guys have an interview with RockLine right now
Yahoomc: You can hear that tonight
Yahoomc: and Congratulations to Brian A. from the Los Angeles area
Yahoomc: He was the winner of VH1's Backyard Bar-B-Q with the Goo Goo Dolls
Yahoomc: For those of you who are wondering...
Yahoomc: Rockline is a nationally syndicated radio show
Yahoomc: It is aired on stations across the country
Yahoomc: Check with your local radio rock radio station to find out if they air it!
Yahoomc: You can hear the interview with the Goo Goo Dolls tonight
Yahoomc: and keep checking with VH1 for details on the Backyard Bar-B-Q
Yahoomc: The 'potential' winner is Brian A. -- He has to check with his neighbors and the local authorities to make sure it's OK