Goo Goo Dolls bringing ‘Chaos’ to crowds on “incredible” summer tour

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Goo Goo Dolls are on tour in support of their new album, Chaos In Bloom. As the title of the album suggests, some of the songs are about the general topsy-turvy state of the world over the past couple of years. And as front man John Rzeznik explains, there was no shortage of material to inspire him.

“Y’know, these are really interesting times,” he tells ABC Audio. “Not necessarily good times, but there was a lot to draw from.” In fact, at one point, he says, he opened the door of his L.A. recording studio and literally found himself in the middle of a protest on Sunset Boulevard.

“Yeah, the album covers those those kind of topics…the world falling apart, and then trying to be hopeful,” he notes. “But I mean, there’s just so much going on. It was hard not to comment on it in some kind of way.”

Protests weren’t the only reason why making Chaos In Bloom was challenging. John damaged his voice and then his elbow, so he couldn’t sing or play the guitar for a while, and four out of five band members got COVID. But the album’s out, and a few new songs — “Going Crazy,” “Yeah, I Like You” and “War” — are now part of the set list.

“I try to get into the new songs really quickly so that nobody has a chance to leave to go to the bathroom,” John laughs. He says overall, the tour, which was postponed several times due to COVID, has been a great experience.

“The shows have been incredible…the audience has been great. And I think I think being away for a couple years helped that,” John says. “People are in this frame of mind…they just want to be out and having a good time.”