Tomorrow We Can Drive Around This Town, And Let The Cops Chase Us Around...

(From Left To Right)
(Robin Wilson, Bill Leen,Philip Rhodes, Jesse Valenzuela(far right), and Doug Hopkins)

It's official... The Gin Blossoms are finally coming to Manila!

That said, I can't think of any better reason to kick off Radio Free Pop's Artist In Spotlight series that with nineties alt. veterans, the Gin Blossoms.

Personally, I hold the Gin Blossoms high on my list of favorite bands. Doug Hopkins, the band's former lead guitarist/primary songwriter has been incredibly influential on my own songwriting, so do expect a separate entry dedicated to Doug sometime soon.

The Gin Blossoms made their debut on Christmas night 1987, featuring the original line-up of Doug Hopkins and Richard Taylor on guitars, Bill Leen on bass, Chris McCann on bass, and Jesse Valenzuela on vocals. Not long after, Chris McCann and Richard Taylor were replaced, respectively, by Philip Rhodes and Robin Wilson, who would later take on Jesse's place and serve as the band's lead vocalist.

Doug Hopkins was already a legend in his own respect in the fledgling Arizona music scene that also spawned the likes of the Meat Puppets, Dead Hot Workshop, and the Refreshments.

One of the Gin Blossoms' early distinctions was their work ethic when it came to touring and preforming. They were true road warriors and would often play nine gigs in the span of a week. They were infamous for sidelining on Tuesday nights as the Del Montes. As legend has it, the name spurred from former drummer, Chris McCann, who would evade his probation meetings to preform with the band. Over time, the name stuck as the band graced themselves with a myth akin' to that of the Traveling Wilbury's assigned nicknames. As it followed, Robin was "Bif Del Monte, Jesse was "Pablo Del Monte", Doug was the legendary "Otis Del Monte", Bill was "Soup-bone Del Monte", and Philip was "Guido Del Monte".

With their increasing popularity, the band independently recorded their first album, Dusted in 1989. The album featured early versions of what would become the band's first hit singles, "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You", as well as fan favorites such as "Lost Horizons" and "Keli Richards". What I love about Dusted is how raw the songs sound; if anything, the songs are incredibly fast. In an interview with Identitytheory.com, Wilson commented, "I can't listen to that record because it just sounds like we're The Chipmunks. We're just blasting through everything at a hundred sixty beats-a-minute. There's just no discipline, and we were undisciplined—we were a bunch of young, drunken rock-n-rollers."

Another thing that makes Dusted such a worthwhile album are the lost gems such as "Girls Can't Wait", "Slave Dealer's Daughter", "I Can Sleep", and "Fireworks". While hard to come by, the album can be purchased in the band's gigs and their website.

Not long after Dusted's release, the band secured a contract with A&M Records. The band made attempts at recording an album, before coming out with the EP Up & Crumbling. The Up & Crumbling recording sessions spawned a host of unreleased demos in the form of "Blue Eyes Bleeding", "Fallen For You", and "My Biggest Date".

After touring in support of Up & Crumbling, the band returned to the studio to record what would become New Miserable Experience. The band recruited producer John Hampton, known for his work with the likes of the Replacements and Alex Chilton (artists that had greatly influenced the band).

However, tragedy occurred during the recording sessions when pressure from A&M Records forced the band to fire Doug Hopkins, who's depression and drinking had taken a toll during recording. Following the album's completion, the band recruited friend, Scott Johnson, and returned to the road, in support of New Miserable Experience.

Not long after his departure with the band, Doug Hopkins formed the Chimeras with Mark and Lawrence Zubia. The band saw a style that meshed blues with the Gin Blossoms' signature sound. Many of Hopkins' later tunes such as "My Guardian Angel", "Long Last Lonely Mile", and "Southbound Train" were survived by the Chimeras, who, by 1997 changed their names to the Pistoleros, after signing with Hollywood Records.

"Hey Jealousy" was released as the album's first single. It got the distinction for being "the single that couldn't die", as the song held itself in the US Billboard charts for weeks until reaching 25 on the Billboard Top 100. The song spawned three music videos and was succeeded with "Found Out About You", "Alison Road", and "Until I Fall Away".

It was during this time that the band finally caught their big break. Sadly, it was overshadowed by Doug Hopkins' suicide.

The band continued to tour and remnants from this can be found on the promotional EP Shut Up & Smoke and the 2003 DVD release of Just South of Nowhere, which showcased unreleased favorites, "Everywhere", and "What?". To many, this proved that the band were still capable of writing amazing songs without the support of Doug Hopkins.

In 1995, the band contributed "Til I Hear It From You" to the soundtrack to Empire Records. The song reached number number nine on Billboard's Hot 100 and would further strengthen the band to their next release, Congratulations... I'm Sorry, which was released in the February of 1996. The album's lead single, "Follow You Down" would become the band's follow up success to "'Til I Hear It From You". The band continued to tour as "Day Job" and "As Long As It Matters" were released as singles later that year.

It was in the spring of 1997 when the band unexpectedly announced their break-up. Following the release of the compilation, Outside Looking In: The Best of The Gin Blossoms, the band reunited in late 1999 for a New Years Eve concert.

During the hiatus, the band went on to focus on different projects. Jesse Valenzuela released his solo-album, Tunes Young People Will Enjoy. Scott Johnson joined former Refreshments front-man, Roger Clyne in the Tempe-based, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers. Robin Wilson kept busy by producing and forming the Gas Giants with Philip Rhodes, and one-time Gin Blossom, Dan Henzerling. The band went on to record 1999's From Beyond The Back Burner. Wilson would also go onto to form the Poppin' Wheelies, a fictional band for a proposed cartoon similar to that of the Archies and Josie And The Pussycats. An album based on the cartoon was released in September of 2001.

The band reunited in 2002, which prompted A&M Records to release a two-disc Deluxe Edition of New Miserable Experience (which is now unjustly out-of-print) and the DVD of Just South of Nowhere. The band continued touring and after the departure of Philip Rhodes, the band recorded their first album in ten years, Major Lodge Victory, which featured the single "Learning The Hard Way". This August will see the release of their sixth release, No Chocolate Cake, with "Miss Disarray" a song that's already become a fan favorite at shows, as the album's lead single.

For me, what show's the Gin Blossoms' strength is how they managed to remain relevant all this time. People still know this band, people continue to seek out this band among all amazing artists the 90's had to offer, and the reason for that is simply their music. It's inviting and friendly, yet, it evokes a lot of things within by the using the simple everyday poetry of life and relationships that we often take for granted. That's always been the beauty of the Gin Blossoms.

I remember the first time I really got into them. I was sixteen, and I'm twenty one now, and they were a band I remembered from my childhood, and I was lucky enough to have caught "Found Out About You" on MYX, that was the first time I heard the song too, and even before I went to the store to buy their album or even look them up online, the sound of that song struck a nerve inside me. It was almost as if I was experiencing deja-vu. I had this swirl of lost images and emotions coming up and that was strengthened even more, when I got their Best of cd, played it, and took the time to listen to these simplistically beautiful lyrics that we're just haunting.... And I guess you can say my love for this band grew from there.

There is a lot more than meets the ears when it comes to the Gin Blossoms. What would amaze anyone when it comes to this band is the bond shared among fans. As a major Gin Blossoms fan, its almost like a privilege, a little secret club that the rest of the world doesn't quite know about. And there's so much to be discovered there. Aside from fan experiences and stories, there's the wealth of unreleased music that we seem to circulate, and that's always been one of the greatest mysteries of the Gin Blossoms for me... Their unreleased work is a treasure cove just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. There are so much amazing songs that never saw the light of day and through fans like myself and many others, we somehow get to keep many of these songs such as "Dream With You", "My Biggest Date", "Blue Eyes Bleeding", and "Everywhere" alive.

It's a wonderful privilege to call myself a fan of the Gin Blossoms and I just can't wait for their gig.