On the heels of a summer outing which brought the band to over 100 cities in 40 states, the Gin Blossoms continue touring this fall. Fans can expect to hear songs from the group’s most recent album, Major Lodge Victory (Hybrid Recordings, August 2006), a preview of brand new songs and band favorites.
Major Lodge Victory is the band’s first new album in 10 years and features the tracks, “Learning the Hard Way,†and “Long Time Gone.†Billboard reported, “Learning the Hard Way is an effortless triumph of melodic perfection, organic production and collaboration that sounds familial in its ease.†About the album, USA Today raved “If you miss the sweet, simple pleasures of early-'90s guitar-pop the non-grungy variety, this collection of honeyed rockers from the reunited Blossoms is just the ticket to ride.â€
The twelve songs on Major Lodge Victory deliver that same signature blend of melody, mystery and poignancy that Gin Blossoms fans have come to love -- from the band’s breakthrough album, New Miserable Experience through to its powerful follow-up Congratulations…I’m Sorry and such enduring and memorable songs as “Hey Jealousy,†“Allison Road,†“Follow You Down†and “Til I Hear It From You.†Since Robin Wilson, guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson and bassist Bill Leen reunited as the Gin Blossoms in 2002, the idea of recording new songs was something the group thought about but didn’t want to force. “I wanted it to happen organically,†Valenzuela says. “And it did.â€
Successful tour dates demonstrated that the many fans who cherished New Miserable Experience (which has sold more than four million copies in the U.S.) and Congratulations…I’m Sorry (which has sold more than a million) were still eager to hear more from the band. So were their younger brothers and sisters. “I didn’t even know if we could get back together,†Leen says. “I didn’t know we’d have a fan base. I think it helped that our songs never left the radio.â€
Truly, on the radio it was as if the Gin Blossoms had never left, even as all the band’s members moved on to other projects. And getting back together proved satisfying. “A lot of fans came up to us and said, ‘I loved you guys for so long, and I was so bummed when you broke up and I never got to hear you play. I’m so glad you’re back,’†Johnson says. “That was gratifying. Now I respond by saying, ‘You’re going to hear us a lot more!â€
To record Major Lodge Victory, the band members began working in their native state of Arizona, but ended up returning to Ardent Studios in Memphis, where they had made their previous two albums. “It felt like we were going home,†Wilson says. Drummer Scott Kusmirek, who had played with the band for a time after it reunited, joined the group in the studio. The irresistibly catchy “Learning the Hard Way,†which Valenzuela wrote is “a classic Gin Blossoms song,†Wilson says, evoking the band’s Tempe, Arizona club roots.
Valenzuela also wrote the soaring ballad “Someday Soon.†Wilson brought in the energetic rocker “Come On Hard,†while the two men collaborated on “The End of the World,†with its lush choruses and Beatles-style harmonies.
The fact is that very little on Major Lodge Victory will surprise fans, except in the way that great pop music always surprises listeners – by taking familiar elements and making them sound thrillingly new. “I felt it was important to stick to what we do best,†says Johnson. “We’ve changed, obviously. We’re a bit older. In the past, we were young and naïve, and, instead of dealing with our problems, we made the classic stupid move and broke up.
“Now we don’t take it for granted,†he continues. “I’m very proud of the Gin Blossoms and our sound and our style of rock & roll. I’m excited about bringing that to the world again.â€
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