By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
February 10, 1991
The Goo Goo Dolls make music loud enough to get a headache over, but melodic enough to dance to. But for all the noise the three-man Goos make onstage, their harmonies save them from being just another angry young group.
On the pop-thrash band’s major-label debut “Hold Me Up,” booming drums reverberate off crunchy guitar riffs. Some of their songs contain surprisingly tender lyrics, an apparent oxymoron when you consider their raucous music. But the band makes the mishmash approach work.
The Goo Goo Dolls will play their unique style of rock ‘n’ roll at 11:30 p.m. Friday at Cabaret Metro, 3730 N. Clark.
“We’ve always liked to mix things up,” said drumming Goo, George Tutusca. “I think some of the best music comes from doing experiments, no matter how incongruous they may appear to be. A lot of bands are afraid that if they shake things, they’ll mess things up. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
Formed five years ago in Buffalo, N.Y., the band nicked its name from a magazine ad that was peddling “goo goo dolls.” They have yet to find out what a real goo goo doll looks like, but the musicians enjoy the images the name conjures.
The Goo Goo Dolls’ fame is spreading across the country and Great Britain, but their fledgling notoriety hasn’t yet helped them live out the rock lifestyle. They still have to pay their own covers at clubs — even in their hometown — and people often mistake them for roadies.
“There’s something to be said for anonymity,” Tutusca said. “I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
