On a typical day of radio listening in the ’90s, it was impossible for one to go an hour without hearing a song from the greatest six-hit wonder in recent times — the Gin Blossoms.
Slated to play the PMAC last semester in a show that was canceled because of Hurricane Lily, the Blossoms finally are coming to town as part of Friday’s Groovin’ on the Grounds festival. The stop will mark the middle of a reunion tour that marks the Blossoms’ first set of shows together since 1997 when the band split because they “wanted different things,” according to their Web site.
College students remember the Gin Blossoms as a band that helped pull the country out of an angst-ridden, depressing era of grunge. Their sound was part of the rebirth of the pop-rock genre.
Emily Messina, an English senior, recalls her experience with the Blossoms’ debut CD.
“I was a freshman in high school, and I bought ‘New Miserable Experience,'” she said. “I remember the songs ‘Until I Fall Away’ and ‘Found Out About You,’ and it was really different at the time. There was a lot of alternative music coming out, and I wasn’t into the grunge thing. They were moving away from that; they were a little lighter, and I liked that.”
Cody Frederick, a finance junior and former devoted fan, longs for new material from the band.
“The Gin Blossoms put out really good songs,” said Frederick. “They released ‘Follow You Down,’ broke up, and then nobody bothered to call me. They need to release a new album because ‘New Miserable Experience’ is becoming an old miserable experience.”
The breakup of the band resulted in numerous new projects, such as lead vocalist Robin Wilson’s Gas Giants and guitarist Jesse Valenzuela’s The Low/Watts. Those projects were not nearly as successful as the Gin Blossoms, although Valenzuela did have success co-writing with artists such as Stevie Nicks and The Rembrandts.
The band hosted its first reunion show in its hometown of Tempe, Arizona in 2001. A New Year’s Eve show followed, and rumors of a full-fledged Blossoms reunion began flying.
Talk of a new album is surfacing, and Wilson said on the band’s Web site that the band is in a happy place now.
“We always said our breakup wasn’t forever and right now we’re all feeling like we want to be Gin Blossoms again,” said Wilson. “We make a noise together that we can’t make otherwise. We respect and appreciate that we need each other to create that sound. This time we hope to avoid being swallowed by the chaos.”
The Gin Blossoms will play Friday at Groovin’ on the Grounds for free on the Parade Ground.