Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Vertical Horizon and Fastball in Under The Sunblog

Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Vertical Horizon and Fastball in Under The Sun

EPIC TREK TO SHOWCASE MULTI-PLATINUM CHART-TOPPERS ALL-STAR TOUR TO HIT MORE THAN 36 CITIES ACROSS THE NATION Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, and Gin Blossoms have united…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Apr 01, 2013
Jesse in I Am AZ Music: Arizona Singer-Songwriters in the Roundblog

Jesse in "I Am AZ Music: Arizona Singer-Songwriters in the Round"

Jesse will be participating in "I Am AZ Music: Arizona Singer-Songwriters in the Round" event on April 23rd (7PM) at the Musical Instrument Museum. He…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Mar 27, 2013
Win a Fretlight Guitar Signed by the Gins!blog

Win a Fretlight Guitar Signed by the Gins!

A lucky winner for each of the Gin Blossoms tour dates can enter to win: Fretlight FG-421 guitar autographed by Gin Blossoms band members (retail…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Dec 21, 2012
Meet Greet with Gin Blossoms January 19th!blog

Meet & Greet with Gin Blossoms January 19th!

Meet and Greet the Gin Blossoms at The Stone Pony show in Asbury Park, NJ! The Light Of Day Foundation is giving away four VIP…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Nov 16, 2012
Robin in Everest Rocks II for Love Hope Strength Foundationblog

Robin in "Everest Rocks II" for Love Hope Strength Foundation

This November, Robin is going to Mount Everest to raise money and awareness for cancer patients worldwide with the LOVE HOPE STRENGTH FOUNDATION "The World's…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Oct 25, 2012
Songwriters' Showcase with Jesse Valenzuelablog

Songwriters' Showcase with Jesse Valenzuela

Jesse did a Songwriters' Showcase VI at Tempe Center for the Arts back in November and below is a video of it. Gin Blossoms Co-Founder Jesse…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Jun 20, 2012
Gin Blossoms Summerland 2012 VIP Upgrades Packagesblog

Gin Blossoms Summerland 2012 VIP Upgrades & Packages

Gin Blossoms Summerland 2012 VIP upgrade/packages are available now! Be sure to head on over to http://www.ginblossomslive.com for information and prices. We're looking forward to…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Apr 23, 2012
Jesse at The Rhythm Room 425blog

Jesse at The Rhythm Room 4/25

Jesse will be performing at The Rhythm Room on 4/25 (7PM) with Marshall Crenshaw. More info can be found at Jesse's site http://www.jessevalenzuela.com
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Apr 13, 2012
Summerland 2012 Tour!blog

Summerland 2012 Tour!

Hey everyone....we are going out on tour this summer with Lit, Everclear, Sugar Ray and Marcy Playground! Dates for Summerland 2012 are listed below 6/28: The…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Mar 28, 2012
John Moves Forward, Scott Hessel Moves In!blog

John Moves Forward, Scott Hessel Moves In!

Long time drummer John Richardson has moved to working in the studio on a more full time basis while juggling other artist drum positions on…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Mar 04, 2012
Gin Blossoms Part of AZ Music Exhibit at MIMblog

Gin Blossoms Part of AZ Music Exhibit at MIM

The Gin Blossoms recently donated two basses and a guitar for the "I Am AZ Music: MIM Celebrates 100 Years of Arizona Music" exhibit at…
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Feb 28, 2012
Scott Visits the Musical Instrument Museumblog

Scott Visits the Musical Instrument Museum

Scott recently visited the Musical Instrument Museum (www.themim.org) in Phoenix. Pictures of his visit can be found here
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms Nov 15, 2011
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Gin Blossoms (more info)
  • Label: 429 Records
  • Label Type: indie
  • About:
    In late 80’s Gin Blossoms started to grow a huge following as the #1 local music draw in Phoenix and certainly were the hometown hero’s of their favorite hang, Tempe, Arizona. Gin Blossoms indelible jangle-pop sound was evolving during radio’s diverse mix of hair bands and grunge music superstars like Nirvana. After the Phoenix New Times chose them the cities best rock band, they qualified to play at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin Texas in 1989. That same year, College Music Journal dubbed them the “Best Unsigned Band in America” and added an invitation to perform on MTV’s New Music Awards in New York City.

    Taking their name from a caption on a W.C. Fields photo, Gin Blossoms signed a record deal with A&M and recorded their first EP Up And Crumbling in 1991. But, it was not until their breakout record New Miserable Experience in 1992 that their rise to fame began. New Miserable Experience kept the band on the charts for almost 3 years with singles “Hey Jealousy,” “Allison Road,” “Until I Fall Away,” “Mrs Rita,” and “Found Out About You.” The album took the airwaves by siege and held MTV hostage with multi cross-over hits in 4 different radio formats. It was this record that rocketed the band into the mainstream going on to sell over 4 million copies making the band a 90’s radio mainstay. In 1995, Robin Wilson, Jesse Valenzuela and veteran composer Marshall Crenshaw wrote the bands 4th of 9 sound track inclusions; “Til I Hear It From You.” The smash hit was released as a Gin Blossoms single and it appeared on the platinum sound track for the film Empire Records.

    1996 saw the final record of the decade for Gin Blossoms Congratulations I’m Sorry. The album brought two more hits; "Follow You Down" which spent ten weeks in the Top Ten and "As Long As It Matters" which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Duo or Group. “It was pretty cool to lose a Grammy to the Beatles. Who else would you want to lose out to” says Jesse. The album rocketed into Billboard's Top Ten and a year of touring helped push the record past 1,500,000 in sales. In 5 years, the band released 2 EP’s, two LP’s and over 12 singles that fueled record sales to over 7 million. Their blend of pop & rock, now known as jangle pop, became a musical force that helped define the sound of 90’s radio.

    In 1997, while at peak success and after numerous appearances on late night TV such as Letterman, Leno, Arsenio Hall, Saturday Night Live, The Grammy’s, and endless touring, the group disbanded and began a four year hiatus. It was not until a 2001 New Years Eve performance in Tempe that the members reformed and began touring and recording again. “Since 2001, we have been performing over 120 shows a year. This is what we most enjoy doing” say’s Wilson. “It’s our job and I know all of us are really grateful that we can earn a living making records and entertaining people on the road. We’re doing something we really love! I don’t know many people that can say that when they go to work everyday.”

    In 2005, former A&M president Al Cafaro resigned the band and partnered to record their 3rd full length album in over 10 years. Major Lodge Victory landed on Billboards 200 and was the #10 Indie album of the year. Released on August 8th, 2006, it included hits “Learning The Hard Way” and the appropriately titled “Long Time Gone.” Billboard magazine called this gem “an effortless triumph of melodic perfection.” “This was a really fun record to make” says Scotty. “We assembled some of the old team together and recorded at Ardent Studios with John Hampton again. Ardent is a legendary studio, and were comfortable there – it was a lot of fun.” Back in chart bloom, Entertainment Weekly reviewed Major Lodge Victory by saying; “Hardly a half-hearted cash-in, this comeback LP marks a solid addendum to Gin Blossoms multi-platinum peak output.”

    Their most recent album, 2010’s No Chocolate Cake”, lands Gin’s back on the singles chart again with “Miss Disarray” and the album shot straight to # 1 on Amazon, hitting Billboard’s top 200 at # 73 and the Indie chart at #14. Because the band members no longer live in the same city—Wilson divides his time between Tempe and New York, Valenzuela is in Los Angeles. Putting the sonic pieces of No Chocolate Cake together presented an exciting new challenge for the band. While Wilson contributed a handful of songs, the bulk of the material chosen for the 11 track set was written by Valenzuela either solo or with different collaborators, including Danny Wilde of The Rembrandts (the Blossoms guitarist first worked with Wilde on The Rembrandts’ song “Long Walk Home”).

    “In the old days, we used to joke that there was something for everybody in this band,” says Wilson. “There’s just something about the way we play and sound together, but in the end, it’s really about the quality of the songs. If you’re a band and want to sustain a career, no matter what you look like or how you play, you’ve got to have great songs. So it’s those songs and the sound we make…my voice, the guitars, tempos, that add up to something indefinable.”

    Over the years, Gin Blossoms have toured over 25 different countries including a five city tour of Iraq in 2010. “It was so much fun to entertain our troops. It’s really insightful to see first hand how our troops live in a combat zone. It really helped to broaden my understanding on the sacrifices they make to protect us at home and abroad. I hope all Americans understand how important it is for us to extend our thanks” says Robin.

    2013 will bring the band to over 100 cities, a 5 Artist rock cruise, international shows and perhaps a brand new album – stay tuned!
  • Members:
    Robin Wilson - Lead Vocals
    Jesse Valenzuela - Guitar, Vocals
    Scott Johnson - Guitar
    Bill Leen - Bass
    John Richardson - Touring & Studio Drummer
  • Influences: Tommy Keene, The Replacements, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, The Long Riders, Nick Lowe, REM, The Church
  • Member Since: 2009-12-10

Followers (9)

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