John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (born December 5, 1965), also known as Johnny Rzeznik, is an American songwriter, lead guitarist, vocalist and producer. He is best known as the frontman of rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, of whom he is a founding member and with whom he has recorded nine studio albums.Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Goo Goo Dolls 2.2 Other activity 3 Musical style 3.1 Influences 3.2 Guitar tunings 3.3 Songwriting 4 Notable performances 5 Equipment 6 Discography 6.1 Collaborations/Individual Discography 7 References and notes 8 External links
[edit] Early life
Rzeznik was born in Buffalo, New York, the youngest of five children of Edith (née Pomeroy) and Joseph Rzeznik, a bar proprietor and postal clerk.[1][2] His name is pronounced RZEZ-nik" and means 'butcher' in Polish.[3] Both of Rzeznik's parents were musicians, playing the clarinet and flute. Rzeznik had a strict Catholic upbringing on Buffalo's working-class East Side. Rzeznik's father died from diabetic coma at the age of fifty five when Rzeznik was sixteen years old. Six months later his mother died from a sudden heart attack. Having lost both of his parents, he was brought up by his four older sisters. It was during this period and while attending high school that Rzeznik began playing the guitar. [edit] Career [edit] Goo Goo Dolls Main article: Goo Goo Dolls
In 1986, he formed the band that became the Goo Goo Dolls with Robby Takac. Previously John had been in a band with Takac's cousin, called The Beaumonts.[4] It is thought the band was originally called The Sex Maggots, however Rzeznik admitted this was a joke on stage one night, and he was "never actually in a band called The Sex Maggots".[5] They got the name Goo Goo Dolls from an ad in a True Detective magazine when a concert promoter asked them to, fearing the local newspapers would not print an advert for a show featuring a band with such a name.
In the early days of The Goo Goo Dolls, the band performed at gigs relentlessly, with Robby as the frontman (Rzeznik gradually becoming the frontman over the next few albums, as each new album contained more songs sung by Rzeznik than the last). They were soon picked up by a small record label, Celluloid. Under Celluloid they released their first eponymous album (later the re-prints would be referred to as "First Release") on a $750 budget. This attracted the attention of a larger record label, Metal Blade, who released their next few albums. For the next few years the band toured, produced albums and held down regular jobs. [edit] Other activity
Following the album Gutterflower, Rzeznik wrote "Always Know Where You Are" and "I'm Still Here" for the Disney film Treasure Planet,[6] which were also released as a single independently from the band.
From October to December 2007, Rzeznik was a judge alongside Sheila E. and Australian Idol judge and marketing manager Ian "Dicko" Dickson on the Fox network's The Next Great American Band.[7]
On June 19, 2008, John Rzeznik was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and was awarded the Hal David Starlight award.[8] [edit] Musical style [edit] Influences
Most of the music Rzeznik listened to while growing up was influenced by his sisters, and comprised mostly classic rock such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. The youngest of his four older sisters moved towards punk music and Rzeznik became interested in bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash.[9] Rzeznik attributes his gift for melody to listening to bands such as KISS, Cheap Trick, and Rush in the early 1980s.[9] Rzeznik also cites Paul Westerberg as an "obvious influence" on his music.[10] [edit] Guitar tunings
Rzeznik is well known for his distinctive and unusual guitar tunings. Many of his newer songs, particularly the more acoustic-oriented ones, are performed with his guitars tuned to an open chord with several of the strings tuned to the same note but in different octaves. This gives the guitar a shimmery, jangly sound almost like a 12-string guitar. Perhaps the most famous example of this is his signature hit "Iris", but other examples include "Name," "Black Balloon," "Think About Me," and "Here Is Gone." Conversely, on earlier albums such as "Superstar Car Wash" and "A Boy Named Goo," Rzeznik often utilized a conventional standard tuning. [edit] Songwriting
Rzeznik believes that writing is not just an inspirational thing but that writing music is "ninety nine percent perspiration." He says that when writing a song, he often "runs tape and screws around with stuff," and that his songs are often both biographical and autobiographical.[11] [edit] Notable performances
At the 2004 Fashion Rocks! concert in New York, Rzeznik performed a duet version of the song Iris with Canadian pop singer Avril Lavigne.[12] The Goo Goo Dolls also performed the song "Name" at a live concert with LeeAnn Rimes. Rzeznik also performed Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit for the victims of September 11 as a tribute to the heroes.
On July 4, 2004, Rzeznik and his bandmates returned home to Buffalo and played a free show to give back to their loyal fans, over 60,000 of whom attended. The day quickly became a city triumph when rain came pouring down during their performance. It turned out to be one of the strongest rain storms of the year in Buffalo, but the Goo Goo Dolls did not stop playing. Rzeznik declared, "We're going to keep going until this shit stops". This performance was captured on DVD and CD for the public in the Goo Goo Dolls release Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004.
Rzeznik also performed a version of U2's "All I Want is You" on the album Les Paul and Friends. [edit] Equipment
Rzeznik has used many different guitar brands and models over the years. On Superstar Car Wash, he endorsed ESP guitars. The liner notes of A Boy Named Goo list Epiphone as his guitar of choice. Since the late '90s, Rzeznik has been using Fender electric guitars. He has used many variations such as the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar and a "Halfcaster" (a Stratocaster cut in half). He also used Guild acoustic guitars on both the "Dizzy Up the Girl" and "Gutterflower" tours. Guild models used include several D-55s (unusually, most of his D-55s were built in Fender's Corona, California Shop), a black F65CE, multiple Peregrine/S7CE Customs (a Guild Custom Shop Model), a black Songbird/S4CE, and a black F47M. Live performances of this time sometimes showed the auxiliary guitarist, Greg Suran, using some Guild acoustics such as the DV-52 and F-47M in natural finishes.
Since beginning the "Let Love In" tour, Rzeznik has been experimenting with Gibson Les Paul guitars and semi-hollow body electric guitars. He also uses Taylor 800 and 900 series acoustic guitars while on tour. He has stated that the Taylor Expression System (9V version) is one of the only forms of acoustic guitar amplification that still let the guitars "sound like wood" when played through a house PA system.
Early studio footage from the Goo Goo Dolls' upcoming 9th studio album, Something for the Rest of Us shows John playing Taylor acoustics, in addition to Gibson acoustic and electric guitars. [edit] Discography Main article: The Goo Goo Dolls Goo Goo Dolls (1986), Celluloid Records later re-released as First Release (1987), Metal Blade Records Jed (1989), Metal Blade Records Hold Me Up (1990), Metal Blade Records Superstar Car Wash (1993), Metal Blade Records A Boy Named Goo (1995), Metal Blade Records Dizzy Up The Girl (1998), Warner Bros. Records Gutterflower (2002), Warner Bros. Records Let Love In (2006), Warner Bros. Records Something for the Rest of Us (2010), Warner Bros. Records [edit] Collaborations/Individual Discography Limp Bizkit and Johnny Rzeznik - "Wish You Were Here" - America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) "I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme)" - Treasure Planet (2003) "Always Know Where You Are"[13] - Treasure Planet (2003) Yardbirds featuring Johnny Rzeznik - "For Your Love" - Birdland (2003) "Once in a Lifetime" - Good Morning Miami theme "All I Want is You" - America Made World Play (2005) Ian Gillan - Gillan's Inn" (2006)
