Liner Notes (January 1997)

Not Just A Girl: No Doubt Speaks

Timing is everything. For the California band No Doubt, their time is now. After nine years together, the band (Gwen Stefani, vocals, Tom Dumont, guitars & vocals, Tony Kanal, bass & vocals and Adrian Young, drums) has finally hit it big. Their latest CD, Tragic Kingdom, has been riding high on the charts for over a year while the album's hits, "Just A Girl", "Spiderwebs" and "Don't Speak" have become both radio and MTV mainstays. In fact, as Liner Notes sat down with guitarist Tom Dumont before their performance at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, the band had just learned that Tragic Kingdom had hit number one on the Billboard album charts. Earlier in the day, the band met with one of their most important influence's (Madness) producers to discuss a future project. On this night at the Jersey shore, No Doubt's time had certainly come.

Liner Notes: How's it feel to be a ten-year overnight success?

Tom Dumont: It feels weird. Honestly, I don't feel any different. People seem a lot nicer. Life's a lot easier on the road. We've toured a lot with this album, and I remember playing tiny little clubs for nobody and it was rough. But now it's so easy. We have a crew that does everything - they even carry our luggage. It's weird. But I try to keep it in perspective because next year we could change right back. It's not always gonna be this easy. I try to keep a level head.

LN: What's it mean to the band to have a number one album?

TD: It's so funny. On this album, we were forced to work with a producer. The label said, "you're working with him whether you like it or not." We didn't like it at first, but then we got to know the guy (Matthew Wilder) and ended up liking him a lot. It's funny, when you're a little band at a major label, at first you have no clout. Fortunately, we made our way through with our music intact but now everything's changed. Anything we want we can get. Last night, after we learned we went number one, we said we wanted to have a party. Okay, free drinks in the bar all night. The funny thing is, going number one was never a goal of ours. When we were making the record, we just wanted to get it out in stores. We had this local following in California and we felt like we had been going through rough times, that nothing was happening. We had people coming to the shows, but as far as records go, it looked like it just wasn't going to happen. We put out our first record in '92 and nationally it didn't do anything. So we didn't expect this record to sell or do anything, we just wanted to get it in stores so our fans at home would have one more little token of us or one more record. We figured we'd put it out, tour for a month or two, then go back to school or whatever. We expected the same response that our first album got. When "Just A Girl" started getting played on the radio, it began a slow build. We felt successful when it began selling. So to get to this point is really weird.

LN: "Just A Girl" and "Don't Speak" are being played on everything from top forty to alternative radio. What do you attribute the broad scope of your music to?

TD: It's unusual. In all those years at home, we were kinda in this underground ska/punk scene. We were never a pure punk or ska band, but we always played with those kinds of bands. We always felt that's where we fit in - that we had that edge. Yes realistically, we have this girl singer and the stuff isn't that hard-edged. It's kind of melodic and somehow, we have this wide appeal we never knew we had. We thought we were kind of a weirdo band.

LN: On Tragic Kingdom, you hear touches of everything from pop to ska to Dixieland jazz. Is that intentional?

TD: You should hear out first album. It was really all over the place. We've never tried to put limits on ourselves musically. We like to mess with different genres and challenge ourselves. We've always experimented with different styles and tried to be open. It's funny because the record label is always saying "you have to focus, you're too all over the place. We need to market you to one thing." And I understand that but it's still too much fun and that's always been our thing. It's natural for us and I hope we keep on doing it. A lot of people don't like it. They want to hear Nirvana, and I love Nirvana, but they want to hear every song as the same kind of vibe. I respect that but I swear we never sat there and went "we gotta have a ballad," or "we gotta have this," it just all came out naturally. We were never ashamed to do pop ballads - there's one on our first record too.

LN: The band has mentioned everyone from Kiss to Madness to Prince as influences. WIth that in mind, who decides what's played on the tour bus?

TD: You know who takes over the music? Our horn players. Everyone has pretty wide taste, so when something comes on, everyone's kind of cool with it. None of us are into crazy death metal or anything, though sometimes it will sneak in. Adrian likes more punkish stuff. But it's great to be able to put some punk on and then turn around the next minute and listen to some R&B.

LN: Old Kiss or new Kiss?

TD: Old stuff. I think I got Destroyer for my first album. Destroyer, Love Gun, that's what got me into rock music. I saw the reunion show and I sang every word. I was reliving my youth, I loved it. And it's such a spectacle, you know, bands don't put on that kind of show anymore. I know they're cashing in and there's a certain amount of overkill but I think it's a good thing. I hope we can do that in 10 or 15 years. I don't expect to hit that popularity but you never know.

LN: Has Gwen's health problems put your success in perspective?

TD: Yeah. We had been touring so hard so when Gwen had the throat problems, it forced us to stop a couple of times. There was a point where we thought we may never be able to tour again like this. Maybe some one-off shows here or there and for us that was such a hard thought because we always wanted to be a road band - a live band - that was always our first love. I mean Gwen cried all the time about it. She was really upset. Fortunately, she's working with a vocal coach and we're out here and it's working. This tour, she's fine. We take it at a little slower pace. We have humidifiers everywhere on the bus and I think we're going to be fine. It's scary. We thought from then on maybe we'd be just a recording band, who knows.

LN: With all the problems the band had just getting Tragic Kingdom out, what did you learn from the experience?

TD: I just thank God we never quit. We persevered. It's so funny. A year and a half ago we were on the verge of trying to get off the label. It was crazy. Now I look back and I'm so thankful that we just kept going. I think we love what we're doing so much and we're so passionate about our music, that we could never quit. Even now when we have arguments or go through some rough times, I just don't think anyone can imagine quitting. I guess we're all just the right kind of personalities. It's like having a girlfriend that you never see yourself breaking up with.

LN: How does the band compose its music?

TD: In the early years of the band, Gwen's brother (Eric Stefani) was really the creative leader. The band was really his vision. He was a keyboard player and the music tended to be much more ska. He quit the band during the making of the album which forced the rest of us to pick up the songwriting for the first time. So Gwen became the lyricist and the music was up to us. We'd pair off. Either Gwen and I or Gwen and Tony would get together with just a guitar and sing together. We wrote "Just A Girl" and "Spiderwebs" that way.

LN: Is the band a democracy?

TD: We've always tried really hard to make it a democracy. We always vote on stuff. But it's impossible. We try to talk things out and collaborate on ideas. Everyone's involved in ideas whether it be touring, album art, etc. But I would say creatively and visually, Gwen is the leader. She's just very visually-oriented so her mind works that way and she likes to be really involved in creating visual stuff. From a business standpoint, Tony really leads us. But it's not a dictatorship. Like the album artwork. The idea was mine but we worked together on it.

LN: What do you enjoy most about touring?

TD: Playing. But you have a structure. You get up, have a soundcheck, play and move on. Only every day it's a different place. So you have the best of both worlds. This (Asbury Park) is a different place. I think there's a certain beauty here. We were here in the summer and it was much warmer out. This building and complex is beautiful. I love old stuff but it's also very sad. The boardwalk is deserted, I don't understand. If this was a town in Southern California, it would be so happening.

LN: On the climb to number one, Tragic Kingdom has passed the likes of Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and even The Beatles. That's got to do a number on your head.

TD: It's incredible. Unbelievable. It's like a new generation coming up. Those bands are still great but they had their day. People always look for something fresh. Things come and go. It's like a cycle. A few years ago it was grunge and Nine Inch Nails and stuff like that. Now with us, we're kind of more pop, more wholesome, more wide appeal, I don't know. The next time it will be us being passed. I guess this is our year.

LN: The Stones have been playing "Satisfaction" for 30 years. Do you see yourself playing "Just A Girl" 20 years from now?

TD: I would like that. I would like to do this the rest of my life but I don't expect it. The music industry is really fickle and we're a pop band and we may not be here next year. I would love to keep doing this. If not, that's okay. I try to set myself up so I don't turn into a drug addict and be depressed because I'm no longer a star. I can deal with playing "Just A Girl" 10, 20 years from now. I would love it.

LN: Are Gwen and Tony the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of the '90s?

TD: Maybe. It's interesting every day. Sometimes I tell Tony, "you should have just stayed with her. It would be a lot easier. Everybody would be happy, getting along." But people have to follow their own hearts. I think they still care deeply for each other but it's hard to breakup with your girlfriend and then live with her. That's a tall order. They've done a great job of pulling it off. When we're all together, we get along pretty good.

LN: Your record collection's on fire. What album do you save?

TD: I'd probably let them all burn. That's a tough question. I wouldn't know where to start. It's be something like my Black Sabbath Paranoid album or Rush's Moving Pictures. I may even save my Kiss Alive II 8-track.

LN: What's next for the band?

TD: Our popularity seems to be peaking now, so after a short break in January, we'll come back next year and tour the whole country, try to cover it really well. Then we'll starting songs for another record. It should be out in 1998. I don't want to rush it. Everyone's asking us when the next one's coming out, and I understand that. I used to hate when my favorite bands took so long to put out and album. I used to think "Dude! Just put it out." But I want to take some time to enjoy the success. I just bough a new convertible, and I want to drive it up and down the coast and relax a little bit.