Florida Times Union (Oct. 25th 2002)
No Doubt just rocking steady
One night back in 1987, a fresh-faced kid named Adrian Young went to a rock club in Southern California, as he did all the time, and just happened to see a young, fun band called No Doubt who blew him out of his boots.
Two years of hero worship later, No Doubt needed a drummer, and the band began considering superfan Young.
"It was nerve-wracking because I'd only been playing for a year. I'd been a musician for less time than they'd been a band," Young said in a phone interview.
But he knew the band's material cold and was able to fake a history of musicianship -- "I lied and said I'd been playing for years" -- and No Doubt said sure, come on in.
The new gig didn't lead to instant fame and fortune, more like delayed fame and fortune. No Doubt's self-titled 1992 album barely registered outside California.
But their 1995 record, Tragic Kingdom, had a bouncy grrrl-power ska/pop song called Don't Speak that plugged into (or was that created?) a national fixation with ska and propelled the band to international superstardom. Tragic Kingdom went on to sell almost 15 million copies worldwide.
The album also spawned some memorable music videos, including one where the three guys in the band acted out the real-life frustration of being cropped out of a magazine photo, leaving only blonde starlet singer Gwen Stefani in the picture.
No Doubt's 2000 follow-up record, inevitably, sold only a fraction of Kingdom's figures, positioning the band near the brink of cultural irrelevancy.
Never ones to stress, they decided to record part of their next album in relaxation central: Jamaica, where, according to Young, "It wasn't a big deal if we spent half a day drinking beer and rum and then [ran] up the hill to the studio three hours late."
With a reggae undercurrent beneath sophisticated dance beats and Stefani's major-league pop diva vocals, Rock Steady was a commercial return to form. The singles Hella Good and Hey Baby became massive hits, and the record sold 3 million copies worldwide.
So did it feel like a comeback album?
"A little bit," Young said. "I mean, we didn't really go away. I mean, we still sold a million-and-a-half records on the last one. Some band's careers, that's like the biggest album of their careers."
If there's a drawback to Rock Steady, it's that the fancy production (drum loops and various electronic wizardry) makes some of the songs difficult to reproduce live. The Prince collaboration Waiting Room, for example, may never make it into No Doubt's live set.
But Young said the band will probably play some album cuts that fans might not expect when they perform Sunday at the UNF Arena. And even recognizable tunes may get a reworking.
"We play all the songs with way more energy, and sometimes faster," Young said.
Joining No Doubt Sunday night will be two other rock bands fronted by strong women: Garbage, the glossy-in-a-good-way band responsible for I Think I'm Paranoid and Stupid Girl; and the Distillers, the slashing punk band featuring take-charge singer/ guitarist Brody Armstrong.