Circus Magazine (February 1997)
No Doubt! Gwen Stefani tops the top
Gwen Stefani took top honors “Best Female Vocalist” – and No Doubt won “Best New Group” in the 1996 Circus Magazine Readers Poll.
“Peek-a-boo!” is the first thing No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani utters when I answer my telephone, and from the way she says it – with a sunshine sweet little giggle – it is obvious from the outset that the native Californian is all girl, a “real girly-girl”, as she puts it. But one thing Gwen Stefani definitely is not, is JUST a girl. And “Just A Girl”, the firecracker first single off Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt’s third full-length record (and second official one for Trauma Records), is a sarcastic shoot ‘em up of that very fact.
Now, over a year after the release of the band’s breakthrough song and pretty much ten years together, No Doubt is a household name, a way of life…in other words: They’ve arrived.
Proof of that fact? How about Tragic Kingdom inching its way into the Billboard’s Top Ten albums chart and staying there after being on record store shelves for a period of time that often sees bands at the same point putting out their follow-up? Or how about the subsequent hit singles that came hot on the heels of “Just A Girl”, like the reggae/rock foot-stomper “Spiderwebs” and the heart-wrenching ballad “Don’t Speak”? Some would even say that doing an arena tour with those other chart-toppers, Bush, was a relatively good sign.
But, to Stefani it’s the little things, like appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman” (”I still can’t even believe we did that,” says the singer). Not long after our encounter the band even took the Saturday Night Live stage.
“Going to Europe, too, was totally a dream-come-true,” she purrs. “I was influenced by a lot of English bands. I still am. So just to be able to go there was unbelievable. Madness was one of my favorite bands, and I loved going to the places that they wrote about. I was like ‘oh my God, Primrose Hill! Camden Town!
To a couple of kids from Orange County, California, who had been local heroes for some eight years by the time Billboard came calling, a trip across the pond must have been a vindication of sorts. After all, co-founder of No Doubt Stefani’s brother Eric, couldn’t even wait anymore, bailing just before the big time beckoned.
So the cross-country trek was endured as a four-piece: Gwen, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. But they prefer to think of themselves as a six-piece, including their two zany horn players.
“They’re amazing,” Gwen boasts. “They put on a show of their own. You could just watch them the whole night.”
As if anyone could take their eyes off Stefani for long periods of time, especially when the tiny ball of fire zips around the stage all night herself. There is no denying, however, that their horns are an integral part of what has become known as the No Doubt sound. Check out the brass blast that kicks off the rocker “Different People,” if you’re still not convinced.
“Well, we always had horns in the band,” she says. “From the beginning we were labeled a ska band and it was never really true because we were always striving to have our own sound. In the past it was always a problem, like ‘how are we gonna market these guys’ or ‘there are too many different styles’. Some reason it just happens to work now and people don’t mind it and kinda like it.
“Like” is putting it mildly. The record-buying public are “Just A Girl” like it was an appetizer, “Spiderwebs” as if it were the main course, and enjoyed “Don’t Speak” for dessert. Seconds is surely an option as well. “Sunday Morning” is a splashy, riff-filled ride, “Excuse Me Mister” a Madness-made free-for-all, and there’s even a taste of disco with “You Can Do It.”
“But, honestly, the biggest deal for us with this little bit of success, is that it’s unbelievable because we never thought this would come out first of all,” she explains. “The goal was just to get the record out and everything else has been such icing on the cake…so sweet. We just really appreciate it. We know it’s going to be gone some day. We’re just trying to take every second of it and go, ‘this is so awesome, so much fun,’”
Plus, it did take three years to make Tragic Kingdom, a disc named in part, after the proximity of the band’s rehearsal space to Disneyland in Anaheim. Doubts of the record’s pending release were especially high since No Doubt’s previous outting was an independent CD in their own label made just because the band felt “frustrated” by the industry.
Not only was the road into the “Tragic Kingdom” a long and winding one, but the road out has been equally arduous. The band has toured tirelessly to support the disc, and the hectic schedule took its toll more then once on Gwen’s throat, most recently putting her out of commission for two weeks. Several shows were postponed so that the platinum-haired power-house could recuperate, which she undoubtedly did.
“I remember when I was younger thinking I would never be hard enough or cool enough or tough enough, you know what I’m saying? You know, being female and all,” Stefani admits.
But she’s plenty tough, alright. So much so, in fact, that the band’s lighter-waving hit “Don’t Speak” was quite a curve ball for some of No Doubt’s ever-growing fan-base, who were becoming comfortable with the explosive nature of the music introduced to them via “Just A Girl” and “Spiderwebs”.
“When you think of restrictions, as far as selling out, and how kids are so fickle,” she says, “you get to thinking about, like, being in a punk band. I mean, my God, if you tried doin a ballad you would just be…forget it! You can’t do it. Being in our band we’re able to do that and I really enjoy being able to do that it’s kinda neat that we can do that. I’m glad that we’re not so punk that we can’t.
No Doubt is one of several outfits, actually-many of whom hark from the Southern Cali sector-that run the gamut from rock and punk to ska and funk on their respective musical maps. Bands like 311 and Offspring are also prolific in these genres.
It’s easy enough to see where the “meeting of the minds” takes place for No Doubt; outside of each member’s reverence for Madness, Kanal came to the table with an affection for Prince, and Dumont was, as Stefani puts it, “Mr. Heavy Metal, arena rock guy.”
Melding these influences is easier then it seems, according to Stefani: “When we wrote the music for ‘Just A Girl’, me and Tom sat down and it was like, ‘lets write a New Wave song’, you know? We’re ten years out of high school and looking back and realizing how rad Devo is. That was the motivation, that kind of choppy guitar.
“Bands that were totally happening and the mainstream back then, I was really into ska and I was like ‘fuck off’ to everyone else. But, there was still millions of songs that I loved. My God, ‘Borderline’ by Madonna…I would just die if that was never in my life at that time. It’s just interesting when you look back at how music goes off and gets renewed and unusual.”
Truly, what Madonna meant to the 80’s. No Doubt may mean for the 90’s. The only one who may have a tough time buying that line is Stefani herself.
“For me, I know myself. I know what a dork I am and where I come from,” she laughs. “I would never look at myself and think that I could have any kinda influence on anyone. I’m just me.”