The Orange County Register (Oct. 31st 1996)

Life After O.C.

There's success. There's fame.

But then there's getting the Michael Jackson treatment at Disneyland.

"I never thought we'd be too popular to wait in line at Disneyland," No Doubt drummer Adrian Young said. "For me it's gotten to the point where it's almost gotten too big - too big to be comfortable, anyway."

With winners of a radio-station contest this week, Orange County's multiplatinum-selling No Doubt got squired around Disneyland. It's the dream of any O.C. kid - maybe of any kid anywhere. Disneyland at your disposal - get in free, run around with a special guide, no waiting in lines.

And like everything else that comes with success, it's a double-edged sword.

"We felt really bad," singer Gwen Stefani admitted. "We were at Alice in Wonderland and all these kids were waiting and all us punker, washed-out tattooed people are cutting ahead."

The Anaheim group had been at Disneyland just last year under wildly different circumstances - just another band grinding out an eight-night stand for graduation week. It was stuck on a small stage in front of It's a Small World. Of course, that was before the album "Tragic Kingdom" and the breakout single "Just a Girl" became hits.

Despite pushing ahead of the little kiddies, the success feels good.

"For so many years we were the dork band. We were never cool enough. Now suddenly people like us," Stefani said. "To get off a plane and walk down a street in Australia and have people know who I was - that's weird."

Just a girl

These days, seemingly everyone knows who Stefani, 26, is, a situation that's going critical with the new Spin magazine on the stands - Stefani is beaming on the front and the other band members are relegated to inside pages.

"The biggest misconception is we're some sort of overnight sensation created by some record company - that Gwen is some singer and we're the backup band," bassist Tony Kanal lamented. "We've been doing this since we were in high school."

"The band has been pulled apart more than it ever has because of the success," Stefani said. "A lot of the attention gets focused on the girl, the lead singer, especially with `Just a Girl' being the first song out. But we've always been a band."

One way or another, anyway. With the suicide of an early lead singer, varying members over the years and the exit of Stefani's brother, Eric, last year, No Doubt has always been a group in flux.

"When Eric left the band ... we definitely thought about breaking up, calling it something else, but he encouraged us not to," guitarist Tom Dumont recalled.

Along with Kanal and Gwen Stefani's well-chronicled romantic breakup and a lack of support from the band's label (Interscope), the future of No Doubt was in doubt. Its blend of punk, ska and pop seemed out of date in the grunge era.

"Tragic Kingdom" was recorded in bits and pieces. Upon its release late last year, "Just a Girl" took off, followed by "Spiderwebs" and the new single "Don't Speak." With radio airplay, nonstop touring and high-profile shows, sales have surpassed 2 million in the United States alone.

But "Just a Girl" and Stefani's commanding stage presence have focused all eyes on her.

"That song is really kind of centered around me," Stefani said. "I was always kind of insecure that I was the lead singer. Being a girl and growing up in Orange County with all the punk bands, I never felt like I could be hard enough or tough enough or cool enough."

The idea of the song was "I'm going to be myself. I can't pretend I don't like to wear lipstick. I can't pretend that I didn't grow up playing with Barbie," Stefani explained.

Spin control

The Spin magazine cover "was just a slap in the face" to her bandmates, Stefani said. "This is a band."

"We wanted it to be all four of us. But then the people at Spin said, `Look, this is the way we sell more magazines. If you wanna have a cover, that's the only way you're going to get it,' " Dumont said.

And the three male members of the band admit that the glare Stefani receives is nothing they'd want for themselves anyway. They come home to a somewhat normal life; she comes home to hear radio DJs speculating about her relationship with Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale.

"When they talk about me and Gavin, I just go, `Why? Who cares?' It just seems ridiculous that they spend time thinking about who I like to kiss," she said.

The scarier part is that it's not just the media going crazy.

"The other night I was at my brother's house in Anaheim and some girl showed up at 3 in the morning," Stefani said. "I still live with my parents. People come over there all the time and just show up. Pardon me, but can you leave my parents alone?"

Dreams come true

This is not to imply in any way that No Doubt is one of these bands that hates success. This, the band emphasizes, is not whining.

"I never thought any of this would happen. Sure is fun, though," Dumont said.

"If we were just a one-hit wonder we'd be really happy," Stefani said. "I can't even say it's a dream come true because I never thought it would go this far, ever.

"The best part is we might get to make another record someday. Before this record came out we were thinking, `We gotta get real jobs. Maybe this is enough; maybe we should move on.' Now it's like we get to do it a little bit longer. We don't have to finish college yet."

Popularity has led to some backlash from both critics and fans.

"I know it's not punk and cool to have these perks, but most normal humans would enjoy this stuff. Trying to be punk is kind of a tired thing. I have no problem saying I used to like heavy metal and had long hair," Dumont said.

"It's always been fun. It's what we've always been about, and it's perfectly natural. The whole thing with those bands that are really serious is great, but it never was our thing."

"It's inevitable," said drummer Young. "There is no way we can go double platinum and not be called sellouts."

Of course, there are things a little too cheesy even for the band.

"I heard (a No Doubt song) on KIIS-FM the other day and almost threw up," Young related. "It's not something I wanted to be a part of. I can't stop it, but I'm not happy about it. And I don't care if they do read this."

Still on the road

The band will tour for about six more months. Nothing's sure after that.

"We're all planning on making another record, but I can't promise you that it's going to happen," Dumont said. "Success does change people in some ways. It makes people think there are other options.

"The four of us definitely do want to take a break after this whole touring thing is over and just get away from each other a little bit. It's not that we hate each other or anything. There's a definite madness to everyday life."

"We haven't decided anything ... but we all have the desire to do (the next album) outside of Los Angeles. We'd like to go out of the country," Young said.

"We've thrown out ideas like, `Let's go to a deserted island.' We'll probably stick to that plan if we can," Kanal said.

And, the band hopes, stick together.

"When this is all over, all we really have is each other. We just have to make sure we take care of each other," Kanal said. "That's the recipe for survival in such a fickle business."

"Eventually, people are going to hate us because it'll be overkill," Stefani said cheerfully. "This is our five minutes in the spotlight and we realize it and want to enjoy every second of it. Next week we'll be the uncool has-been band."