The Record (April 12th 2002)

No Doubt, Gwen and co. are back

After No Doubt finished its tour in support of "Return to Saturn" two years ago, the band realized that things were considerably different. The disc didn't sell anywhere near as well as the band's preceding effort, the multi-platinum "Tragic Kingdom," which broke the band. No Doubt went from playing arenas to playing theaters.

"You would think that all of what was going on was bad, but it felt really good," guitarist Tom Dumont said. "We didn't feel like failures.

We felt like we were in a good position.

"All this tension that was on our backs was gone. We might not have been as successful as we had been, but after all we were through, we were still friends, and that was encouraging. We had renewed enthusiasm and approached our next album with a feeling that we could do whatever we wanted."

"Rock Steady," a mix of new wave, ska, reggae, pop, and hip-hop, is the result. Released just 15 months after "Saturn," it has gone platinum.

"Our album simply captures us where we are now," Dumont said. "We got our juices flowing with Rock Steady. "

Vocalist Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal wrote songs with Dumont in his home in Los Angeles, in a process that began with their fiddling around with keyboards and drum machines.

"We got a lot out of doing that," Dumont said. "Before, we used a guitar and a tape recorder, but that stuff was superfluous this time."

Stefani, who's hip factor has risen exponentially thanks to her duets with hip pop cover boy Moby and hip-hop sensation Eve, stirs the No Doubt drink.

But, says Dumont, "That's very cool with us. Gwen is larger than life, and that's a positive to have someone like that in the band. Her presence takes the heat off of the rest of us. Because of her we don't have to wait in line at clubs. We can just slip right into the VIP section.

"But that's just one side of Gwen. The other side we see of her on the bus is really cool. She's a regular, sweet person that I've known for the last 14 years. It's difficult not to love her."

And while No Doubt is showcasing tracks from the new release, it's inclined to spike shows with hits.

"It's important for us to play our new material," Dumont said. "It's the freshest thing to us, so we'll do it. But we have no problem playing the hits and watching the crowd go crazy. Watching the crowd react that way reminds us of how lucky we are to be able to do this."