MTV News (April 30th 2009)
No Doubt Hope To Reach A ‘Fresh Batch’ Of Fans On Tour
On Saturday, No Doubt will return to the stage, after an almost five-year hiatus, at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But who will be in the audience? Die-hard ND fans? Squealing tweenie-boppers weaned on Gwen Stefani's solo albums?
No one seems to be sure — not even No Doubt themselves. Then again, things have always been that way for them.
"I think there will be a lot of new people, and that's exciting. That's what makes this fresh and new, is the fact that the dynamic has changed," guitarist Tom Dumont said. "A lot of bands put out record after record after record, and I think having a break makes it more fresh and exciting. It's a fresh batch of people coming, plus the old fans. It's perfect."
"But that's nothing new for us, because even the first nine years, before we even had a record, we always had different audiences that followed us as we changed," Stefani added. "Certain people were into what we were doing at the time, and we were always changing and evolving, and we never had any limits on what kind of music we would write. We'd gain some and lose some, and that's happened through the entire time we've been together.
"It's always exciting to get in front of new audiences. I got to experience — on my tour — some of the young girls that were there. ... That was the most rewarding thing for me," she continued. "Just seeing them out there, because they're so young, it's their first concert, they have their makeup on, even though they're really not supposed to be wearing it. I hope they show up again this time out. I loved it."
The landscape has shifted since the last time No Doubt toured — back in 2004, on a double-bill with Blink-182. And while that might pose a concern for concert promoters, ND aren't worried about filling the seats this summer.
"It's all about music. ... At the end of the day, you put music in people's ears, they hear recordings, they come to the shows," Dumont said. "Technology may change, and pop culture may change, but music doesn't. Everybody loves it."
And besides, there's more pressing matters to worry about — like getting the Stefani clan up to date on the No Doubt back catalog before the tour starts.
"I'm trying to get [2-year-old son] Kingston to listen to the No Doubt records. ... He didn't know the No Doubt records, so now I'm forcing him to listen to them, and I think he's going to get into it," Stefani laughed. "If I can get him to stop listening to Miley. He's listening to the Disney Channel a lot. ... But I think [9-month-old son] Zuma is more of a No Doubt fan than King is."