USA Weekend (May 8th 2009)
No Doubt
No Doubt knows a thing or two about the 1980s high school scene in Southern California. The Grammy-winning pop/ska band formed at the height of acid wash, when members Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young were still in their teens.
How fitting, then, that No Doubt will end its five-year hiatus next week with an original performance on “Gossip Girl.” CW’s popular teen soap about ultra-rich kids in Manhattan’s private schools will air a special episode May 11 that doubles as a pilot for a “Gossip Girl” spinoff show set in Reagan-era L.A. In a flashback, a young Lily van der Woodsen (Brittany Snow) visits a punk nightclub where the fictional band Snowed Out jams a cover of Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver.”
The real No Doubt recently dished with us about high school and gossip.
In high school, were you anything like the glamorous but catty cast of “Gossip Girl?”
Gwen: I was definitely part of a cliquey group. I was a ska girl, like straight-up black-and-white, tights and the bob hairdo.
Tom: I was pretty dweeby. I was into “Dungeons & Dragons.” I played guitar, too, but I didn’t hang out with the rockers. They were off in the smoking area, and I was in imagination world.
Adrian: I was an athlete. I played basketball and golf.
Tony: You could call me a band geek.
Were you ever a high school gossip victim?
Adrian: Yes. A friend called into a radio show called “Loveline,” pretending to be me. He said I would get spontaneously [aroused] in class. [Laughs.]
Did Tony and Gwen’s secret romance stir up any drama within the band?
Tony: There were probably suspicions about us. My bandmates knew [we were dating], but it was an unspoken thing. I don’t think the band came close to breaking up over that, though. If you watch our “Don’t Speak” video, we played into some of those rumors. We kind of embraced it.
What’s on the rumor mill lately?
Gwen: People just care about me having babies now. When I see pictures of myself in magazines, I’m always pregnant. So now when I see another celebrity pregnant in the tabloids, I’m like, ‘thank God I’m not.’ [Laughs.]
The tabloids say your husband, rocker Gavin Rossdale, disapproves of you touring so soon after giving birth.
Gwen: That’s totally wrong. Gavin’s always supported me. We’ll both be on tour, but we’ll work it out. We’ll fly back and forth and find each other.
Is there any celebrity gossip that you follow?
Gwen: I like seeing pictures of Suri [Tom Cruise’s daughter]. She’s so cute! It’s just weird when your own child [is in tabloids]. It feels like someone should get some sort of permission slip from you.