Hello, music lovers! 

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. 

On today’s episode, we’re celebrating the Goo Goo Dolls, and in particular, the 30th anniversary of their mainstream breakthrough album, A Boy Named Goo. 

Though the band had already been around for a decade by the time they released this album, which would go on to reach double platinum sales status, A Boy Named Goo pushed the band over the edge, largely on the strength of the timeless hit, Name. 

This summer, the band is on the road, co-headlining the Summer Anthem Tour, alongside Dashboard Confessional. That tour hits KeyBank Center in Buffalo on August 9 - nearly 30 years after the Goos played the very first show in what was then known as Marine Midland Arena, on September 21, 1996. 

I caught up with Goos co-founder and bassist Robby Takac from the road, a few days into the Summer Anthem Tour, and we talked about A Boy Named Goo; the new generation of Goo Goo Dolls fans who discovered the band through social media outlets; the level of excitement surrounding this summer’s shows; his upcoming Music is Art Festival - which takes place in and around the Terminal B Amphitheater on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor on Saturday, September 20 - and the whole long, strange, and largely wonderful trip that has led the Goo Goo Dolls from the stages of Buffalo clubs to the arenas of the world. 

Welcome back to Why Music Matters, Robby Takac!