That is what's important.

Johnny Rzeznik.

"On July 4, 2004, Rzeznik and his bandmates returned home to Buffalo and played a free show to give back to their loyal fans, over 60,000 of whom attended. The day quickly became a city triumph when rain came pouring down during their performance. It turned out to be one of the strongest rain storms of the year in Buffalo, but the Goo Goo Dolls did not stop playing. Rzeznik declared, 'We're going to keep going until this shit stops'. This performance was captured on DVD and CD for the public in the Goo Goo Dolls release Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004."

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Do you have a way you prefer to write? Do you discipline yourself and doesn't it have to be an everyday thing?

Yeah, and you know what else I do? I just run tape and screw around with stuff. For me, it's like, if you let yourself go real free form and no one can hear you, you can make as many mistakes as you want. It really is like a stumble, learn to walk, stumble, and take a step kind of thing. You just keep going in there, and everything you play sucks for a long time. You really have to dig around until you find a little nugget, and then you go back, and listen to these things. They kind of grow from there. I always write music first because in my head, the music sets the mood. It can put you into a place, and you will listen to that, and think 'Oh, that song is real scary.' So, you write some scary words or something. It's just these weird kind of peripheral feelings and stuff.

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I've always had this fear that what works in your bedroom and what works in your house will not measure up once that piece is completed and brought forth to fruition in recording. How much has it helped to have faith in your band that the sounds will always be there?

Once again, it's just, what does your gut tell you? I mean that is so much of everything that we do. From the time that you pick up your guitar, you play the song, you put on the tape recorder, you take it to the band, you'll work out the arrangement, and it changes. It goes through this time and time again, just changing and changing. Then you get into a recording studio with a producer and an engineer, and it changes again. I always use the analogy of Michaelangelo. I mean, you've got to let it go at a certain point. If the song is good, that's cool, as long as the song can come through. We had a couple of experiences early on with a producer that didn't want what we wanted to do, and it turned into a real battle, but the songs came through. That is what's important.

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I will be strong.
Melvin, be strong.