Tag: No Doubt

20 questions for Gwen

Don’t let the coy pose fool you – there’s nothing this superstar won’t reveal. When we asked Gwen Stefani to give it up about life, love, work and mommyhood, she most certainly did. By Liza Ghorbani

The Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel has played host to the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Jean Harlow, so when Gwen Stefani walks in on a sunny afternoon with her Old Hollywood glamour — dark oversize sunglasses, scarlet lips, and platinum tresses swept into a polished updo — she certainly looks the part.

“Sorry I’m late,” says Stefani, sliding into a green velvet banquette amid a fragrant whirl of cocoabutter. “I was getting my color done, and now I feel like a different person. So much better.” Read the rest of this article »

Rock Steady

After two kids and 15 years at the top of the pops, Gwen Stefani and her trademark style-SoCal tomboy meets ultrapolished pinup-still win us over every time. by Maggie Bullock

Fresh off a No Doubt reunion tour and the spring show of her fashion line, L.A.M.B., Gwen Stefani touched down in New York recently to introduce the latest version of her Harajuku Girls fragrance franchise (this time,the fab five are reimagined as tanned, bikini-clad Sunshine Cuties). An inspiring blend of superstar and supermom, Stefani was in full regalia-sharp brows, pink-painted lips, gobs of gold jewelry-while Zuma, her one -year- old (”my bunny”, Gwen cooed) attempted a sweet escape from her hip. Read the rest of this article »

A Q&A with No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani

Stefani, loving life, at home and on the road by Marian Lu

Gwen Stefani is no doubtedly back with No Doubt. After taking a five-year break from the ska-band, the 39-year-old singer has found success outside of No Doubt – with a fashion label (L.A.M.B), two hit records and two kids in tow.

But this summer she’s back with the band that launched her, and in its 1990s and early-2000’s heyday, sold more than 27 million records and won 2 grammys.

No Doubt plays the White River Amphitheater in Auburn on Sunday. Stefani talked to the Seattle Times: Read the rest of this article »

The next phase

Five years, a grip of side and solo projects, limitless speculation and a nursery (or two) full of babies later, No Doubt are heading back on the road. They’re ready, more or less.

“I think we’ll be just rehearsed enough to pull it off, not so well-rehearsed that something couldn’t go wrong,” guitarist Tom Dumont admits. “That’s just where you want to be at the beginning of a tour, I think.”

Dumont and Co. would know, having cut their teeth relentlessly touring their native Orange County prior to blowing up into one of the world’s biggest bands. But things have changed, both professionally and personally. Read the rest of this article »

No Doubt Hits The Road

In between bites of a Cobb salad at New York’s Tribeca Grand Hotel, Gwen Stefani is explaining why No Doubt is going on tour for the first time in five years without a new album to promote.

“Honestly, it’s procrastination,” she says with a sigh. “My plan was to get pregnant and write a record, but instead of writing, I just ate all the time.”

Stefani laughs as she pops a tomato in her mouth. “Writing is always really hard for me – I hate it and hate it and then I do it, and I’m happy it’s done,” she says. “I was blocked and I needed to get inspired, and I thought playing live would get the creative juices flowing again.”

Which isn’t to say Stefani and her No Doubt bandmates haven’t been busy since the 2001 release of their last album, “Rock Steady.” Stefani, who has two sons, ages 8 months and 3 years, released two solo albums, “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.,” which sold 4 million copies, and “The Sweet Escape,” which sold 1.7 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Bassist Tony Kanal did production work on Stefani’s albums and wrote songs with artists including Pink. Guitarist Tom Dumont produced two records, scored a documentary and was a stay-at-home dad. Drummer Adrian Young did session work and played golf. Read the rest of this article »

Inside the summer’s Hottest Tours — No Doubt

On the second night of No Doubt’s new tour, Gwen Stefani looked into the sea of fans and screamed, “I fucking love this song!” before launching into “It’s My Life.” It’s the band’s first time on the road since 2004, and the adrenaline is pumping: Stefani also climbed a lighting rig and busted out a set of push-ups during the show, which highlighted the group’s hits. “We’re a live band — we had to get out there and reconnect onstage,” says bassist Tony Kanal, who filled usin on the band’s 55-date tour.

Why tour without a new CD?
We need to find our muse — that’s what this tour is for. Before we made Rock Steady, we has so much fun on the road — having dance parties — that we got excited about dancehall and went to Jamaica to record. When we started wrting our new album, the inspiration was missing, so we decided to get out and play.

Have you written any new tunes?
There’s tons of ideas, but we’re not far enough along to play anything live. I put a studio on my bus, so whenever there’s a long drive, I’ll invite my bandmates on board to work on music.

How is touring now that your bandmates all have kids?
It’s a totally different dynamic — there are five babies out there! Gwen and the guys have cribs on their buses; the afterparty room with the DJ rig and bar is being turned into a romper room.

What’s it like to play old songs?
Tragic Kingdom songs like “Happy Now?” and “End It On This” bring back memories. We’re so lucky to be doing this after 23 years. I know it’s difficult for other bands, but not for us. We actually like each other.

Thanks to Jenny at BSO for the transcription!

For Gwen Stefani, never a doubt

The singer-songwriter always knew No Doubt would rise again. No matter how long it took. By Randy Lewis

Gwen Stefani may be a superstar pop singer, hit songwriter, fashion maven and role model for millions of girls and young women, but on a brutally hot afternoon late last week, on a loading dock outside a largely empty sports arena in Ontario, she was just a mom, trying to keep her 3-year-old son entertained while she took on an impromptu decorating project.

“I don’t have time to do this, but you know me — once I get obsessed with something . . .,” Stefani said while splattering globs of sky blue, neon orange and electric pink paint across three large squares of white fabric. She and a couple of friends were creating tapestries that will hang in the backstage dressing rooms during the first full-scale concert tour in seven years by No Doubt, the once-scrappy ska-rock group that emerged from Anaheim to become one of the biggest-selling pop music acts of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Nearby, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, the first of Stefani’s two kids with rock star hubby Gavin Rossdale, frolicked over a separate sheet of material reserved for him. Eager to include his 8-month-old brother, Zuma, in the fun, James (as Stefani usually calls him) plopped his hands on his young sibling’s head. Read the rest of this article »

Summer reunion

No Doubt kicks off tour in Borgata by Alan Scully

When No Doubt went on hiatus in 2004, nobody in the band faced a bigger adjustment than Tony Kanal, the band’s bassist and along with singer Gwen Stefani, a key songwriting contributor for the band.

For Stefani, the break gave her the opportunity to launch her solo career, which she did with great success. She made two CDs – “Love.Angel.Music.Baby” and “The Sweet Escape” – each of which went platinum and allowed her to stretch musically into a sound that liberally mixed hip-hop and dance styles with pop. She also married former Bush singer Gavin Rossdale, with whom she has had two sons.

Guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young, who are also married and parents, got in some family time, pursued outside music projects and also had time for their favorite hobbies – surfing and golf, respectively. Read the rest of this article »

Reunited

Gwen Stefani and No Doubt kick off reunion tour at Borgata by Ed Conran

When a recording artist possesses star quality, it’s usually fairly apparent. That’s typically so well before a singer-songwriter goes national. While having drinks, hot water and whiskey, with Courtney Love, circa 1991, it was obvious that the virtually unknown, yet larger-than-life rocker was destined to become a star. But then there was Dave Matthews. After chatting with the laidback Matthews before an early club show once, I never in a million would have guessed the soft-spoken, unassuming songsmith would become an icon.

And then there is Gwen Stefani, who fits somewhere in the middle between Love and Matthews. It was obvious that the bottle-blonde No Doubt vocalist from Orange County, Calif., wanted to become a pop sensation. Read the rest of this article »

Back in the saddle

No album, no game plan, no problem!

But as No Doubt embark on their first tour in five years, Gwen Stefani and her droogs face the biggest challenge of their career: uncertainty. By David Marchese. Photographs by Marc Hom

“We need this so badly,” says Gwen Stefani in the perpetually questioning accent of a native Cali girl. “We’ve been in a drought for, like, years.” She’s talking about the rain currently pelting the greater Los Angeles area. Presumably.

On an early March afternoon, the platinum blond singer, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, is looking through the kitchen window of the recording studio where she and bandmates Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young have been working on a cover of Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver.” It’s the first music they’ve recorded together in half a decade. Read the rest of this article »