No Doubt Scrapbook

No Doubt’s Anniversary Party

In which we celebrate the union of Gwen and Gavin, the spectacular success of the little so-cal band that could and the arrival of a dangerous character known as the douche. by Neil Strauss

Thousands of Staind and Linkin Park fans are packed into the Universal Amphitheaters in Los Angeles, unaware that No Doubt are about to make a surprise appearance. And to tell the truth, no one is sure if these fans really care. No Doubt are the only band tonight with a female member, the only group more attuned to ska and reggae than rap and rock, and the only act whose current single “Hey Baby,” is full of New Wave electronics and drum machine beats. There is no aggression or angst to be found in “Hey Baby,” kids, just Gwen Stefani singing about sipping chamomile tea. Can you relate to that? Read the rest of this article »

No Doubt

By Mar Yvette

It’s not often that a band can withstand its founding member departing, increasing creative uncertainty, weak record sales, mounting industry pressure and loads of internal (and extremely personal) tension. But that’s exactly what O.C. darlings-turned-world-famous wünderkinds No Doubt have done - and they’ve got their very own episode of VH1’s Behind The Music to prove it. Together now for almost 15 years, chances are many of you Mean Street readers got to experience the group’s kinetic live shows back in the day when Anaheim was known simply as Disneyland’s epicenter and Gwen wasn’t touted as a diva in fashion magazines; a term the gregarious lyricist laughs about. “I think of Aretha Franklin when I hear that word. I don’t wake up in the morning and go, ‘you diva!’ ” Read the rest of this article »

“Music is Sexy”

Gwen Stefani: “I love this headline so much, I’m going to kiss it.”

So says Gwen Stefani, and who is Blender to argue? But what else does this ska-singing, rock star-dating, Eve-supporting California mega-blond find sexy? And what does she think of our list of the 50 sexist artist of all time? Blender turned up on the doorstep of her Los Angeles home to find out… Read the rest of this article »

Tony Kanal Interviewed by Brandon Griggs

What made you guys enter the studio so soon?
We were just feeling the vibes. We finished touring in November of last year and we started writing at the beginning of January. The writing process moved quickly and was going so well that we were like ‘lets go into the studio and make this happen’. As smooth as everything was going, there was really no reason to wait.

So did you all help out on the writing of this album or did you have any outside collaborations?
Gwen, Tom and I wrote most of this record, but we did do a couple of outside collaborations. We co-wrote a song with Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, and a song with The Neptunes (a hip-hop production team). Read the rest of this article »