Tag: Tragic Kingdom tour

Success the Road, and Surviving it all

The past couple of years have been pretty quiet for No Doubt, particularly compared with the media hype the band experienced after the release of their 1995 album Tragic Kingdom. Now, five years later, the band has released Return of Saturn. It’s the fourth album for the Orange County, California ska-pop band. The three previous titles include No Doubt (1992), The Beacon Street Collection (1995) and Tragic Kingdom (1995), their biggest success to date. Return of Saturn boasts an impressive studio line-up: It was produced by Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette), recorded by Alain Johannes (Eleven, Chris Cornell) and mixed by Jack Joseph Puig (Black Crowes). Read the rest of this article »

No Doubt

Like Anaheim, superstardom is a weird place to come from by Dave Wielenga

Three small orange trees grow along the curb in front of her stately mansion in an old-money neighborhood above Los Angeles, and the bright pink that has replaced brassy platinum as her hot new hair color glows all the way down to her scalp. No, Gwen Stefani has not forgotten her roots. But it’s going on five years since No Doubt, one of Orange County’s most enduring and identifiably local bands, experienced its overnight international sensation. Since then has come the 15 million-selling CD, the sold-out global tour, the fan zines and Web sites and MTV awards, the weekly photographic updates in Rolling Stone on every change of clothes, boyfriend or party itinerary—all of it laced with just enough rags-to-riches pathos and angst to green light an upcoming VH-1 Behind the Music special, which will be synergistically broadcast in April to coincide with the release of the band’s new album. By now, Stefani has been a bona fide pop Tinkerbell for so long that it’s sometimes hard to believe she was ever that just-a-girl who grew up near Disneyland. Her faithful little doggie—a 15-year-old Lhasa apso named Maggen that is one year older than the band—is still at her side, Toto-and-Dorothy-style. But the Oz they inhabit clearly isn’t Anaheim anymore. When No Doubt’s tour stopped for two nights at the Pond a couple of years ago, Stefani’s parents visited her in a hotel. “Something happens to you when you travel the world and embrace everything,” Stefani acknowledges. “Suddenly, you realize that the small, little back yard you came from is such a . . . like . . . Anaheim is such a weird place to come from.” Read the rest of this article »

No doubt about it

‘Tragic Kingdom’ tour brings band to Hawaii by Nadine Kam

Being a rock guitarist is an iffy career choice at best, a one-way ticket to stardom or bust. It’s no wonder Tom Dumont remembers clearly the day in March 1995 when he quit his real-world job as file clerk at a mortgage company to enter the realm of videos, world tours, magazine covers and fame.

Then again, maybe the band would sink into oblivion.

The guitarist for No Doubt said, “We had just finished recording ‘Tragic Kingdom’ and I had a good feeling about it. But quitting was a real big deal at 27.

“I had a side thing where I promoted rock concerts, so I thought I could always fall back on that.”

So even though the band’s first album was canned by its label, Interscope, Dumont made the break. His office job, he said, “was miserable. Everyone there was miserable. For eight hours, we’d all watch the clock.”

The only good thing about the job was being able to look through files of mortgage applicants – “no one famous,” he said – studying their financial positions and dreaming of the day he would have a mortgage of his very own.

These days, as a member of one of the most popular bands in the nation, Dumont doesn’t have to worry about money, and he doesn’t watch the clock, so he has to apologize for missing an interview.

“Sorry,” he said. “Friday was my day off so I went out and played and I get forgetful.”

On work days, the band has been rehearsing like crazy so they can put on a show Saturday worthy, not only of the Honolulu set, but to impress or at least avoid making A in front of one of their favorite bands, Madness, also on the bill for the Nomad Festival at Richardson Field.

Luckily, touring is good practice and the band has done a lot of that since October 1995, crisscrossing the country 26 months out of 32 to promote “Tragic Kingdom.”

“Touring is something we really wanted to do,” Dumont said. “There are bands we looked up to – one that really inspired us was 311. They toured constantly and built up a following by crossing the country over and over again.

“We wanted to play Hawaii, which we feel like we missed. We didn’t go when we should have at the peak of ‘Tragic Kingdom’ so we’ve felt guilty about that. This is our chance to make that better.”

No Doubt is one of few bands that takes active interest in tour planning. They favored the switch in Oahu venues from Turtle Bay Hilton to Richardson Field.

“I know (the North Shore) is beautiful, and we’d like to hang out there, but we tried to get it closer to the city to make it easier for people to come out to.

“We try to be proud of everything we do, having the best quality sound system, giving the best experience,” Dumont said. “We still go to concerts so we know what it’s like to be in the audience.

“Being that playing live has been our strength for 10 years, we wanted to bring that kind of organic experience to people.”

Although No Doubt last played Hawaii at the 1996 Big Mele, ubiquitous radio play of “I’m Just a Girl,” “Spiderwebs” and “Don’t Speak” makes it seem as if the band was never really far away.

To those outside of No Doubt’s hometown underground scene in Orange County, Calif., the band seemed to appear from nowhere in 1995 with its playful new wave-meets-ska sound and chirpy-voiced singer Gwen Stefani.

Stefani’s so-called “loser band” had actually been kicking around since 1987, representing a joyful parallel universe to grunge’s bleak landscape. Dumont joined in 1988.

He saw promise in No Doubt, and an exit from his own frustrating world of rock and heavy metal. “This was in 1988, so you have to keep it in context, but it was a different age and those bands weren’t about music. They were into drinking, wearing Spandex. I was into music, and being a part of No Doubt, that was the first time people actually came to see the band.”

Still, it’s doubtful people will continue to follow a band based on one album, and Dumont says he knows fans are waiting to hear something new. Two months ago the band leased a home in the Hollywood Hills to write and record demos for a new album. This trip to Hawaii represents a vacation from the process.

“We’re trying not to set a date for (an album),” Dumont said. “Our philosophy is, just spend the time to make it great. It’ll be a step up from where we left off last time.

Stefani’s charisma keeps No Doubt fans satisfied

NO DOUBT With Weezer At Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts last night

MANSFIELD – The popularity of No Doubt has been staggering. The Southern California pop-ska group has churned out hit single after hit single in the last two years, from the cutesy “Just a Girl” to the thoughtful ballad, “Don’t Speak.” The band’s album, “Tragic Kingdom,” has exceeded 7 million in sales and the cash registers are still counting. Read the rest of this article »

Girl without a doubt

No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani’s Happy Sound Delights Millions of Young Fans

Halfway through No Doubt’s feminist-lite hit “Just a Girl,” vocalist Gwen Stefani invites the boys in the Worcester Centrum audience to sing along: “I’m just a girl… I’m just a girl in the world.”

The boys comply, so Stefani gloats – “Haa-ha!”

“Now what about the girls? What about all the cute, sweet, innocent, sexy girls?” she asks. Her voice is sugary and almost Betty Boop. “Okay, girls, ready? It goes like this: `{Expletive} you, I’m a girl!’ ” The filled-to-capacity arena explodes with shrieks and giggles. The girls are self-conscious and red-faced as they repeat after Stefani, but they’re also as defiant as you can be when you’re 12 years old and have come to your first-ever concert with your mom. Read the rest of this article »

Get happy!

A tragic suicide. A messy inter-band romance. A flop first album. Gwen Stefani and No Doubt have suffered enough heartbreak to feel your pain, they’re just not all that interested in replicating it.

Smatterings of breathlessly excited, blonde-streaked, sparkle-lashed 14-year-olds litter the backstage area of San Francisco’s fabled Filmore. Oblivious to the portraits of Janis, Jimi, and the Jefferson Airplane scattered around the venue, these girls line up to press tokens of esteem on the recently adopted object of their devotion, No Doubt’s bare-midriffed, high-octane, dreamboat frontwoman, Gwen Stefani. “You inspired me to start my own skateboarding magazine for girls!” enthuses one such acolyte. Then she presents the 26-year-old singer with a painting, thankfully explaining the elements contained therein — “That’s the sky, that’s the river, that’s the castle” — and before anyone can ask “Uh, what is it, exactly?” Stefani gushes gratitude and holds the piece out of me. “Isn’t this amazing?” she gasps. Of course, I find myself with a headful of retorts of the “I can’t tell till you wipe the vomit off” variety. I search Stefani’s eyes for a glint of cynical complicity, find only earnest appreciation, and feeling like grinch, mumble, “Interesting. Very unique.” Another devotee pleads to use the phone in No Doubt’s dressing room. Against the advice of the group’s road manager, Stefani lets the girl in. She rushes to the phone, dials seven digits, and shrieks “I’m in No Doubt’s dressing room!” Read the rest of this article »

Gwen Stefani: a sure thing

NEW YORK – As Gwen Stefani, lead singer for the band No Doubt, gets ready to go on stage, she looks like a pumped-up, punked-out Jean Harlow.

“I’ve always been obsessed by the days of the Hollywood starlet.” said the platinum blonde, whose coiffed, peroxide locks mix with glittery stage wear, including primary-colored cropped tanks over rhinestone-studded bras, parachute pants, Doc Martens and a gem glued to the center of her forehead (a look she says she adapted from an ex-boyfriend’s East Indian mother).

Stefani credits a range of fashion influences – from East India to East L.A., from Doc Martens to workout wear – for her glam-punk look.

Post-concert, it’s a similar style – minus the shine – with an emphasis on comfort. The rigorous tour has her relaxing offstage in Adidas workout pants and sneakers, for the most part.

The schedule has also affected Stefani’s old shopping habits.

“Before, I was always going to thrift stores,” she said, in a girlish, scratchy voice a day after a raucous concert at Roseland here. “These days I hardly have time to go get toothpaste.”

The Anaheim, Calif.-based band has been on a whirlwind tour for a year in the wake of its double platinum album, “Tragic Kingdom.” Critics and fans have rallied behind the group’s blend of funk and pop.

At her shows, the high-energy 26-year-old bounces around the stage and shows off rippled abs to the moshing fans, diving and body-surfing across the crowds.

“Are there any girls here?” she screams to the audience before belting out the hit single “Just a Girl.”

The crowd erupts in a volcanic roar, as fans approve the nose-thumbing lyrics about a woman’s perceived place in the world.

Part of Stefani’s charm emanates from a childlike aura – complete with an attentive gaze and high-pitched voice – despite her tough-girl stage persona.

After shows, Stefani strolls around backstage, shaking hands with music critics and signing autographs for young fans. It’s likely she hasn’t forgotten that the band’s nine-year ascent was built on many late shows in nightclubs and gigs in parts unknown.

A spokeswoman from No Doubt’s record label, Trauma, said the band is truly a Cinderella story. Two prior albums and a West Coast following were just fractional indicators of success. With Tragic Kingdom, the band broadened its style to include more of a pop sound than before – and hit pay dirt.

Success hasn’t spoiled Stefani.

“Gwen’s anti-drug – she’s become like a spokesperson, unofficially, for young girls in this country,” said the Trauma spokeswoman. “She’s not into that whole drugs, sex, rock ‘n’ roll thing. She’s one of the most wholesome people I know.”

Stefani still relates to the girls-next-door and they relate to her.

“I was the type who thought I could never influence anyone, this loser from Anaheim,” Stefani explained. “But I have such normal experiences – the mainstream Orange County chic-girls can relate.”

Girls relate not only to her lyrics, they also emulate her sense of fashion. The mostly teenage audiences at the shows mirror the hip-hoppish pants-and-tank combo, with many Adidas logos in the mix. And Stefani just filmed a “House of Style” episode for MTV, in which she details her tough-but-sexy chic.

“In high school, I couldn’t stand to have the same thing as everyone else,” she explained. “I always made my own clothes – and had many disasters.”

She still designs for herself, but the fashion disasters are over. Stefani has teamed with Deborah Viereck, a Los Angeles designer who also does custom work for rock stars Marilyn Manson and Seven Mary Three through her company, called ‘T ain’t.

“She goes through phases,” Viereck said. “At first it was like a Chicano gang-member look, but with touches like reflective strips.

“Then she started getting really sparkly. We do things that catch the light a lot, like sequin pants.”

Pants are key, due to the aerobic nature of a No Doubt show.

“She wears a lot of punk rocker bondage pants, in red, green, blue and yellow,” Viereck said.

In the heyday of the Sex Pistols, fans could be seen in multi-zippered numbers, usually in tartan plaid. Viereck gets in all those special straps, zippers and chains, but in Stefani style.

“We’ll do a bright yellow pant with black zippers and straps or red with yellow,” Viereck said. “Contrast is one of the most important elements of her clothing. It’s almost like a cartoon-animated style.”

When Stefani’s not touring, Viereck said, the looks are more tempered, with a retro feminine flare.

“She wears all that nice feminine clothing offstage, like cute Forties-style dresses and shoes,” said the stylist.

Stefani seems pleased with the custom collaboration. Who knows? A spinoff could be in her future.

“I would love to start a line with Deborah,” she said. “I love fashion.”