Reunited Gin Blossoms are back in full bloom

The mellow Arizona rockers have gotten back together and are touring the country.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The usual factors that break up other bands -- creative and personality conflicts, record company woes -- caused the Gin Blossoms to disintegrate back in 1997. Even if the Tempe, Ariz., quintet was riding high due to the platinum sales of its sophomore effort and honored for two of the most played songs the previous year, the band members went their separate ways.
Then, as is common within the music industry, time away from one another, a few years to heal old "wounds" and a maturity level that developed due to a combination of age and family life slowly brought the band back together.
In a telephone interview, guitarist Scott Johnson described a casual phone call that invited him to take part in a songwriting session with his onetime bandmates Robin Wilson (vocals) and Bill Leen (bass). Weekly meetings renewed their past working relationship. A New Year's Eve gig at the end of 2001, followed by a benefit a month later convinced them that they still had the goods in a live setting.
"It was a slow process. But there was talk after New Year's, 'Since we got the set back up and we're rehearsed. Maybe let's try to do some other gigs.' It just escalated. Then, as luck would have it, we didn't have any management 'cause we weren't a band anymore. A friend who had signed the band to a publishing deal back in '89 or '90 had decided to go into managing bands. So, it was just the perfect situation because we all knew him. By the time June of last year came around we had something like 60 dates booked."
Fans respond
Despite the passage of time, the group smoothly reignited fan interest. The appeal remained due to the solid hooks contained in the half dozen hit singles from the Gin Blossoms two major label albums, "New Miserable Experience" and "Congratulations, I'm Sorry."
"We had no idea if there would be any interest. The response was so amazing we kept going. It was pretty organic to start off with. It wasn't a business decision, just guys hanging around playing guitars. I really like that idea."
Gin Blossoms played a combination of clubs, small theaters and multiband line-ups. The group appeared twice at W.D. Packard Music Hall and Convention Center in Warren as part of benefits for Great Lakes Festival Ballet. This year has presented the members with a more ambitious touring schedule, which includes a Sunday date at the Mahoning Valley Rib Burn Off.
New material
The reunion has found the band members, which includes guitarist/vocalist Jesse Valenzuela, working on new material at Wilson's studio. Some of these tunes show up during its current live dates. The closest thing to a new album to promote is the deluxe edition of "New Miserable Experience." The two-disc set includes that album plus a second disc filled with rarities and live tracks.
A listen to "NME" displays the timelessness of those recordings, a type of melodic rock that brought together elements of raw, roots and jangle rock, country and the tejano sounds from Mexico. The locals call it the Tempe Sound, while Johnson and Valenzuela dubbed it "jangle crunch."
While Gin Blossoms aren't content to re-create that successful release, Johnson does believe that the new material isn't far removed from what's worked in the past.
"We're not trying to break any new ground, just trying to write good songs. Sometimes guys will totally go in a different direction, but that's not what we're all about. We're a pop rock band tried and true. That's what we do best."