The upcoming Gin Blossoms show at Mohawk Valley Community College will be heavy on the familiar material, promises founding guitarist and backing vocalist Jesse Valenzuela.
“It will be all of the hits, so worry not,” Valenzuela said Oct. 18 in an exclusive Open Mike telephone interview from Phoenix, Arizona. “All of your radio favorites will be fulfilled.”
Since their multi-platinum debut “New Miserable Experience” back in 1992, their 25-plus years making records has certainly produced a full playlist of hits, including “Hey Jealousy,” “Follow You Down,” “’Til I Hear It From You,” “Miss Disarray” and “Long Time Gone.” And they’ve just released their latest album “Mixed Reality,” so the hits keep on coming. The new material is seeing a receptive response from concertgoers as well as the oldies, he said.
Valenzuela recalled he was 24 when he helped form Gin Blossoms more than 30 years ago. There are days when he feels every year, but then again, there are the young college crowds that the band still enjoys playing for while feeding off their own young enthusiasm.
“I love their youthful exuberance,” Valenzuela admitted of audiences like the one expected at MVCC. “I really envy their strength and energy.”
"As Long as it Matters " by Gin Blossoms featuring Jesse Valenzuela on lead guitar and backing vocals.
Reflecting on the band’s image, Valenzuela admitted none of the Gin Blossoms - also including lead singer Robin Wilson, bassist Bill Leen, guitarist Scotty Johnson, and drummer Scott Hessel - really stands out as a “star” in the band. The focus is simply on creating great tunes, he explained.
“This is completely about the whole package,” he said. “None of us really had that George Clooney star magic. We just have a great catalog of music.”
Asked about the duration of the current tour, Valenzuela said the touring never really stops. They are traveling across the United States playing some 100 dates this year. He also does his own solo acoustic shows, and was playing one the evening of this interview.
He said although he doesn’t often get the chance to really sight-see while in a new town, he does try to walk around a college campus when playing there, or visit a local museum. In his downtime, he watches CNN or a movie.
Touring has definitely changed since he started out, Valenzuela noted. Back then, there was no Internet nor cell phones to bring everyone closer. But he does appreciate the new modern conveniences of Uber and Lyft drivers, though, since they give him the freedom to get around in the places he visits.
The music business has certainly changed dramatically in his time with Gin Blossoms as well.
With this summer’s “Mixed Reality,” it was an eight-year wait since its predecessor “No Chocolate Cake.” Valenzuela said the wait for a new album might be even longer. Fans might even never see another Gin Blossoms album, he revealed - but it’s definitely not because they would stop recording, or that they were breaking up.
It’s the changes in technology that will prompt that change in the delivery of their music, he intimated.
They will definitely continue to record new Gin Blossoms music, but with digital delivery they can easily release it song by song right over their website. A long time gone are the days of buying full albums for one or two favorite songs, as he did in his youth. Now the computer age makes compiling a digital collection of only select songs a reality.
“We’ll be recording new songs, but maybe just putting them up on the ‘site. The idea of buying an album seems to be outdated,” he observed.
The Gin Blossoms take the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2 in the Schafer Theater on the MVCC Utica campus. Tickets are available at the MVCC Box Office, located in the Information Technology Building room 106, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday; at the College Stores on the Utica and Rome Campuses; online at www.mvcc.edu/tickets; or by calling 315-731-5721.
