UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 28, Page 1
April 18, 1996
Gin Blossoms booked for Carpenter stage

     The Gin Blossoms, whose hits include "Till I Hear It from You,"
"Found Out About You" and the recent "Follow You Down," will headline
a concert at 8 p.m., Thursday, April 25, in the Bob Carpenter Center.
Opening the show will be Tommy Keene and Dishwalla.
     Tickets-at $8 for full-time UD undergraduates with ID, $12 for
other members of the University community and $15 for the general
public-are on sale at the Bob Carpenter Center and Perkins Student
Center box offices and by phone through Ticketmaster at 984-2000 or
(215) 336-2000. A convenience charge may apply. There is a four-ticket
limit for all price groups.
     The concert is presented by the Student Center Programs Advisory
Board (SCPAB).
     The Gin Blossoms' double-platinum breakthrough album New
Miserable Experience  established the quintet from Tempe, Ariz., and
sent the band on an intensive three-year whirlwind of touring
activity.
     The band's new release, Congratulations I'm Sorry, continues the
Gin Blossoms' tradition of thoughtful, accessible, guitar-based rock,
with memorable melodies, bittersweetly insightful lyrics and
effortlessly impassioned performances. The 12-song album builds on its
predecessor's musical and lyrical strengths, with driving, emotionally
nuanced songs such as "Follow You Down," "As Long As It Matters," "Day
Job," "Virginia" and "Competition Smile."
     "Being out on the road for four years will either break you up or
make you a better band," guitarist Jesse Valenzuela said. "In our
case, it made us a better band. A lot of things that we used to really
have to work at come naturally to us now."
     The Gin Blossoms first generated interest outside the Phoenix
area in 1989 with a self-released independent album, Dusted. The band
made its major label debut on A&M two years later with a self-
produced, five-song EP, Up and Crumbling. That disc set the stage for
the summer 1992 release of New Miserable Experience, which didn't take
off commercially for nearly a year after its release. Then, the radio
success of such tunes as "Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You,"
"Allison Road," "Mrs. Rita" and "Until I Fall Away" sent the band on a
series of tours that helped the quintet develop.
     The Gin Blossoms consolidated the sales success of New Miserable
Experience in the fall of 1995 with the hit "Till I Hear It from You,"
from the Empire Records soundtrack. It was the #1-most-added track at
five different radio formats in its first week of release.
     "I think people like that sort of bittersweet quality that our
songwriting has," said vocalist Robin Wilson, who counts a double UFO
sighting as one of the highlights of the new disc's recording process.
"It's like the band's name; it sounds pretty, but it represents
something a bit darker. We seem to manage to write really commercial
songs without having to try too hard, but it's also nice to put
something in a song that means something to people, or creates a
little bit of mystery. Or, at least, inspires a little bit of
confusion."
     Other members of the Gin Blossoms are Scott Johnson, guitar; Bill
Leen, bass; and Phillip Rhodes, drums.
     One of the most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters of the
1980s, Keene signed with the Matador label in 1992 and released an EP,
Sleeping on a Roller Coaster.
     His early records for the Park Avenue and Dolphin labels were
classic examples of intelligent, irresistible guitar rock. Over the
past few years, Keene has continued to write, record and perform new
material. Ten Years After is his first full-length album of new
material since 1989's Based On Happy Times.
     Dishwalla combines pop, alternative, soul and classic rock,
shifting tone and timbre in nearly every song while remaining cohesive
throughout.
     The band's debut album, Pet Your Friends is reminiscent, at
different times, of a wide range of bands, from Isaac Hayes to Led
Zeppelin to Queen. Dishwalla formed three years ago in Santa Barbara,
Calif., but the band members had all  played in other groups before.
     For more information on the April 25 concert, call UD1-HENS.