[12-26-97 Fri] After almost a decade together, the Gin Blossoms have amicably decided to split.
"The Gin Blossoms are broken up. It's over," lead vocalist Robin Wilson confirmed to Arizona Central. "Even the retirement fund is gone; it's depleted," he added, about a savings plan the band had put together. Guitarist Scott Johnson said that there were no sour feelings with the split - all band members felt they were drifting apart during their last U.S. tour. "We talked about a third record, but nobody was really into it," Johnson said. "Jesse [Valenzuela, guitarist] and I ran into Robin at the rehearsal space and we just looked at each other and, you know, if not everybody is into it, it's not really fun." At their final performance, a 1996 New Year's Eve party in Tempe, the Blossoms' fans didn't know it was the band's last performance, but the band did. "At that point, we pretty much knew," Johnson said.
Out of the ruins of the Gin Blossoms' "jangly" pop music come two new bands: Frontman Wilson and drummer Philip Rhodes have formed The Pharoahs. Guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson have formed the Low Watts. Both bands are currently working on new albums. The only member of the five-man band left is Bill Leen, who plans to move away from the music world and open a bookstore in Mesa.
In February the Gin Blossoms told their label, A&M Records, about their split. "They were pretty upset," Johnson said. A&M publicly denied the breakup, and band members refused to talk about it; rumors were supposedly all over the place for the last year. Right before the band's 1992 hit debut "New Miserable Experience" was released, the guitarist and songwriter, Doug Hopkins, was kicked out for an alcohol-induced breakdown. Hopkins committed suicide in 1993. The album sold over two million copies and featured hits such as "Hey Jealousy". The band's second effort, "Congratulations, I'm Sorry", went platinum.
Gin Blossoms - December 26, 1997
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