Gin Blossoms stay true to their sound

If you listened to the radio or watched MTV in the 1990s there’s a good chance you heard a Gin Blossoms song. The band from Tempe, Ariz., churned out hits such as “Hey Jealousy,” “Found Out About You” and “Follow You Down.” Their jangle-pop style of chiming guitars, pensive lyrics and easy-flowing melodies cracked the Billboard Hot 100, and their songs were featured in popular movies like “Wayne’s World 2” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

This Friday, fans can follow them down to the Orpheum for a live benefit show. In addition to playing old favorites and new songs, the band will be donating part of the proceeds to the Dragon Master Foundation, which funds cancer research.

Founding Gin Blossoms member and guitarist Jesse Valenzuela said that fans can expect all of the hits, as well as a sampling of the band’s newer material.

“We like to represent the old material because a lot of people don’t know the newer songs,” he said in a recent phone interview. “I am always surprised, though, by how many people are singing along to the new stuff. We have great fans who are interested in the new albums we’ve put out.”

Valenzuela said the Gin Blossoms’ style hasn’t changed much.

“There’s really only been some mild movement in terms of our style. I think we still kind of get it from the same place — guitar-driven music,” he said. “We haven’t made too many big departures. The nucleus of the band really plays the way we play. That’s kind of the magic. It’s difficult to change it too much.”

Many of the group’s seminal songs sprung from their years of performing in small venues, starting in the late 1980s.

“We were a bar band for two or three years,” he said. “We played a lot of dive bars, fraternities and college gigs from San Diego to New Orleans. Songs like ‘Found Out About You’ and ‘Hey Jealousy’ were born of those traveling years.”

Most of the hits came from the band’s first three albums: “Dusted” (1989), “New Miserable Experience” (1992), which went quadruple platinum, and “Congratulations I’m Sorry” (1996), which also went platinum. That album’s single “As Long as it Matters” was nominated for a Grammy Award the same year. The band broke up in 1997, but reunited in 2002. They’ve kept up a busy touring schedule, performing in over 100 cities in 2013. Since reforming, they’ve released two new albums, including their latest, “No Chocolate Cake.”

Though most of their chart toppers were in the early to mid-’90s, Valenzuela said that the songs themselves keep picking up fans from younger generations. It’s common for teenagers and twentysomethings to tell the band that their parents turned them on to the band’s music.

In addition to Valenzuela, the Gin Blossoms is composed of lead vocalist Robin Wilson, guitarist Bill Leen, Scott Johnson on lead rhythm and guitars, and Scott Hessel on drums and percussion.

Though they’re older, Valenzuela thinks the band is having a lot more fun and is more relaxed today.

“We’re a little kinder with each other than we were back then,” he said. “We have a little more patience with touring. Certainly we’re a lot more appreciative of that fact that we get to make music for a living. It’s a lot more fun now than it used to be, too.

“When you’re younger, you tend to get stressed and worried about silly, insignificant matters. If you’re lucky, you grow up and you gain some wisdom with your years and you realize that those big concerns you had at 25 or 30 were ridiculous. Everyone is really present and engaged now.”

Valenzuela said that fans will notice the band’s camaraderie.

“Robin is a real showman. He engages with the audience immediately. It’s not a shoegazer show. There’s lots of guitar solos. We extend songs and try to keep it fresh and exciting. We often dare each other to remember songs we haven’t played in a few years. That’s always fun.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Gin Blossoms stay true to their sound."