Beacon Street Online | 10 Years of No Doubt News

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GWEN’S INTERVIEW WITH MOJO 95.5 (7/3/2009)

Thanks to Rosie for heads up, but Gwen called into local Detroit radio station Mojo 95.5 this morning to talk about the show tonight in Auburn Hills (ugh at them for playing “The Sweet Escape” in the background, but anyways.) She sounds really groggy, “tour voice” as she likes to say, but she did just wake up and she is… in the middle of the tour. She talks about the goods and the bads of being on the road with her children, she tells a cute story about how the kids climbed into bed with her in the middle of the night and woke her up. Gwen talks about how she’s done it before with King on her last tour, but she finds her days off harder than nights with shows. Apparently tonight’s meet and greet before the show has over 60 people in there… yikes!

The DJ brings up the whole “tension” thing with her, and she explains how of course they are going to have their issues, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. She talks about how they were getting frustrated trying to write the next record, but it wasn’t coming for them. No Doubt decided to hit the road, then Gossip Girl called them and wanted the band to record a song… which the band wasn’t planning on. She describes the studio situation as “challenging,” and says that her and Tony got in their first fight in a really, really long time. Apparently it was over the phone, they were cussing each other out (she actually cussed on the radio — they bleeped her!) She thinks it had to do with the pressure to do the song, the band wasn’t ready, the tour, and just unresolved feelings. The DJs are kind of jackasses asking her if she appreciated going solo so she didn’t have to fight, and asks if she plans on heading to do more “Gwen Stefani stuff” after the tour is over. She explains that fighting is never fun, but she never intended to the solo thing to last as long as it did, it was meant as a dance record, and the plan was to come back home to do another No Doubt record, which is what’s next. Maybe it’s just me, but you can kind of her an annoyance in Gwen’s tone with the DJ keeps pushing the solo thing even going as far as asking her if Interscope is pushing her to ditch the band and go solo since “she sold all those records” and that “she can do it by herself.” What an dork! She just responds, “No, not one bit,” and assures them she’s never heard that. She was in a hurry to get off the phone. I don’t blame her.

Ever wonder what Gwen uses when she soaks in the tub… no? I didn’t think so, but luxaholics.com wanted to, found out, and are giving away Big Blue Bath Bombs found at Lush in LA — which I knew Gwen was a big fan of.

In between touring with No Doubt and raising two mini rockers, Gwen Stefani has to relax sometime — a girl’s still gotta pamper herself! Gwen recently picked up some Big Blue Bath Bombs at Lush in L.A. These organic bath goodies are packed with detoxifying sea salt, vitamin-rich seaweed and relaxing lavender and lemon.

Luxe is giving away a couple Big Blue Bath Bombs to the ones we love — you!

So I’m not able to embed the video (damn Brightcove!) but Milkwaukee’s todaystmj4.com was the before the show chatting it up with fans at Summerfest. It seems like everyone was really excited to see the band, even the news station. They posted about how they peeked in and saw Gwen stretching and everything before the show and what not.

Gwen Stefani is wearing a white jacket and something akin to a sports bra. Her well-muscled mid-drift is exposed as she lifts each leg onto a stack of video cases and stretches her hamstrings. We are backstage at the Marcus Amphitheater getting a rare look at the show before the show.

When her legs are well stretched, she attends to her curls. Adjusting them slightly and then swirling her head around as if to loosen her neck. Shortly after 9 p.m. she darts out onto the stage and instantly becomes the very picture of perpetual motion. Her movement is followed by a lone guitar riff and then the rhythmic beat of the bass. The show is underway.

There is nothing about No Doubt’s music to disappoint a true pop music aficionado. Still, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the band’s tight execution when given the opportunity to watch their remarkable style.

Outside the Marcus, hours before show time, that style was the focus of a very fashionable bunch of fans willing to talk about “Stefani Style.”

“It’s different. It’s funky and it’s like sexy but not too sexy,” said Natalie Treleven, her pink curls framing her big, dark eyes.

“She just is very captivating and so like when you watch her, it’s very. You just like want to move,” said Morgan Larson as she made a Stefani-like dance move.

Apparently, both Bedouin Soundclash and Paramore joined the band onstage for “Stand and Deliver” and the set was cut short somehow. I’ll do a little investigating and I’ll post the set list soon! Below is a video that features clips from the whole show, but the last minute or so is “Stand and Deliver.”

Tony gave a new interview with mlive.com (well, I’m not sure if it’s new but I notice some new quotes, so we’ll call it new.) Anyways, he talks about how the band is having a great time on the road, and the response from the fans has been phenomenal. He mentions again how they have a bunch of ideas floating around for new material for the upcoming album, but nothing they can call “songs.” He feels that the band’s connection is just as strong as ever, but the dynamic backstage is a lot different with the kids and everything, but in a good way. I’m so interested in seeing how the next album will play out… can’t come soon enough!

No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal is pleasantly surprised with his band’s reunion tour. Not only are the bandmates having the time of their lives, but fans are as well, he reports.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Kanal, calling from Virginia Beach, Va., where No Doubt was to have a show in a couple hours. “It’s so much fun. I think we’re pleasantly surprised it is this big and the response has been phenomenal. We’re just having a great time.”

Kanal explained that when No Doubt, which also includes singer Gwen Stefani, drummer Adrian Young and guitarist Tom Dumont, stepped on stage for the first time after a four-year hiatus, the chemistry was tangible.

One of the first shows we did was headlining the Bamboozle shows in New Jersey (in early May),” Kanal said. “It was a huge audience, like 30,000, 35,000 people. Gwen asked the audience, ‘How many people are seeing No Doubt for the first time?’ I would say the majority of the people responded, which was very interesting and cool to see that there’s a whole new generation of kids who haven’t seen us before, who are getting turned on to us now.”

Kanal chalked up the new audience to Stefani’s solo career. Stefani released her debut solo album – “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” – in 2004. Inspired by music of the 1980s, the album featured the single “Hollaback Girl,” reportedly the first U.S. digital download to sell 1 million copies. Her follow-up solo album, 2006’s “The Sweet Escape,” spawned “Wind It Up” and the title track.

“I think (Stefani’s solo work) maybe exposed (No Doubt) to a whole new audience,” said Kanal, who, during the break wrote songs for Stefani and Pink, as well as others. “When you look out into a No Doubt audience tonight, it’s really diverse. I think you’ve had the people who have been following us for many, many years. You’ve also got those same people bringing their kids now. Then you’ve got a lot of people who were turned on to No Doubt through Gwen. They were fans of her solo work and they’re aware that she’s in a band, and for the first time they’re coming to see her band, the band that she’s been in for all these years.”

Next up for No Doubt, when the U.S. tour wraps up in Hawaii in mid-August, is a new album. The band members began writing the record before they headed out on tour.

“We got in the room, we started playing, writing,” Kanal said. “There was about two or three sessions that I did with Tom and Adrian where we just went in with our producer, Spike Stent, and put a bunch of ideas down on tape. Then last year we – Tom and myself – did a couple sessions with Gwen. We have a bunch of really, like, exciting seedlings of ideas but nothing really in shape enough to say, ‘This is a song and this is a song.’ So, it was at that point that we just said, ‘OK. We need to go play some shows and get out there again, instead of banging our heads against the walls and trying force a record out. Let’s get out there get inspired, reconnect with each other, reconnect with our audience and come back and make a record.”

“And that reconnection is going well, he reported. Kanal said it feels like No Doubt is exactly the same band that they were 22 years ago.

“I feel that we have the same energy on the stage and we have the same connection on stage and we have the same amount of fun that we’ve always had,” Kanal said. “It’s just awesome. It’s a different dynamic behind the scenes. My bandmates have all have their kids and their families out. So it’s a little bit different as far as that goes. But it’s just a refreshing, nice change. We’re so fortunate and blessed that we get to experience all these things together still as a band, including now having kids on the road with us.”

I’m actually kind of sad that I won’t be able to check them out on the tour, cause they are incredible, but reggae opening act Bedouin Soundclash gave a new interview with onmilwaukee.com since they are in town for Summerfest with No Doubt tonight. They mention how big of fans they are of each other, and what an honor it is to be opening for ND. Bedouin goes on just about how nice of people they are and how much fun they are having.

Before Gwen Stefani and No Doubt make their much buzzed about performance in Milwaukee at the Marcus Amphitheater on July 2, a rising musical sensation from Toronto plans to shake up the sonic hemispheres from its first note.

Originating from a Canadian city known for its cultural diversity, Bedouin Soundclash, a duo of Jay Malinowski on vocals/guitar and Eon Sinclair on bass, fuses the sounds they love. From reggae and punk to folk and soul, a fresh sound comes forth that leaves audiences dancing. No Doubt is among them. In fact, they hand-picked the duo as one of their openers for many of their reunion shows.

OMC: What’s it like to be opening for No Doubt and where would you place it among your many highlights?

ES: I think it’s amazing. There’s not too many big bands that can fuse reggae, ska and punk around. I can only think of two bands in the world that I think do it well and No Doubt is one of them. They’re really nice people and the shows have been great so far. We’re looking forward to coming to Milwaukee and playing the rest of the tour with them. It’s a great big step for us…especially since it’s their reunion tour, that they’re getting back together after five years since their last tour. It’s a huge honor and something we’re really excited about.

So, now that the tour is officially half over (it’s gone by so fast!), I have decided it’s about time to announce our new contest! We would like you guys to submit photos, links, stories, videos, or whatever of your favorite moments from the tour so far! It doesn’t have to be your own video, photo, etc., and you can submit however many you want! For each submission your name will be entered in the contest! Another batch of submissions will also be open after the tour ends. The voting will take place in rounds at the end of the tour and will be voted by the fans! So, leave a comment on the post to enter the contest, all rules and prizes are listed below — good luck!

Continue reading New Contest: BSO Wants Your Favorite Moments From The Tour

So the guys at shortomatic.com make custom board shorts for celebrities and customers made straight in California. They made a custom pair for Gavin first, then decided to create a pair for Gwen. They turned out pretty good and feature her signature black and white strip lining. It looks like they say “Kingdom” on the design…

Thanks to Ash, the shorts actually say “Kingston” and “Zuma.”

Finally Gwen won’t feel left out that Gavin got the shorts! These shorts are blinding. I’ve drawn on all sorts of inspiration for this design, starting with her love of Jamaica! I’ve retouched the Red Stripe bottle tops to feature the names of her two kids!…very low key…. meanwhile, the lining is a one off too, taken from her own line of perfume, these stripes are something of a signature.

We’ve noticed that she’s happiest in red, white and black so hopefully these will be her choice of clothing on the Ellen Show.

Thanks so much to Dez for finding, but looks like Harajuku Lovers is still going strong –despite rumors that it was coming to an end since the official website closed. The prints feature the girls as nerds, preps, candy, and one that features really beautiful artwork with them (see above) which resembles the upcoming line of tees coming this fall.

You can check out the rest of the prints here — scheduled to hit stores in the fall.

More hope for Irvine! No Doubt added “Tragic Kingdom” (a full version!) to the set list again last night in London, Ontario, Canada. They even dedicated it to George (you know, the lucky fan who got onstage for “Let’s Get Back?”) — pretty sweet!

I have not seen any videos of it on YouTube yet, but I will post as soon as it shows up! Also, for fans that attended the show, where did it play out in the set list? I’m trying to get that organized for BSO, thanks! Thanks to George, we added the set list!

Punk, hop-hop duo Chester French covered “Hella Good” during a couple stops in March earlier this year… I guess they did a cool job. They were opening for Lady Gaga, and the second video seems to be filmed by a ND fan… too bad she messed up the words singing along.