And it was like, 'You are!'". But it's the first one Bill Leen and Doug Hopkins … "Those were some of the best years," he says. "And Bowie, of course. That group broke up in 1982. "Then we'd gravitate back together," Swafford says, "because he was such a great songwriter.". Before Doug Hopkins tragically committed suicide in 1993, he would often tell his friends that the Gin Blossoms were ripping him off. "I was like 'What the hell are you people looking at? Valenzuela’s response, tinged with annoyance, comes in the form of another question: “You can’t fathom what it would be like going on tour after that?”. Staff, "I was with him the night he bought the 'Anarchy in the U.K.' 45," Leen says. "The last time I saw Doug was at my brother's wedding," Valerie recalls. It was us. Everybody loved him.". In addition to Valerie, Flower is survived by two other siblings, Larry and Patricia, and two daughters, Emily, 23, and Amanda, 20. And his voice was just so sweet. New Miserable Experience's initial release had completely different packaging. Leen says. Join the New Times community and help support independent local journalism in Phoenix. He just seemed so elevated.". “There was so much bad information that got out there,” he said. Local musician Lawrence Zubia tells a story about Doug Hopkins, in which Hopkins hops a slow-moving freight train at Mill Avenue, intending to jump off when it neared his Tempe apartment. With that massive success, the label had high hopes for Congratulations I’m Sorry. The song’s B-side, “Seeing Stars,” was written by Wilson as a tribute to Hopkins. The Rarities Album was released separately in Abbreviated form in 2010 as Rarities, missing the three cuts from Dusted. We use cookies to collect and analyze information on site performance and usage, and to enhance and customize content and advertisements. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. "We were gonna do 'Be True to Your School' like the Ramones did 'Do You Wanna Dance,'" Leen says. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. But it's the first one Bill Leen and Doug Hopkins considered when choosing a singer for their first of several bands together, setting in motion events that would lead to Tempe jangle-pop stars the Gin Blossoms' quadruple-platinum breakthrough album "New Miserable Experience.". He would sing with an English accent. "That was October (1993) and Doug was gone in December. "He had his kids. ", Shipp found it funny that his friend would draw the line at "Be True to Your School. But the train picked up speed and Hopkins ended up in Tucson, where he spent the night drinking at a bar in Hotel Congress before taking a bus back to Phoenix. ", ARIZONA MUSIC:How Roger Clyne became an Arizona legend — and why he stayed. “Maybe [the song] shouldn’t be on the record. The adjectives most often reached for as the singer's friends and family try to sum up Flower's personality are "sweet" and "kind. ", In August 1983, the Psalms recorded a cassette EP, "No Great Cathedral.". According to the album’s producer John Hampton, who recalled the sessions in an 2014 article for the Memphis Flyer, the Gin Blossoms were under tremendous pressure to write hit songs for the new record in a short amount of time. I don’t think that label was standing in the way of it. The majority of the songs rely on a melody-driven pop style, while the final track, "Cheatin'", leans into country music. When the singles “Found Out About You” and “Hey Jealousy” started climbing the charts, Hopkins’ nightmare unfolded before his eyes. "He doted on me, my sister, our children, his children," Valerie says. New Miserable Experience is the second studio album by rock band Gin Blossoms, released on August 4, 1992.The album was released to little fanfare and relatively lackluster reviews. “But if one takes an artist and puts him on the road for a 15-month tour, and shortly thereafter for another, larger 15-month tour, and you add the fact that all of the money coming in kind of relaxes the old anxiety of youth, you now have a major song problem. He’s proud of his bandmates’ deft songwriting skills. To find out more, visit our cookies policy and our privacy policy. That first band, whose name was so "punk" that Leen won't share it, never made it out of the garage. "He found something and said, 'How does this one go?'" The Gin Blossoms loaded the record with songs just as touching and relatable to the listener as those on New Miserable Experience. This was important in our 20s.". We didn’t have Doug [Hopkins] anymore. So that's saying a lot.". All rights reserved. That’s just how he was. Asking him to think back on the events surrounding an album recorded two decades ago feels like pulling teeth. He didn’t want the band to find success off his songs. Support local journalism. Support Us Flower had retreated from the scene after leaving the Psalms, his second band with Leen and Hopkins, in 1984, to focus on family, settling into a long career at Sears at Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix. "Richard could've had a substantial career as a singer," he says. I think it’s done okay … It’s not something that would have kept me up at night.”. © 2020 www.azcentral.com. But for him, it just seemed like a natural thing.". His replacement, Scott Johnson, is listed as a member of the band in the liner notes, but did not play on the album. "It's taken me years to figure that (expletive) out. And that was the first song, probably, Doug Hopkins ever wrote. ", His bandmates fired him during the recording of that 1992 release. Edit Release New Submission . Flower's health had been declining since 2003, when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It’s a very good quality.“. Before Doug Hopkins tragically committed suicide in 1993, he would often tell his friends that the Gin Blossoms were ripping him off. “So, the band starts down the path of record two with some good songs, but not quite the songs of youth.”. The album, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, came along four long years after the release of their successful major-label debut, which included touring in support of New Miserable Experience for over a year. Enter your email or sign up with a social account to get started, Phoenix's independent source of local news and culture. "He said, 'Your singer reminds me of my old boss,' meaning Jim Morrison," Leen recalls. (The title is meant to capture the bittersweet feeling of the Gin Blossoms’ success regrettably coinciding with Hopkins’ death.) About Us, ", As Smith says, "He would never say anything bad about anybody. While members of other bands touring the ’90s nostalgia circuit seem eager to reminisce, Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist and one of the Gin Blossoms’ founding members, seems audibly frustrated as he attempts to recall how the sessions for the album began. However, nearly a year after its release the lead single "Hey Jealousy" entered the top 40. The band was asked by A&M Records to record a single for the soundtrack to the 1995 film Empire Records. We had pretty rough management at the time.”. So he quit. Nobody knows what the fuck happened.”. Most of them want to forget about their high school. Valenzuela fondly remembers being in the presence of such a talented man. With "Found Out About You" following a few months later, the album eventually reached multi-platinum status. He was fired from the band at their label’s request after recording for what would be the band’s 1992 breakthrough album, New Miserable Experience, completed in Memphis. "And it was so much better than ours. Circulation, "If he and Doug had stayed together, Richard could have been the Robin Wilson. He was the band’s champion and collaborator during those sessions. He could sing Doug Hopkins' melodies perfectly. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox, Phoenix Restaurant Directory: Takeout/Delivery/Dine-in, Joe's Grotto: An Oral History of Phoenix's Now-Defunct Metal Haven, The Five Best Songs by Phoenix Musicians in October 2020, 20 Years Ago, the Gin Blossoms Released Their First Album After Doug Hopkins’ Death, Uranus Recording of Tempe Closes With Great Performances From Gin Blossoms, Rembrandts, and Tempe Rock Lifers, New Music from AJJ, Jared & The Mill, Diners, and More. Because of Richard. It was kind of a silly decision. Get the most out of your experience with a personalized all-access pass to everything local on events, music, restaurants, news and more. But Leen and Hopkins stayed on the path, one that eventually wound its way around to the Gin Blossoms, the most successful act of a pivotal moment in the history of Phoenix music. “I remember thinking being of both minds,” Valenzuela recalls. "Nobody had heard it. Flower was the "automatic" choice, Leen says of his friend and former collaborator, who died at 58. Especially music people. His name might be less familiar than those of his former bandmates who went on to form the Gin Blossoms. But he had all these handwritten lyrics and could sing them to you.". Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we would like to keep it that way. There were hints of humor, like the sound of a stadium organ playing during track seven, appropriately titled “7th Inning Stretch.” There was hope amongst the clutter and the gloom. He was tall and lithesome. He'd figured out how to create a safety net for himself and his family," Smith says. The band's guitarist, Doug Hopkins, was fired near the conclusion of the recording sessions for the album, ostensibly for his persistent alcohol problems. And he's probably sitting up in heaven with Doug.". He had these tremendous flowing locks. That's my baby brother. The spirit of Hopkins, who struggled with depression and alcoholism for several years, followed the Gin Blossoms as they began work on their follow-up, Congratulations I’m Sorry. Several songs on the album were written with references to the area, people, and events surrounding the band at the time, such as "Mrs. Rita", which is a song about a local psychic from the Gin Blossoms' hometown of Tempe, Arizona. New Miserable Experience is the second studio album by rock band Gin Blossoms, released on August 4, 1992. All rights reserved. “I think the first record is the postcard of the band,” he says, “I think [Congratulations I’m Sorry] did pretty well, considering. "So he said, 'I can't go on this adventure with you guys,'" Valerie recalls. When Hopkins felt the time had come to move on from the punk rock covers they'd been learning and start working on their own material, he turned to Flower's notebook full of lyrics. "He didn't play any instruments. Despite this setback, Congratulations I’m Sorry combined words of pain and longing with jangly power-pop that could bring smiles through the sadness. "On the back of his locker door was taped the Rolling Stone cover of the Sex Pistols," he says.

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