Goo Goo Dolls’ John Rzeznik Says ‘Luck’ Is to Blame For Band’s 40-Year Success (Exclusive)

The Goo Goo Dolls know a career lasting nearly 40 years is not something to take for granted. 

Ahead of their performance at last month’s Audacy We Can Survive concert in New Jersey, Robby Takac, 61, and John Rzeznik, 59, chatted with PEOPLE about the band’s longevity and their upcoming milestone anniversary. 

While the pair hasn’t been able to wrap their heads around the occasion, Rzeznik said, in addition to the hard work he and his bandmates have put in over the years, he knows that their success is partially out of their control.

“I don’t think you can ever underestimate luck,” Rzeznik said. “… It takes a lot of work, okay, and a lot of talent and all that kind of stuff, but I know people who are infinitely more talented than I am, and I’m just luckier than they are.”

“So it’s like you can be proud of yourself,” he concluded. “But don’t be an arrogant prick.”

Rzeznik also emphasized the importance of utilizing the platform they’ve established for good. 

“It means a lot when you get to be in a position where you can actually give back a little bit,” he said of the event that raised money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). “…I mean, things are pretty weird right now. I think a lot of people are struggling with a lot of anxiety.”

“I think events like this,” he continued, “Even just people getting together and not being on a phone like this all day, all night. I mean, it’s like you need these human experiences where it’s a visceral experience.”

The band, which now consists of Rzeznik, Takac, guitarist Brad Fernquist, drummer Craig Macintyre and multi-instrumentalist Jim McGorman, went out on their Summer Anthem Tour earlier this year to promote their EP Summer Anthem, which dropped on Aug. 22.

Takac and Rzeznik, who founded the band in 1986, opened up to Billboard earlier this year about how they’ve managed to stay together for so long. 

“We love each other,” Takac said, after revealing that the two have gotten physical on occasion to “get the aggression out.” “John and I shared a bedroom for years, platonically, of course, but that’s where we come from. People act like a——- sometimes — I do, he does. Ultimately, we go have a cup of coffee and we figure it out and make it happen.”

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