About Gin Blossoms

Members during the band's early years included guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, bassist Bill Leen, vocalist Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist Richard Taylor, drummer Chris McCann, McCann's replacement Dan Henzerling, and Taylor's replacement Robin Wilson.

By the early 1990s, the lineup had changed to Leen on bass, Hopkins on guitar, Valenzuela on guitar and vocals, Wilson on vocals and acoustic guitar, and Phillip Rhodes on drums. During work on the group's second major-label record, Hopkins was fired and replaced with Scott Johnson, but Hopkins's songs "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" went on to become hit singles. Their success was overshadowed by the suicide of Hopkins in 1993.

The Blossoms broke up in the spring of 1997, and each band member moved on to his own project. Vocalist Robin Wilson and drummer Phillip Rhodes launched the Gas Giants. Bassist Bill Leen retired from music to operate a rare book store. Guitarist Jesse Valenzuela fronted a short-lived outfit called the Low Watts, released a solo album, and kept busy writing and producing. Robin ventured into producing as well, at his Mayberry Studios in Tempe.

The Gas Giants announced an "indefinite hiatus" in June 2001. On Dec. 4, 2001, it was announced that Scott would leave his current band, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, to rejoin the Gin Blossoms. The band regrouped and began playing together again in earnest (having done a couple of one-off shows in the interim) in 2002.

The only Blossom not involved in the reunion is drummer Phillip Rhodes, who, for personal reasons, decided not to tour with the band. Phil Leavitt of Dada originally took Phillip’s place in the lineup, and then Gary Smith (of The Pistoleros, another Tempe band) stepped in. Scott Kusmirek took over drumming for the band from 2002–2004. In January of 2005, it was announced that Phil Rhodes would rejoin the band. The re-entry of Rhodes was shortlived, however.

The band's latest album, Major Lodge Victory, was recorded at Robin Wilson's Mayberry Studios in Tempe, Arizona, then re-recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis. It was released by Hybrid Recordings on August 8, 2006, and "Learning the Hard Way" was the first single. Major Lodge Victory debuted at number 159 on the Billboard 200 album chart. This was the first time that the Gin Blossoms had appeared on the Billboard 200 chart in 10 years, one month and two weeks [1]. The Gin Blossoms had last appeared on the chart during the week of July 13, 1996, with their previous album, Congratulations… I'm Sorry.

Source: wikipedia.org

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