Two Goo Mysteries Every Fan Wishes They Had Solved

Let’s put our detective hats on, and talk about two old Goo mysteries to which only a few people on the planet know the answers for.

When it comes to the Goo Goo Dolls, there are usually no surprises. Unlike other bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, all the music you can collect is usually what they have released, and trying to unearth rare/unreleased/incomplete stuff can become quite the chore, because there is not much there to be discovered in the first place.

Conversely, mining for Smashing Pumpkins secrets (I name them just to offer a practical example) is like being a participant to the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th Century. On top of the dozens of official tunes, they also recorded so much along the years that all kinds of goodies have been disseminated, such as demos, remixes, instrumental studio takes, sung studio takes, b-sides, alternate versions, alternate versions to the alternate versions, and so on and so forth. It’s as if the band spends their entire days on the studio recording something, and then unleashes it out to the masses in a form or another.

John Rzeznik mentioned a few times that when they write a song and later realize it is not what they wanted, or did not like how it turned out, they just toss it. In a way, I think they are inclined to take the perfectionist approach (“what you see on the album is the best we could produce“), rather than the experimental approach à la Smashing Pumpkins (“let’s record everything that comes to mind and see what happens, then make it available nevertheless“). Exceptions are quite rare, such as “Waiting On A Dream” or “So The Story Goes” from the Superstar Car Wash demo sessions, or “Stand Alone” from the A Boy Named Goo advance CD.

In my opinion, it is a bit sad. I always find it enthralling to listen to incomplete/unreleased songs from a given band, as a way to be exposed to a side of the band the latter, for whatever reason, felt like it did not properly fit their musical “persona”.

In the case of the Goo Goo Dolls, however, there are two mysteries which, to this day, have yet to be solved. I believe only those with a very close relationship to the band members will be able, hopefully someday, to reveal us the truth. Let’s talk about these two extremely rare treasures below.

MYSTERY #1: THE “NO WAY OUT” MUSIC VIDEO

The band lists “There You Are” as their first official music video, which was released on November 1990. Not many people know that before it, the Goo Goo Dolls have recorded two more music clips for two other songs of theirs: “No Way Out” and “Laughing“. The latter actually leaked a while back. As far as the former is concerned, well, you guessed it… It is the first Goo mystery that we’re trying to uncover.

There is literally no information about “No Way Out” besides the name of its director: Laurie Kwasnik. She was a Canadian film student who was studying at the same College John went to. Actually, she was the one who helped him get into College in the first place. If memory serves well, John only did his freshman year before deciding to quit. Laurie was dating him at the time, and as an aspiring filmmaker she offered her services to the band. The result was the first music video (in the sense of very first recorded music video) the Goo Goo Dolls participated to: “No Way Out” from their second album Jed. Below are a few pictures of Laurie, taken during the past decade or so.

I located her LinkedIn account. Notice how she lists the music video under her past projects in her resumé.

I have tried to get in touch with Laurie, asking her (well, more like begging her) to release the video, but to no avail. I sent a couple of messages through two different social media profiles I could find, but never got an answer. I’m not sure why she wouldn’t even reply. Maybe she never got my inquiries in the first place, maybe she did but decided not to get involved due to copyrights issues. If you want, you can try your luck with her. Here are the profiles I located with a basic Google search.

Facebook

Instagram

Fields Of Snow (A project she directed, which features a private email address)

Laurie completed her studies in Buffalo, NY, then returned to Canada and became a successful filmmaker. Make sure to check her IMDB page for a list of projects she worked on.

And that’s all I have for “No Way Out”. Every other fan I talked to about it has given me the same answer: “I have nothing more to add to what you just told me“. The search continues, but like I stated above, there is likely no further info that can be gathered here unless a contact close to the band decides to step out of the darkness, offering us some light.

MYSTERY #2: THE “DIZZY UP THE GIRL” INSTRUMENTAL DEMOS

During the Napster days, around late 1990’s / early 2000’s, two instrumental demos from the “Dizzy Up The Girl” sessions had apparently leaked. I have spent a lot of time trying to gather more information about them, with very scarce results. The only page on the internet I could find which lists them is this old Angelfire site (archived version here). A Goo Goo Dolls trader was selling a CD which featured them.

I obviously tried to get in touch with them, asking them (begging them) for clarity. That website is so old that I already knew it wouldn’t have worked as soon as I clicked on “Send email”. The latter, in fact, was returned to me as undelivered.

Anyway, the songs are described as follows:

• Dizzy Up The Girl Instrumental Demo 1
• Desperados (Dizzy Up The Girl Instrumental Demo 2)

I have zero information to share about the first one, but I do have something to tickle your curiosity about the second demo. And for that, we have to travel back in time to the aforementioned Napster days.

I used to log into Napster whenever I had time for it, like many of you. I remember having a conversation with a Goo fan back then on a IRC channel. He claimed he actually downloaded “Desperados” off Napster and listened to it, but did so with his office computer which was formatted (all data lost) some time later. Unfortunately, he did not retain a copy of the file, so he basically lost the song and (just like me) was never able to find it again on that file sharing program.

I recollect asking him about how “Desperados” sounded like. He said it was a roughly 1-minute fast-paced, instrumental, energetic rock song that reminded him of “Domino“. He claimed something like “It was as aggressive as Domino and also featured a very cool guitar solo, pretty much like Domino“. He also added some info about it, which I’m not sure how he had access to. He said “Desperados” was supposed to be an intro song to the album, or a ghost track to be included within “Hate This Place“. Also, he mentioned that to him he did not sound much like a demo, in the sense that the tune sounded fully mixed and mastered, rather than rough and with low-quality recorded sounds, like many demos are. I am not sure what to make of it. I doubt the band would be prone to include a ghost track in one of their albums, given the John quote I talked about before, but who knows. There is a first time for everything.

If you happen to have listened to it, or you have it, let us know.

And that’s all I got for the two Goo mysteries which, after decades of detective work, are still unsolved. Maybe you will be the one who solves them, maybe you will be left in the dark just like the rest of us. Either way, thank you for reading, and do not lose hope: Only those who keep searching can eventually find something.

UPDATE: A user named River added the following information regarding the “No Way Out” mystery.

I know this is old and u may not reply but as far as the No Way Out video it was on a local Buffalo show called 33 West with I think Rich Wahl .. I set my VCR and caught that and My Girl with Lance Diamond live at WiseGuys in Buffalo .. I lent the vcr to the kid from The Natural with Robert Redford as it was filmed in Buffalo . This kid lived near memorial drive by the Central Terminal.. I never got the tape back !!!!!

River

That is very interesting. Our mystery #1 somehow involves Robert Redford! The Natural was in fact shot in Buffalo, NY. Not sure what the kid’s name may be, but if you happen to know him, let him know it’s time to return that tape so the mystery can finally be solved!

River also adds a few more details about the video itself.

I remember it was mostly live show footage … and the words “No Way Out ” would run across the screen in different colors .. it felt like they pieced together any video footage they had .. I remember 3 or 4 different live shows cut in .. I’m not remembering any them or real video storylines.. just that college girl putting together stuff for 33 west a local Buffalo program for local acts hosted by Rich Wall currently director of operations / Buffalo Niagara film office .. I hope this helps

River

And lastly, River also shares a story as a fan of the early incarnation of the Goo Goo Dolls.

Ps i remember this as a super fan of early goo goo dolls .. I lived near Johnnys twin nephews and would bug John constantly for his autograph .. if I happened to see him on the porch.. I would run home and grab whatever I had and beg him to sign it .. he was always annoyed but would jump off the porch and shoot the sign stuff .. I told him I loved the guitar solo for Never Take the Place of Your Man .. and he said ” Ah yeah I stole that from “My Sharona.. give the solo at the end a listen and see what u think !!!

River