It’s time to learn (or re-learn) some Goo Goo Dolls history with the next release from contributor Christina. Today we share a 20-minute documentary where all of the struggles and insecurities the band had to go through before “Dizzy Up The Girl” changed the cards on the table are clearly exposed.
This is one of those videos which are already present on YouTube, but we felt like providing our own copy as well for preservation purposes. First and foremost, let’s see what Christina has to say about it:
Previously posted about here, with a youtube embed
Unfortunately my copy is lower quality than the YouTube version, but it’s watchable. I’ve labeled my file 2000 as that’s the copyright date at the end of the show, but as per your post it would’ve been filmed in 1999. This is a really sweet retrospective, with anecdotes and stories from friends, family, teachers, and others who knew John and Robby in their early years in Buffalo.
MTV’s The Road Home can be considered a shorter, more concise version of VH1’s Behind The Music. Both documentaries offer a retrospective of how life was for John et al. before they made it big in 1998, however I find the former a little more intimate and down to earth, as we get to see the band members re-visiting those several hometown locations who represented something significant during their music journey.
There are some familiar faces here which we have already seen in the VH1 documentary, such as former manager Artie Kwitchoff and some of John’s sisters. Included are also pictures of the band as younger adults, although to my knowledge they have all been already published here in numerous posts.
This is a good way for those who are interested in the band’s history to learn, or re-learn, some of the biggest events which led the Goo Goo Dolls towards a much deserved yet tortuous worldwide fame in the late 1990’s. A lot of the struggles and failures which took place during the band’s endeavors are, in my opinion, better expressed and depicted here as opposed to the VH1 counterpart. As a result, “The Road Home” feels a bit more effective in terms of offering a truthful view of the many personal and interpersonal issues the band had to solve before finding a way to have their music crafts pay the bills.
In terms of the video itself, this is a VHS rip with the standardized 640x480p encoding format. Quality-wise, I think it’s quite good despite the original medium it comes from. Definitely watchable and enjoyable.
You can watch the video below. Download links are available at the end of this post.
Temple Of Goo - The rarest Goo Goo Dolls releases, for real Goo fans only 
Always preferred this to Behind the Music. Was more intimate and real imo. It captures a moment.
tbh It was disappointing when the guys moved away, especially John because he never moved back, so was great to see him out and about back home.
agreed! Vh1 was too much “Announcer drama” kind of thing. This was their real music, with real film and places they used to go seen in real life! I know Robby’s back in Buffalo ❤️ maybe John will retire there? Who knows. He’s still a Buffalo boy at heart and you can see it in full here!
I wish someone would find the Live At Sheas film I want to see that so bad!!
you know that Sheas footage is probably gathering dust in a forgotten MTV storage warehouse! Breaks my heart.
I can’t see Johnny ever moving back tbh. I just saw someone online say the only way he was moving back was if he divorced, but even then I’d bet he would end up in NYC.
it’s sad that they never archived any of them online! Maybe someday…
you’re probably right about the NYC thing though