EXCLUSIVE: Time for some ‘#Sugar Smash Gin’

Robin Wilson (third from left) and Gin Blossoms (Photo from official website)

Gin Blossoms lead vocalist Robin Wilson still remembers the first time they were in Manila, back in 2010.

“It was a very exciting time for us to come to Manila,” Wilson tells Bulletin Entertainment in an exclusive interview. “We really had no idea, until the advent of social media such as MySpace and Facebook, that we were so well-liked in the Philippines.”

Describing their experience here as “a little bit overwhelming and surprising,” they clearly did not expect “to see the giant billboards of our concert and to sell-out a coliseum and see (ourselves) in the newspaper everyday. It was very exciting and beyond the reaction we normally get here in the United States. So it was a unique experience.”

As quite a number of foreign acts have come to know, the Filipino audience really knows how to give a welcome. Gin Blossoms, a band that has been active for the better part of two decades, certainly do not lack the hits that Pinoys have come to love. They flooded the charts and airwaves – including local radio – with favorites like “Hey, Jealousy,” “Found Out About You,” “’Til I Hear It From You,” “Allison Road” and more, with five albums under their belt.

Wilson’s fond memories of coming to the country include an incident in Cebu. “I was at the pool at the hotel, I was lounging by the pool and enjoying the sunshine… and three children, approximately eight-year-old children, came up to me and sang ‘As Long As It Matters,’” he shares.

Admitting he was surprised and touched, Wilson adds, “This has never happened to me in United States… I was beyond thrilled… It showed me how much the people of the Philippines enjoy our music.”

This year, Gin Blossoms has been sharing the bill with the bands Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth, both also prominent in the mainstream during the ’90s. Sugar Ray, led by the stylishly-haired Mark McGrath, is best remembered from hits like “Every Morning,” “Someday” and “When It’s Over.” Smash Mouth, meanwhile, scored big with “Walkin’ On The Sun” and “All Star,” the latter even bigger after being used in several movies including “Shrek.”

“We have so much fun with Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth when we’re on tour,” Wilson notes. “We’re all very close friends. And backstage, we do a lot of singing together you know, I bring my guitar in their dressing room and we warm up before the show singing classic songs together. And we drink together and chase women together and we have a great time doing all of the cliché rock and roll things.”

Rock star trappings aside, Wilson is looking forward to coming back and promises, “Manila can expect to hear all of our greatest hits – the new requests as well as a handful of material from the last decade.”

Gin Blossoms’ three-in-one concert with Sugary Ray and Smarh Mouth happens on Monday, Oct. 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Tickets are also available on www.ticketnet.com.ph

EXCLUSIVE: Time for some ‘#Sugar Smash Gin’

Source: Mb.com.ph (October 16, 2013 at 01:17PM)

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