Gin Blossoms Come Full Circle With Latest Record

The ’90’s alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, from left, Scott Johnson, Bill Leen, Robin Wilson, and Jesse Valenzuela, will take the stage this Sunday at The Paramount.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The ’90’s alternative rock band Gin Blossoms will take the stage in Huntington this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first major album, “New Miserable Experience.”

Lead singer Robin Wilson said it was a “slow build” for the band from Tempe, Arizona to first get the music from the first album, including hits “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You,” onto mainstream radio.

“Our label told us that at some point we were going to have a song on the radio,” Wilson, who now lives in Valley Stream, said. “When ‘Jealousy’ took off, it was kind of a relief and exciting.”

The success of “New Miserable Experience” brought Wilson, who will be joined on stage by bandmates guitarist Scott Johnson, bassist Bill Leen and guitarist Jesse Valenzuela, to the forefront of popular music.

“I always wanted to be in a band and be like my heroes, and suddenly there you are on MTV…It’s kind of surreal, and it feels like it’s happening to somebody else,” Wilson said.

The Gin Blossoms are also celebrating the release of their newest album, “Mixed Reality,” which was produced by Don Dixon and recorded by Mitch Easter. Wilson said that, with the album, the band has come “full circle.”

“As a songwriter I feel like it taps into something really elemental,” he said. “We wrote songs that we would have wanted to record in 1990.

In a lot of ways, ‘Mixed Reality’ feels like a companion record to ‘New Miserable Experience.’”

In addition to creating a musical connection with the audience during their show at The Paramount this weekend, Wilson said the Gin Blossoms would also be supporting the music based cancer charity Love Hope Strength with a booth at the show.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show this Sunday. Tickets are $29.50-$49.50 and can be purchased at the box office or online at Paramountny.com.