Before spending a few hours doing press interviews, Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls knew nothing of New Plymouth where the band will play in a couple of weeks.

Now he knows there is a “moat” around the Bowl of Brooklands stage where they’ll play with Matchbox Twenty on March 2.

“Apparently it’s a beautiful place huh.

“It feels great to be coming back to New Zealand, it’s been over 20 years since we’ve been there last and we’re closing the tour there so we’ll have a nice big party.”

Takac was currently in Australia on the tour, and said it was about “100 degrees”.

He said it was an amazing show and great for people who were into 1990s rock.

The tour featured an “awful lot of songs” from that era, he said.

“It’s a great pairing of bands.”

Takac couldn’t exactly say how the tour came to be but it wasn’t the first time The Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty had joined forces.

The bands toured the United States in the summer of 2013.

The upcoming tour was in support of Matchbox Twenty’s new album, their first in 11 years, Where The Light Goes.

“When you pair two bands up we end up at some pretty big venues.”

The Goo Goo Dolls had sold 15 million records worldwide and actually held the record for Most Top 10 singles at 16.

They were best known for their 90s hit Iris, which held the Billboard Hot 100’s top spot for 18 weeks.

The song recently re-entered the Billboard charts after going viral on TikTok.

“For someone who hasn’t seen us before I’d say were more of a rock band than people think.

“We’ve got some songs that are a bit more on the acoustic sound that get played on the radio so people can be taken a back, but it’s a high energy rock show.”

- Taranaki Daily News