- 1 week ago
Gwen Stefani stops by the KROQ studio to talk with Kevin Ryder about the upcoming No Doubt residency at The Sphere, and more.
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00:01Gwen Stefani, how are you?
00:04I'm so good.
00:05It's so good to see you.
00:06It has been a long time.
00:08It is.
00:08Do you mind if I bring up the last time I saw you?
00:11I would love that so much.
00:13Refresh my memory.
00:14It was Acoustic Christmas, 2014.
00:18Whoa.
00:19Bean, we all went out on stage for the 25th anniversary.
00:22Bean fell off the stage.
00:24Oh my gosh.
00:24And they were bringing in like ambulance people.
00:27What?
00:27And you were waiting on the side to come out with your band.
00:31And you said, you were so worried about him.
00:33You said, I don't want to go out right now.
00:35And I said, I think you have to.
00:39And that you were just.
00:40Why am I so like, my memories are so like weird.
00:45You don't remember that at all.
00:46I just feel like God made me like that so I can keep moving forward into the future where we're at right now.
00:51No, I mean, I remember so many things with you guys.
00:54Like you guys were our everything.
00:56You know, it was like just getting to know you, like saying that we can be face to face was like the hugest deal and a miracle.
01:05So, yeah, it's just so much has happened.
01:08And it's been so that was a long time ago.
01:10And it feels so fun to watch you as you take more steps in your career.
01:15You know, you're doing the voice and all that kind of stuff.
01:18It just feels great.
01:20It's like one of my friends made it.
01:22It's so weird.
01:23And just when you think you can't, you know, I don't know, the snow globe has like settled and there's no more sparkle.
01:31It's like, hey, you want to write a song for a Christmas movie?
01:33I'm like, yeah.
01:35You know, and then there's like, hey, you want to play at the sphere?
01:37Like, and these things just come out of nowhere.
01:39And you just I think that's my favorite is when you don't know what's going to happen.
01:44And like, I didn't know I was seeing you today.
01:45And I'm like, what?
01:47Like, this is a treat.
01:48And all of a sudden, you just feel alive again.
01:51You feel like you have a purpose and you feel like you want to use that gift that you have and share it.
01:55And you just never know when it's going to end.
01:56And so it gets more intense.
02:00You get more nervous.
02:02You get more grateful.
02:03And yeah, here we are.
02:05Here we are.
02:05Let's talk about the sphere first.
02:07You were going to do six nights.
02:09Then you're doing 12 nights.
02:10Now you're doing 18.
02:11Or is there more?
02:12We're doing 18.
02:1318 nights.
02:1418 nights.
02:15And I haven't done anything in a row for a long time.
02:18I do go and do shows.
02:20And I love that.
02:21I think that's it's like it's one of those things where when you do something your whole life for so long,
02:26and you do it so much.
02:27Because it's never just like, oh, let me just get my toes wet.
02:30No, that felt good.
02:31It's like you need to dive in, hold your breath, and then you need to, like, do synchronized swimming.
02:36It's like it's unbelievable how it's always so, so much.
02:40And I think two years ago when we finally, you know, got on the same page, me and the boys,
02:45to actually even be in a room together and hang out.
02:48And it's not like anything bad had happened.
02:50It's just sort of like we grew and everybody had families.
02:54Everybody had their own projects.
02:55We grew apart.
02:57And it's weird because you would think back to the childhood part of us and think that could never even happen
03:02because we were just so entwined.
03:04But then time goes so fast when time is in the future.
03:08And next thing you know, we decided to do Coachella.
03:10And I don't even think I knew what that was like because I never really went to Coachella.
03:15You hadn't been out there?
03:16Not for to see a band.
03:18Like I've seen it.
03:18It's different when you watch it online.
03:20Like you're just cooking and like watching it.
03:22And I did not know that that was going to feel like that.
03:26And it was kind of mind-blowing because it kind of summed up like really how much we had done together.
03:33You know what I mean?
03:33And the love for it.
03:34And it was crazy.
03:36And I think we were wanting to do something else like together.
03:39But everything felt like a want-want, you know, compared to that.
03:42Like it needed to be comparable or why do it, you know?
03:45Yeah, of course.
03:45Especially like creatively.
03:47Like I don't – for me because I can't do anything if it's not – I'm not – it feels like a job or it feels like I'll be lazy about it if I'm not passionate.
03:55So anyways, The Sphere came out of nowhere.
03:57Have you seen any shows at The Sphere?
03:59Well, I played there actually.
04:01I didn't know that.
04:02But like it was for like these more like private shows where – so it was different.
04:06So it was like it wasn't the same as building a show with No Doubt where there's this crazy – it was more like this is like a passionate like really trying to figure out how are we going to bring people back to this nostalgic place where they can relive that time where we were together and our music was coming out and that was the backdrop to our lives.
04:25You have a very unique place to do it though with all of the great visuals.
04:30Have you been there?
04:31Yes, I have.
04:32I saw you too and I saw the Eagles.
04:34Yeah.
04:35And they're both just amazing.
04:37You too, of course, because they use video so much.
04:39Yeah.
04:39But have you talked to anybody there?
04:41Have you started building out the video?
04:44Yeah.
04:44It's so crazy because Baz, who we've worked with for whatever, 20 years, a friend of mine, his actual kid is in my kid's class at school.
04:52So it's just kind of weird like, oh, I see you at the Halloween parade.
04:56Now I'll see you at my house afterward, have coffee and talk about the show.
04:59And I think for me, and I know the guys, they just want to get on stage and just do their thing.
05:05But I think they're finding out that the creative process of building this kind of a show and also like going back in time.
05:13I mean, I'm legit, we've had to like open up the scrapbooks, like not scrapbooks, but the photo albums that you like peel it away.
05:20And they're like finding the old photos and trying to figure out how we're going to tell this story, what story we're going to tell, how we want to make people feel.
05:27How do we feel together?
05:30Is it going to be chronological?
05:31Are you going to start when you started?
05:34We're going to let you find out when you get there.
05:36Come on, like you're going to give it away.
05:37You got to give them something to look for.
05:39But it's not even built yet.
05:42They came to my house like last week and we were, there's so much technical things about it.
05:46Like normally it would be so loose.
05:49Like, you know, we get into rehearsals and then we'll figure out like, do we want to like switch this around?
05:53Does this feel like I need to like take a break before this or whatever?
05:56We don't have that luxury because you have to commit to everything so that they can build the show around like the set list.
06:02And so we did that the other day and just everything from transitions.
06:06And it's just, it's, it's going to be so different.
06:10And I think that's what I'm really excited about.
06:12I mean, when people ask me what my favorite shows are, I have to say not counting this fear because this fear is a whole different thing.
06:20It's going to, I feel like it's some ways, like I, when I did play there, it was like people are like screaming at some, and I'm like, wait, did I just sing like really good or something?
06:31And they're not, they're like screaming because they're like watching this crazy footage and they're, they're trying to Instagram it.
06:36And like, so it's kind of part like being in a film, but also being at a show, you know?
06:42And I think it's going to be, make it, it's interesting because I was so naive when I played there before.
06:48I just was like, I didn't really think about like what I was doing.
06:50And then this time it's going to be really wild and awesome.
06:55And I hope everybody shows up.
06:56I mean, already the response has been insane.
06:59Like I don't even know how to take it in and, and say, thank you.
07:02It's just like, now I'm getting more nervous.
07:05Like we got to really deliver something amazing.
07:07I know we're going to.
07:08So if the tickets sell for the 12 through 18 shows, are you going to add more?
07:13There's no talk about doing anything else.
07:15We just, I think we're, we're really just shocked that we're doing this and we'll, and shocked at the response and excited.
07:22And I don't even know.
07:24We'll just have to see.
07:25I mean, we haven't even done rehearsals yet.
07:26Like who knows what, we never know what's going to happen.
07:30Speaking of, you never know what's going to happen.
07:32Shake the Snow Globe is your new Christmas song.
07:34I'm so excited to have a new Christmas.
07:36I loved doing the Christmas album.
07:38It has always been like one of those bucket list things I always wanted to do.
07:43That was you make it feel like Christmas?
07:45Yeah, just the whole album and doing it with, I did it with this writer, Busby, who is just, he's actually passed.
07:54So like, it's one of those really crazy things that you're with somebody that's so talented.
07:58Like in my mind, he was going to be my writing partner for the rest of my life because it was just such a connection.
08:03He's such a genius.
08:04And so it makes it even more, I don't know, in a way, like valuable and special, that record for me.
08:11And the way we did it was so cool.
08:13Eric Valentine produced it.
08:14We did it all in a couple days live, you know, with just musicians, like the old way, like with speakers set up.
08:21And like, it was just very cool the way the whole thing was done.
08:24And then I kept kind of adding to it until it was kind of like, well, the label's like, you don't want to compete with your other singer.
08:31And, you know, me and Blake have this song that I think really does, it kind of sticks for Christmas.
08:35And that is like, that's the goal, right, is to actually get one of those.
08:38Because you're not only competing, like as a songwriter with modern day, but you're competing with like all of those old songs and those old artists.
08:46And so to be able to get something that comes back has been a miracle.
08:50I hope you become the new Mariah Carey.
08:52Oh gosh, Mariah, I love you.
08:54I'm still going to listen to you, my number one.
08:57And, but yeah, I think that this opportunity was totally different.
09:01Like no one's ever hired me like in a way to go, okay, here's the movie.
09:06We want you to write for this scene.
09:08The movie is Oh What Fun.
09:09It's on Amazon Prime.
09:10And they told you this is the scene we need music for?
09:14Yeah, that was like the, it was like almost like I got like a specific, I've never done something like that.
09:18Of course, we've had songs in movies, but they just place them in there.
09:22But this is just being part of the creative process of this.
09:27And so I was like all about it.
09:29And then when it came time to like get in there and do this, do the song, I was like terrified as usual and had the whole like, what have I, what have I gotten myself into?
09:38And, but I, I had watched the film and it's fun working in Christmas.
09:43You're kind of like, it's really hard because you're competing with the theme and everybody's done everything good already.
09:50So what are you, how are you going to do, do it any better?
09:52And then you're also trying to sort of like make something new, but something that feels like nostalgia.
09:58It's a, it's a tall order.
10:00But then you also are like in this theme.
10:02So that kind of makes it easy.
10:03So anyways, I was on the 405 going down to the studio in Santa Monica, just thinking you idiot.
10:10Like here you are, you have no reason, no business.
10:13And this chorus just comes right down to me, just landed in my car, had like got my phone, like stumbling, trying not to sing this song.
10:21And I had the chorus and it was kind of fun because I was, you know, in the movie, it's Michelle Pfeiffer and she's awesome in it.
10:28It's funny.
10:28And she, you know, she basically, she's like the rock of the family, you know, and everyone kind of takes her for granted.
10:35And so I kind of just was like trying to play off of that with the chorus and it was just fun, creative process for me.
10:42The song is so good.
10:44I love, love, love.
10:45You do?
10:46Yay.
10:46I love, love, love all the horns in it as well.
10:49Yes, yes.
10:50So great.
10:51I wanted to feel like kind of like an alternative take on a Christmas song.
10:55All the other ones that I'd done had been a little bit more in that old, you know, I don't know what style you call that, but traditional kind of style.
11:02And, but it was really fun because when we finished the song that day, I went home and listened to it and I was like, oh, I don't think we nailed it.
11:10Like, I feel like we got to like write another one tomorrow because we had like two days slotted out.
11:15And they're like, yeah, we should do a song like Jingle Bells.
11:18I'm like, yeah, no shit.
11:19We should try to do Jingle Bells.
11:20Like everyone wants that song, you know?
11:22And so we went, I just opened my computer and I was laying in bed and it just came, this other song called Hot Coco.
11:29It was just like literally without music or anything, I was just singing it into my phone.
11:33And the next day that we put all of the chords like underneath, it turned out really good.
11:37And then I played it for my husband.
11:40He was like, I can't stop singing Shake the Snow Globe.
11:42So then I kind of tweaked it.
11:44And then that's, here we are.
11:45We're talking about it.
11:45Like it's so fun to have a new Christmas song and something that's uptempo and part of, you know, such a big moment for the movie.
11:53It's so fun for us to have a Christmas song, a new Christmas song to play.
11:56That's so cool.
11:57Yeah.
11:57That's so awesome for you guys to play.
11:59I'm so excited for you.
12:00And this is so great.
12:02Enjoy your time at The Sphere.
12:04Yes.
12:05I can't wait.
12:05I'm going to have to come see you.
12:06Yes, please do.
12:08Because there's 18 dates.
12:09They just added six more and the tickets go on sale today.
12:13It's a really good Christmas present.
12:14Yes, it is.
12:15Yes, very good.
12:16Yes, it is.
12:17You're welcome.
12:18Gwen Stefani, thank you.
12:19Love you.
12:20Love you.
12:20Love you.
12:20Love you.
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