Gin Blossoms Trivia
How much do you know about our featured Downtown Concert Series band, the Gin Blossoms?

• What is a 'gin blossom?' They're damaged capillaries in your nose that you get from a skin condition called roseacea. It can be aggravated by drinking too much, which was the case with comedian W.C. Fields. The band got the idea from the famous old photograph of Fields and his big ol' gin-blossomed nose that appears in Kenneth Anger's book, "Hollywood Babylon II," with a caption describing Fields' "terminal case of gin blossoms."

• Band members: Bill Leen (bass), Phillip Rhodes (drums/vocals), Robin Wilson (vocals), Jesse Valenzuela (guitar/vocals), Scott Johnson (guitar)

• Dusted is the Gin Blossoms' first record, which was self-released on Tucson's San Jacinto Records in 1989 (on vinyl and cassette only). About half the songs were re-recorded for later albums. It's very difficult to find original copies now, but there are still a few floating around. But The Blossoms have finally decided to re-release the album on CD, so you can now buy your own 'Dusted' album quite easily!

• The Blossoms' song "Mrs. Rita" is about a psychic in their hometown of Tempe, Arizona.

• All of the Gin Blossoms' albums were recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where Big Star and The Replacements recorded their albums. Their producer, John Hampton, also worked as an engineer on the album Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements.

• The album title, "New Miserable Experience," was about the whole experience of being in a band, and "Congratulations I'm Sorry" is supposed to represent the spectrum of things that happened to the band in between the two albums.

• The Gin Blossoms have contributed songs to several soundtracks: "Idiot Summer" for Wayne's World 2, "Soul Deep" (a Box Tops cover) for Speed, and "Til I Hear It From You" for Empire Records. The Blossoms' hit "Hey Jealousy" also appears on MTV's Buzz Bin Volume 1 compilation.

• The Gin Blossoms have opened for Toad the Wet Sprocket, Del Amitri, the Neville Brothers, UB40, the Spin Doctors, Bryan Adams and Neil Young.