No Doubt

No Doubt Delay Album Release

16 Sep 2011 10:11:35 EDT

'There is still more work for us to do,' the band says in a statement.
By Jocelyn Vena

Gwen Stefani
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

Considering how long No Doubt fans have been waiting for the release of their next album, it should come as no surprise that they'll have to wait a little longer. The group took to their official site this week to let fans know it's going to take a little longer than planned before they drop anything new. "Ideally our new record would be coming out this year but it's just not ready yet," the statement reads. "We don't want to rush this album just to get it out. This collection of songs means everything to us and our only priority right now is to make sure that it's the best album we can possibly make. There is still more work for us to do. ..." The band noted that while no new music will be coming out in 2011, it's been a big year for them in other ways. "The past twelve months have been eventful; we performed for Paul McCartney and President Obama at the Kennedy Center Honors, three beautiful new No Doubt babies were born, and we've recorded in studios all over Los Angeles." They added at the end of the statement that the delay will actually benefit fans. "We love our fans and are doing this for your ears and want you to know how much we appreciate your patience and support," they wrote. "There have been some stories circulating about us collaborating with outside producers and artists. Please don't believe anything you hear unless it comes from us." The group has been keeping fans up-to-date on the progress of the album through interviews and on Twitter. It will be their first studio release since 2001's Rock Steady.

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No Doubt Guitarist Tom Dumont Is A Dad

19 Feb 2011 15:23:31 EST

The rocker and his wife welcomed third son, Koa Thomas Dumont, on Saturday.
By Shawn Adler

Tom Dumont
Photo: John Shearer/WireImage

A member of No Doubt since the ska band's inception, guitarist Tom Dumont welcomed another member into his family early morning Saturday (February 19) with the birth of his third child, Koa Thomas Dumont, according to an announcement on the popular band's Twitter page. "Koa Thomas Dumont was born this morning at 5am. Baby boy & parents are great," the band tweeted. "Looks like his brothers! One more No Doubt baby in the world!" Koa Thomas joins Dumont's other two children, all with wife Mieke, siblings Ace Joseph (4) and Rio Atticus (2). He also joins a growing brood of No Doubt children (all the band members have kids), including Adrian Young's son Mason, bassist Tony Kanal's daughter Coco Reese, and Gwen Stefani's two sons with husband Gavin Rossdale, Kingston and Zuma. "Congratulations to Tom and Mieke on the arrival of Baby Boy Koa!" read a message from band mates Tony, Gwen, and Adrian on Twitter. "We are so happy for you! Can't wait to meet him!!!" 2011 should be a busy year for No Doubt. Ten years after their last studio album, the band spent 2010 writing and recording their decade-in-the making follow-up. "This process does take us awhile, it always has. Plus life is a little more complicated and busy than it was before we all had kids etc," Dumont wrote on the band's website on January 4. "So the goal is to write a couple songs more this year and of course finish recording all of them. We're really, really happy with the new songs and feel this great sense of momentum going into the new year."

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No Doubt Through The Years

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No Doubt Bassist Tony Kanal Is A Dad

26 Jan 2011 11:32:59 EST

The rocker and his longtime girlfriend welcomed their first child, daughter Coco Reese Lakshmi, on Monday.
By Aly Semigran

Actress Erin Lokitz (L) and her boyfriend, No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, arrive at a Gwen Stefani concert serving as the grand opening of The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort April 21, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

No Doubt have added a little member to the band, as bassist Tony Kanal and his longtime girlfriend, Erin Lokitz, welcomed a new daughter on Monday. The baby, named Coco Reese Lakshmi Kanal, is the first child for both. Kanal, 40, made the announcement via No Doubt's website in a post titled "TONY + ERIN = COCO." The message reads, "Welcome to the world our gorgeous daughter — Coco Reese Lakshmi Kanal. She entered our lives on January 24, 2011. Mom, Dad and Baby are happy and in love." Baby Coco joins the other No Doubt offspring — all of the other band members have children as well — including Gwen Stefani's two sons with husband Gavin Rossdale, Kingston and Zuma. 2011 should be a year for big news and arrivals for No Doubt. In September of last year, Kanal spoke with Billboard about the band recording again after nearly a decade since their last studio release, 2001's Rock Steady. "I swear, we're having more fun than we've ever had writing a record before," Kanal told the magazine, adding, "I think [because] it's been a while, but also because we're older ... the fact that we're still doing it together after 24 years — you know, working on music — I think we really appreciate that." Want to congratulate Tony and his girlfriend on their new baby? Share your well-wishes in the comments.

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No Doubt Having 'More Fun' Than Ever Recording LP

17 Sep 2010 16:52:58 EDT

Bassist Tony Kanal promises an 'even bigger' tour than 2009 trek.
By James Dinh

No Doubt (file)
Photo: Jason Squires/ Getty Images

It's been nine years since No Doubt released their last studio album, and it's been a while since we've heard news on the follow-up to 2001's Rock Steady, but bassist Tony Kanal assured fans that the group is steadily working on their new album and conjuring up a big tour. "I swear, we're having more fun than we've ever had writing a record before," Kanal told Billboard.com of their recording process earlier this week. "I think [because] it's been a while, but also because we're older ... the fact that we're still doing it together after 24 years — you know, working on music — I think we really appreciate that." While the soon-to-be father admitted that they are still in the writing phase of the project, he did assure fans that their comeback will be worth the wait, as they'll take their new material on the road. "I think it'll be even bigger, and when I say bigger, I mean more shows and around the world," he revealed. During the summer of 2009, No Doubt reunited for a tour alongside Paramore. Additional acts, including the Sounds, Janelle Monáe and Bedouin Soundclash also served as openers for selected dates. The band is helping fans through the No Doubt drought with another greatest-hits compilation hitting stores November 2. Though the No Doubt Icon release has the same track listing as their 2003 singles set, it features brand-new artwork and a price of $7.98, according to the band's site. The group's manager, Jim Guerinot, explained why they felt another compilation was due. "With the band recording a new record for next year we felt it was a good idea to remind everyone of the great music No Doubt has made over the years," he said in a post on the site. "We feel the Icon release of No Doubt's greatest hits is an extremely low-cost way to turn a lot of new people on to the band's great music." What do you expect from No Doubt's return? Share your thoughts below!

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No Doubt Tweet About Progress On New Album

27 Jan 2010 12:38:00 EST

'Our little studio is warm and candlelit, above the glowing city,' guitarist Tom Dumont says in latest tweet.
By James Dinh

Photo: R. Mickshaw/ Getty Images/ Fox

After solo projects, family time and last year's summer reunion tour, it looks like No Doubt are getting down to business on their long-awaited sixth studio album. The band, which has been working on the project intermittently over the past few years, has taken to Twitter to keep fans updated. "Tony and Gwen are rocking the synth. Our little studio is warm and candlelit, above the glowing city. Tom," guitarist Tom Dumont tweeted on Wednesday evening. Dumont has been tweeting about their progress for the past week, with the first landing on January 20. "Back in the studio together writing today. Synth horns=cheesy but fun. :)," he tweeted. The following day brought even more work for the group as Dumont tweeted a close-up picture of bassist Tony Kanal in the studio with singer Gwen Stefani. The bandmembers worked on new material without Stefani for some time. "Tony, Adrian and I have been busy preparing material for the album since this time last year," Dumont told MTV News in an e-mail in 2007. The following year, drummer Adrian Young talked loosely about the new material. "It seems like we've always come from an eclectic background musically," he said. "But we seem to always gravitate towards reggae. I can't say that's what our record is going to be like, 'cause it's too early to tell, but what makes us feel really good is reggae music. I can play reggae music to my grave." Last May, the group used an appearance on "American Idol" to preview what Stefani called "the procrastination tour" (with Paramore opening), and made a cameo appearance on "Gossip Girl," covering Adam & the Ants' 1981 track "Stand and Deliver." The band hoped to use the tour as a way to reconnect and find inspiration for their new material. "Once we reconnect onstage and reconnect with all the people who have supported us, I think it's going to inspire us to make an amazing record," Kanal said before the tour.

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No Doubt Sue Activision Over 'Band Hero'

05 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST

Gwen Stefani and company take issue with the use of their likenesses in the new game.
By James Montgomery

Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

On Wednesday, No Doubt filed a lawsuit against Activision, the publishers of "Band Hero," claiming they've been transformed "into a virtual karaoke circus act" in the new game, which allows avatars of Gwen Stefani and company to perform songs popularized by other acts. In the suit, the band alleges that Activision exceeded the contractually approved use of the group's avatars. No Doubt contend that their contract with the video game publisher allowed for the use of their music and likenesses in "no more than three" of their own songs, but that, in the final version of "Band Hero," those likenesses are used in more than 60 songs, "Many of which include lyrics ... which are not appropriate for No Doubt and would not have been chosen by No Doubt for recordings or public performances." In particular, the suit notes that through the use of the "Band Hero" Character Manipulation feature, No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani can be made to sing the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" — which they contend is "an unauthorized performance by the Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes" — and bassist Tony Kanal's avatar can be made to sing ND's "Just a Girl" in a female voice. "Activision has deceived and confused the public into believing that No Doubt authorized the use of its name and likeness for the Character Manipulation feature of 'Band Hero,' " the suit reads. "And that No Doubt approves and endorses the appearance of its members individually performing songs that are wholly inappropriate and out of character for No Doubt." Not surprisingly, Activision begged to differ with those claims. In a statement released to MTV News on Thursday morning (November 5), the publisher maintained that it had worked closely with No Doubt and their management in development of the "Band Hero" game and that there is a written agreement that allows for the use of their likenesses in it. "Some of the world's most popular and iconic artists have been featured in 'Guitar Hero' as playable characters, and we are proud to count No Doubt among them. Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in 'Band Hero,' an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry," the statement read. "Pursuant to that agreement, Activision worked with No Doubt and the band's management in developing 'Band Hero.' As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the bandmembers in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit. Activision is exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt's obligations under the agreement." Activision made similar claims earlier this year after Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, and his former Nirvana bandmates objected to the use of his likeness in the company's "Guitar Hero 5" game. Love maintained that she had never signed off on any usage and threatened to "sue the sh-- out of Activision" for breach of contract.

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Paramore Announce Brand New Eyes Tour Dates

12 Aug 2009 18:08:00 EDT

Band is playing smaller venues after touring arenas with No Doubt.
By James Montgomery

Paramore's Hayley Williams
Photo: John Shearer/ Getty Images

After spending their summer opening for No Doubt in 15,000-seat amphitheaters and massive hockey arenas, Paramore pledged to go "smaller" on the headlining tour in support of their forthcoming Brand New Eyes album. "We haven't hashed it all out yet, but it will be smaller, due to the fact that the tour we're doing right now is so large and, like, ticket prices are on a whole new level ... everything is a whole new level for us," frontwoman Hayley Williams told MTV News. "And we love it, but we want to do something that's really intimate and that our fans can be right up there and don't have to break their banks [for tickets]. It will just be really fun. I'm stoked." And, it looks like they're making good on that promise. On Wednesday (August 12), Paramore announced the dates and (decidedly small — for them, at least) venues for that tour, which kicks off on September 29 — the same day Brand New Eyes hits stores — in Pomona, California, and will crisscross the continent for a month before wrapping with a November 1 homecoming gig in Nashville. Fueled by Ramen labelmates the Swellers and fellow Nashville act Paper Route will serve as the opening acts. Special pre-sale tickets go on sale Monday, with remaining ducats going on sale to the general public on August 21 and 22. For more information, check out the band's official site, Paramore.net. Dates for Paramore's Brand New Eyes Tour, according to Fueled by Ramen/ Atlantic Records: » 9/29 - Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
» 10/1 - Los Angeles @ Hollywood Palladium
» 10/2 - San Francisco @ Warfield Theatre
» 10/4 - Denver @ The Fillmore
» 10/6 - Kansas City @ Uptown Theater
» 10/7 - St. Louis @ The Pageant
» 10/9 - Maplewood, MN @ Myth
» 10/10 - Chicago @ House of Blues
» 10/11 - Detroit @ The Fillmore
» 10/15 - Toronto @ Kool Haus
» 10/16 - Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theatre
» 10/17 - Philadelphia @ Electric Factory
» 10/19 - Boston @ House of Blues
» 10/21 - New York @ Hammerstein Ballroom
» 10/24 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
» 10/26 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
» 10/27 - Atlanta @ The Tabernacle
» 11/1 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

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Gwen Stefani Admits There's 'A Little Bit' Of Tension In No Doubt

09 Jun 2009 14:59:00 EDT

'My priorities are always going to be my husband and my family now,' singer tells Elle of her new outlook.
By Jocelyn Vena

Photo: 'Elle' magazine

When No Doubt emerged on the scene in the '90s, the buzz was that the guys — Tony Kanal, Adrian Young and Tom Dumont — resented their sexy and sassy lead singer, Gwen Stefani, for getting all the attention in the group. They addressed the issues in their video for "Don't Speak." Nearly 15 years later, Stefani admitted that those old tensions might still exist in the reunited band.

"Everybody's making it like there's all this new tension, you know, like I stepped away from the band and now they're jealous of me," Stefani said in the July issue of Elle, featuring other women in music like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. "And look, maybe there is a little bit of that." Although she's ready to get back to work with the band, she didn't mind playing the Britney Spears-like pop star for a while on her two solo discs. "I just did the circuit. You write with all the same people Christina Aguilera writes with," she said. "And the music's very programmed and done in this very patchwork way. But it was so fun. I felt like I was playing a character." Stefani said her priorities have changed drastically since No Doubt released their last studio album, Rock Steady, in 2001. "I wasn't even married. Now, I'm a wife and a mother of two. It's a really different role," she said. "I always referred to No Doubt as a marriage, because that's what it's like to be together for so long and go through what we've been through." Even with two kids and a rock-star husband, Gavin Rossdale, No Doubt are still important to her, but they're no longer her whole life. "I can't really have that relationship with them anymore," she explained. "My priorities are always going to be my husband and my family now. That's a huge, huge thing." That doesn't mean she's quitting the biz to pursue family life full time. She's just waiting for inspiration to settle in. "I just feel very in between at the moment," she said about songwriting. "Like in my cocoon waiting to blossom. ... I'm so screwed. I might never be able to write another song. ... I want so badly to write a record. I want to make every other songwriter jealous. But it's just not happening right now."

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Are Paramore The New No Doubt?

20 May 2009 06:51:00 EDT

Sure, they both have female lead singers, but the similarities go deeper, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery

Photo: John Shearer/WireImage

I'm about to make a fairly simple comparison seem unnecessarily complex, but the situation demands it (also, that's what I do). So here it goes: Paramore are the new No Doubt. The reason I am getting complicated here is because, well, to do this any other way would be lazy, not to mention a tad bit insulting. Of course, there's one glaring similarity between both bands: the dynamic, iconic frontwoman who also doubles as the media focal point. In essence, Hayley Williams and Gwen Stefani are covered the same and contextualized the same (can't wait for Hayley's '80s-tinged solo album!), so let's get that out of the way right off the bat. Yes, they're both pretty girls with dye jobs who are showing the guys how it's done (blech) and are frequently moved to the front during photo shoots.

Let's move on, because the similarities between Paramore and No Doubt go a lot deeper than that. Both released debut albums that didn't exactly set the world on fire but hinted at things to come: No Doubt's self-titled 1992 debut was full of breezy ska-tinged pop that seemed out of step with the gnarled grunge that gripped the charts at the time. Paramore's All We Know Is Falling was packed with wailers like "Emergency" and "Pressure" — tunes that bristled not just with punky energy, but Williams' unique (read: feminine) take on love and relationships — but fans were too enamored with Pete Wentz's Sidekick pics and My Chemical Romance's theatrics to care much. In the case of both acts, things would change with the next album, for reasons not abundantly clear to anyone. Because neither No Doubt nor Paramore changed things up that drastically on their breakthrough efforts, it just seemed that the industry finally caught up with them. Tragic Kingdom was massive. It sold more than 16 million copies worldwide and put Stefani (and the relationships she sung about on songs like "Don't Speak") front and center. Riot! has only gone platinum, but the effect it had on Williams — and the relationships she wrote about on tunes like "CrushCrushCrush" — was exactly the same. And, of course, that brings up another similarity between the two bands: the specter of failed intra-band relationships (and, by logical extension, the media's hyper-focus on them). If you don't know that Stefani and ND bassist Tony Kanal dated, well, then you haven't read a single article about the group or listened to roughly one-third of their catalog. And during the frenzy that accompanied Riot!, it became quite popular to hypothesize that Williams and guitarist Josh Farro were an item, with many taking it one step further and assuming that their breakup was the reason Paramore nearly split last year. For the record, Williams nor Farro have ever commented on the rumors, but the attention remains. And here's where I take the next logical step: Having broken through to the mainstream and dealt with everything that comes with it — the whirlwind tours, the media attention, the prying into all things personal — Paramore are now steeling themselves to do it all again, putting the past behind them and applying the finishing touches to their new album ... which could quite possibly end up being their Return of Saturn. For those of you who don't remember — which is probably a lot of you — Saturn was No Doubt's follow-up to the impossible-to-follow Tragic Kingdom. Its recording process was legendarily tumultuous, with ND battling each other and their label, Interscope. Songs were recorded, scrapped and then recorded all over again. Production stopped and stalled. Stefani wrestled with doubts about her songwriting ability (hey, sounds like something Williams told us recently). The result was an album full of deeply personal ballads about failed loves and bathing in bathwater that confused a large portion of No Doubt's fans. From what we know about Paramore's still-untitled new album, the Saturn comparisons seem strangely apt. They carried the same baggage and expectations into the studio. There's been writing in fits and starts and intra-band drama, and Williams is grappling with the same doubts. And when I visited the band at Rob Cavallo's studio last month, I got the chance to hear six of the new songs, and let's just say they've slowed it down a bit on a couple of them. (Don't jump off the ledge quite yet, Paramore loyalists — there's still plenty of classic snarl to be heard too.) Will the new Paramore album be their Return of Saturn? Who knows? But the signs are pointing to "yes." Which might be why No Doubt are taking Paramore out on the road with them this summer (their tour kicked off Tuesday night in Fresno, California). Perhaps Gwen and Tony will have a nice long chat with Hayley and Josh, while the other dudes just sort of do what the other dudes in bands do. Maybe there will be an official passing of the torch. It would make sense. After all, these two bands have a history. They just might not realize it. Questions? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

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'Gossip Girl' Star Leighton Meester Is Bummed She Missed No Doubt

12 May 2009 15:29:00 EDT

'They performed in L.A. while I was working in New York,' actress says.
By Eric Ditzian

Leighton Meester
Photo: MTV News

Less than a week after appearing live on "American Idol," No Doubt paid a visit on Monday night to the kids on "Gossip Girl." But Gwen Stefani and her band didn't play for any of the students at Constance Billard or St. Jude's. Instead, the California rockers took part in a flashback episode featuring a young version of Lily van der Woodsen, the mother of rich girl Serena (Blake Lively).

That plot twist meant Leighton Meester didn't get to catch No Doubt in character as queen bee Blair Waldorf, nor while she was just hanging out on set. In fact, for a while, Meester wasn't even aware the band was making a "GG" cameo appearance. "You wanna know something?" Meester told MTV News while on the set of the music video for her collaboration with Cobra Starship. "I didn't even get to see No Doubt, and I didn't even know that they were gonna be on. Somebody told me that they were coming on my show. And they performed in L.A. while I was working in New York. That's what happened!" On Monday night's episode, No Doubt appeared as an '80s band called Snowed Out, who performed for young Lily and friends at a club in Los Angeles. The episode has been positioned as a possible pilot episode for a "GG" spinoff. No Doubt's cameo has been part of a re-emergence for the band after several years on the sideline. They're set to begin a North American tour later this month. So while Meester was disappointed that she didn't get to check out No Doubt on set, she'll certainly have the opportunity to take in Stefani's band at some point in the future. "I love her," Meester said. "And I love No Doubt. That was one of the first albums I had, and I still know every word. I think she's awesome, and the music they make is great. I really love that style, too, because it's a woman singing, and it's not totally pop. It's really fun and very strong and cool."

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