No Doubt Q and A

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Jeff Apter Q&A from Tragic Kingdom magazine

For almost 20 years, Australian Jeff Apter has been writing about music. He spent five years as Editor at Australian Rolling Stone and currently writes for such magazines as Vogue and GQ. His first book was a biography of the band Silverchair (recently re-released under the title A New Tomorrow), followed by studies of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Fornication), the Cure (Never Enough) and The Dave Grohl Story. These books have been translated into numerous languages, including French, German, Italian and Polish. His latest book is called Simple Kind of Life: The No Doubt / Gwen Stefani Story, and will be published in July 2007. We asked Jeff about the writing of the book and what fans can expect from the first 'serious' biography of No Doubt.

Why did you decide to write the No Doubt story?
I was always aware that there was a great backstory to the rise of No Doubt that had never been told in detail before. To some it seemed as though the band appeared, fully formed, when Tragic Kingdom went crazy in the mid 1990s, but of course there was a history stretching back almost a decade before then. That was what really interested me: the untold story of No Doubt, their time as kids growing up in southern California, their interest in the 2 Tone music of such bands as Madness and the Specials, their first gigs, the difficulties they had early on, the seemingly endless comings and goings of members (there's almost enough for a soccer team), right on through to the band's rise and Gwen's runaway solo success. It amazed me, given NxD's lengthy history and huge success, that a 'proper' biography hadn't been written about them until now.

Who helped you to piece together the story?
First off, this isn't an 'official' biography; I wouldn't read one, let alone write one. 'Authorised' bios are typically watered-down puff pieces written purely for people who couldn't bare to hear anything less-than-flattering said about their heroes. But I interviewed such insiders as Eric Carpenter, who spent years as an integral part of the group, as well as Alan Meade, who replaced John Spence, the band's original singer (shouter, actually), and various other former No Doubt-ers. I spoke with such people as Dave Stewart, formerly of the Eurythmics, and Linda Perry, both of whom have written with Gwen and / or the band and consider themselves good friends. I also spoke with lots of old schoolfriends and dozens of musicians who've moved in and out of their world, including members of Fishbone, the Untouchables, Reel Big Fish and the Skeletones, all of whom have been very close to the band during the past three decades. I think it's as comprehensive a book as you're likely to read on No Doubt, at least until they decide to write their own. And the band has read and commented upon my book, so you can rest assured that this is the most factually accurate study in existence. There's been no threats of lawsuits so far, either, so I'd say they're OK with the book as it stands.

Do you have a favourite story from the book?
Several. The Stefani family curfew, that was imposed very early on, meant that it was almost impossible for the band to play outside of southern California, and when they did, someone would have to drive Gwen home at a million miles an hour to make it on time and not offend her parents. But I guess the one anecdote that stands out for me is a recollection from Jerry Miller, who led the band the Untouchables and played heaps of shows with NxD back in the pre-TK days, which showed just how clean-cut the members of No Doubt truly were. Gwen and co were invited to a pre-gig party with the Untouchables, which typically meant plenty of booze and high times. 'They turned up with seven large pizzas,' Miller told me. 'About an hour after we finished eating, they stopped and went and grabbed mops and did the dishes, vacuumed, cleaned up the whole apartment without anyone asking. I thought, "Wow, these kids have a good upbringing, man".' It proved how different they were from some of the wild kids that they regarded as their peers; they genuinely were — and in many ways still are — polite, well-brought-up suburbanites. And it amazed me that No Doubt hung out and befriended such bands as Sublime, who were as renowned for their hard drug indulgences as their music. Speaking of Sublime, I've unearthed a previously unknown fact that Lou, the dog of the late Sublime leader Brad Nowell, once took a nip out of the backside of Gwen's iconic red vinyl dress — while she was wearing it. That had to hurt. I even spoke with someone who's hung out with a drunken Gwen, a very rare sighting, at least in public.

What's the biggest surprise for potential readers of the book?
There should be quite a few, including the details of the truly awful way that John Spence took his own life. Although that's still quite mysterious, I think I've unveiled a lot more about the circumstances of his suicide than have been revealed before. On the upside there's also some quite funny revelations, such Gwen's admission that she was in the middle of her period — 'I was, like, real emotional,' she says — when she wrote 'Simple Kind of Life', which, to some degree, explains why the song is so heavy-hearted. Dave Stewart mentioned a potential hit that he and Gwen wrote, called 'Sparkle', which has yet to be released, while Linda Perry spoke quite candidly about the highs and lows she experienced writing with Gwen. I even have the details of a letter, written by Eric Stefani to Dito Godwin, the producer of their first album, thanking him for his efforts and discussing some of the band's personal and technical flaws at the time. There's also quite a bit about Fender's, the venue in Long Beach where the band first played, that will make your hair curl: the place was completely out of control, all the time — pure anarchy. I even spoke with their first managers, who didn't last too long after they suggested helping rewrite the lyrics to 'Ache' (not a good idea). It's quite revealing, as I hope the entire book proves to be. I genuinely think fans will learn a lot from the bio, and also find it entertaining.

Did writing the book change your opinion of the band?
I've always been an admirer of the band, if not a massive fan, and during the writing I learned that the group's determination was (and is) remarkable. I have oodles of respect for them; they really toughed it out, through Spence's suicide, some really unrewarding early years, the romantic drama played out between Gwen and Tony, the departure of Eric, and then the struggles to maintain their level of success once Tragic Kingdom exploded. And I think it's fair to say that Gwen is now the biggest white female performer on the planet; not bad for a good Catholic kid from Disneyland who dreamt of Julie Andrews, read bridal magazines and hoped for a 'simple kind of life'. And she's never done anything that has compromised her role model status, which is truly commendable. I also admire the way Tom, Tony and Adrian have learned how to live in the spotlight and not let it change them as humans; they strike me as solid, real people, unlike so many of the stars whose path they've crossed over the years. And I also predict that No Doubt hasn't run its course, despite Gwen's solo glory. There's more on that in the book.

Can you provide some purchasing details?
Sure. The book's called A Simple Kind of Life: The No Doubt / Gwen Stefani Story, and will be published by Omnibus Press in the UK during July 2007, with a US and Australian release date not too long after that. It'll be somewhere around 300 pages long, with two 8-page photo sections, containing some rare images of the band. The book will eventually be available through www.amazon.com, but it's best to advance order through www.musicroom.com, Omnibus's online ordering site. They can ship to anywhere in the world.