Unrecognizable John Rzeznik hates the Goo Goo Dolls band name: It was ‘a joke’

He’s not going to let this slide.

Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik still hates the band name nearly 30 years later.

The nearly unrecognizable musician, 57, recalled the night the group decided on the name during a recent episode of drummer Kenny Aronoff’s podcast, The Kenny Aronoff Sessions.

“I still hate the name of our band now,” Rzeznik said during the interview, which was released on Thursday. “I wish we would’ve had 10 more minutes to find a cooler name.”

Rzeznik and his band members — Robby Takac, Mike Malinin and George Tutuska — initially chose it as “a joke” because they “had a gig” and “had no name” to be introduced as.

“And then it kind of, like, caught on,” he said.

“We made a record and we sold like 400 copies. And then Robby’s like, ‘We got a fan base. They’re not going to know who we are.’ I’m like, ‘It’s 400 people. They’ll get over it,’” he continued.

The Grammy-nominated group formed in 1985 and originally called themselves the Sex Maggots — which didn’t last long. They’ve gone on to release 13 albums, sell 15 million records, and release hits such as “Iris,” “Better Days,” “Slide,” “Here Is Gone” and “Black Balloon.”

“Iris” is a fan favorite, and was famously featured in 1998’s “City of Angels,” which stars Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.

The song reached one billion streams in 2022, more than two decades after its original release.

“I’m just happy I wrote that song, that’s all. I’m happy that people can still relate to it, and that it still means something to the next generation,” Rzeznik told People that year.

“It’s like, how can you not be? I don’t know, that’s always kind of bugged me when I would hear an artist say, ‘Oh, I’m so sick of that song.’ That song is the reason why this person’s talking to you right now,” he continued. “It’s a privilege to get out there and do this. You have to be grateful for the songs that brought you success.”

Goo Goo Dolls recently were on the road to promote their latest album, Chaos in Bloom, on a North American tour in spring and summer 2023.

“It’s been a long ride, man. It’s been crazy,” Rzeznik said on Thursday. “We’re still crushing it, bro.”