John Rzeznik

John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (pronounced REZ-Nik), commonly known as John Rzeznik (born December 5, 1965 in Buffalo, New York), is the guitarist/vocalist of rock band the Goo Goo Dolls.

Prior to the album A Boy Named Goo, his bandmate, Robby Takac was the lead singer. During the era of the album Superstar Carwash, they collaborated on several songs. Although Rzeznik transitioned into becoming the lead vocalist, both men still share the duties of writing songs for the band’s albums, and Takac still sings lead vocals on several songs.

Rzeznik has always been a fan of Fender guitars. He used many variations such as the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, and a “Halfcaster” (a Stratocaster cut in half). He used Guild acoustics as well. But as of late he seems to be experimenting the Gibson Les Paul guitars, and semi hollow body guitars. He also uses acoustic Taylor Guitars.

The last name “Rzeznik” (which, spelled ‘rzeźnik’, means ‘butcher’ in Polish) indicates his Polish ancestry — his parents (Joseph and Edith Rzeznik) are both immigrants from Poland. He has four older sisters (Phyllis, Fran, Glad and Kate), and often jokingly complains it’s “…one of the worst things that can happen to a man.” Unfortunately, his father died from a diabetic coma when Johnny was sixteen, and his mother six months later from a sudden heart attack. He then got an apartment with the help of his oldest sister, Phyllis.

He attended Buffalo’s McKinley High School, and began to play in garage bands during his sophomore year. After high school, he attended Buffalo State College for a year before dropping out. It was then, when John was only 19, that he met Robby Takac and The Goo Goo Dolls began. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.