Robby Takac

Takac was born Robert Carl Takac Jr. on September 30, 1964 in Buffalo, New York and grew up in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca with his parents and younger sister.{{Cite web |title=Robby Takac - Burchfield Penney Art Center |url=https://burchfieldpenney.org/art-and-artists/people/profile:robby-takac/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=burchfieldpenney.org}} His mother was a school teacher and Irish Catholic.{{Cite web |title=A Site Named Goo |url=https://asitenamedgoo.com/article/winning-ugly-the-story-of-the-goo-goo-dolls |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=a site named goo}} His father was half-Irish and half-Hungarian. This is reflected by his name (originally written: Takács, which is Hungarian for 'weaver'). He graduated from West Seneca East Senior High School in 1982.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-02-10 |title=High School pictures of George Tutuska and Robby Takac (Extremely Rare) |url=https://templeofgoo.com/2025/02/10/high-school-pictures-of-george-tutuska-and-robby-takac-extremely-rare/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Temple Of Goo - The rarest Goo Goo Dolls releases, for real Goo fans only |language=en}} He graduated from Medaille College in 1986 with a Communication degree, with a focus on radio broadcasting.

Takac began his musical career as a member of the rock band Monarch, prior to joining the Beaumonts, which broke up in 1985. He met guitarist John Rzeznik through the Beaumonts and together they found a drummer, George Tutuska and started a band that they named the "Sex Maggots", with Takac as the lead singer and bassist. In 1986,{{cite web|title=Second Cup Café: GooGooDolls|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/08/earlyshow/saturday/secondcup/main2243174.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214033540/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/08/earlyshow/saturday/secondcup/main2243174.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 14, 2006|date=9 December 2006|publisher=CBC News|access-date=28 August 2009}} they changed their name to the more promotable "Goo Goo Dolls", and after three albums moved Rzeznik to the majority of lead vocals. In late 1994, Takac and Rzeznik fired Tutuska and in early 1995 hired Mike Malinin as a replacement. Later that year they received their first commercial success with the single "Name". The 1998 follow-up "Iris" reached number one on several charts, including the Hot 100 Airplay. Goo Goo Dolls have been releasing music and touring continuously since.

In 2009, the band recorded Something for the Rest of Us in Buffalo, New York, at their studio Inner Machine Studios. That year, Takac opened the studio to the public as GCR Audio.{{cite web|title=Goo Goo Dolls Record CD in Buffalo |url=http://www.wkbw.com/news/business/bizfirst/52167972.html|date=31 July 2009|publisher=WKBW-TV|access-date=28 August 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

In 2003, Takac joined with Brian Schulmeister to form the dance music collective Amungus.{{cite web|title=Local music does festival proud as B-52s headline an eclectic mix|url=http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/450054.html|date=28 September 2008|publisher=The Buffalo News|access-date=28 August 2009}} That same year, Takac started his own record label, Good Charamel Records, in Buffalo, New York.{{cite web|url=http://www.goodcharamel.com/ |title=Good Charamel Records website |publisher=Goodcharamel.com |date=2011-07-19 |access-date=2011-08-17}} With an initial focus on local acts, the first three bands signed to the label were Klear, The Juliet Dagger, and Last Conservative. Today the label primarily releases J-Rock music in North America by female-fronted bands such as Shonen Knife, Tsushimamire, LazyGunsBrisky, Pinky Doodle Poodle and MOLICE.{{cite web |author=Jackie Backman |url=http://thecelebritycafe.com/interviews/goo_goo_dolls_2004_08.html |title=Goo Goo Dolls - Robby Takac |publisher=TheCelebrityCafe.com |date=2004-01-09 |access-date=2011-08-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226035502/http://thecelebritycafe.com/interviews/goo_goo_dolls_2004_08.html |archive-date=2010-02-26 }}

In 2004, Takac founded the Music is Art Festival, a not-for-profit organization, and operates as their president.[http://www.musicisart.org/index2.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419234627/http://www.musicisart.org/index2.htm|date=April 19, 2010}} MiA seeks to explore and reshape music's cultural, social, and educational impact on the community.{{cite web|title=HARD ROCK: Concert series stages finale|url=http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local/local_story_230000907.html|date=17 August 2009|publisher=Niagara Gazette|access-date=28 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911211927/http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local/local_story_230000907.html|archive-date=11 September 2012}} MiA hosts a number of programs, concerts, and events throughout the year, ranging from collecting and donating instruments to local schools, mental health awareness tours, music industry education, among others.{{cite web |url=http://backstageaxxess.com/index.php/concertreviews/396-music-is-art-festival-2010 |title=Music is Art Festival at Albright Knox Gallery Buffalo, NY September 12, 2010 |publisher=Backstageaxxess.com |date=2010-09-15 |access-date=2011-08-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707203818/http://backstageaxxess.com/index.php/concertreviews/396-music-is-art-festival-2010 |archive-date=July 7, 2011 }}

From 2008 to 2012, Takac served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Medaille College.{{cite web |date=2011-03-20 |title=Medaille College Board of Trustees |url=http://www.medaille.edu/profile/trustees.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723095027/http://www.medaille.edu/profile/trustees.asp |archive-date=2011-07-23 |access-date=2011-08-17 |publisher=Medaille.edu}}{{Cite web |date=2008-03-12 |title=Goo Goo Dolls' Takac joins Medaille board |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/03/10/daily21.html |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}

Takac primarily plays Yamaha BB-series bass guitars, but he has also played Fender and Zon bass guitars.[http://www.yamaha.com/Artists/ArtistList/0,,CTID%25253D501401,00.html Bass Artists]. Yamaha Corporation of America. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224043010/http://www.yamaha.com/Artists/ArtistList/0%2C%2CCTID%25253D501401%2C00.html |date=February 24, 2008 }}[http://www.zonguitars.com/zonguitars/takac_bio.html Robby Takac]. Zon Guitars.

{{main|Goo Goo Dolls discography}}

• Goo Goo Dolls (1987)
• Jed (1989)
• Hold Me Up (1990)
• Superstar Car Wash (1993)
• A Boy Named Goo (1995)
• Dizzy Up The Girl (1998)
• Gutterflower (2002)
• Let Love In (2006)
• Something for the Rest of Us (2010)
• Magnetic (2013)
• Boxes (2016)
• Miracle Pill (2019)
• It's Christmas All Over (2020)
• Chaos in Bloom (2022)

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.googoodolls.com/ Official Goo Goo Dolls website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080408090418/http://www.amungus.com/ Official Amungus website]
• [http://www.myspace.com/robbyslobby/ Robby's myspace page]
• [http://www.goodcharamel.com/ Good Charamel Records, Robby's record label]
• [http://www.musicisart.org/ Music is Art, Robby's charity organization]
• {{Twitter}}
• [http://www.gcraudio.com/ GCR Audio, Robby's (GGDs) Studio]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080314193839/http://www.medaillenews.com/2008/03/11/robby-takac-%E2%80%9986-joins-medaille-college-board-of-trustees/ Takac joins Medaille College Board of Trustees]

{{Goo Goo Dolls}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alternative rock bass guitarists

Category:American alternative rock singers

Category:American alternative rock musicians

Category:American male singers

Category:American people of Hungarian descent

Category:American rock bass guitarists

Category:American male bass guitarists

Category:Goo Goo Dolls members

Category:Singers from New York (state)

Category:Musicians from Buffalo, New York

Category:Guitarists from New York (state)

Category:20th-century American guitarists

Category:Medaille University