Gin Blossoms guitarist Jesse Valenzuela jokes that he watches “Jeopardy!” in his hotel room on tour. (Don’t believe him.)
He does hope the Sun Devils always “cremate” the Wildcats. (Oh, this is true.)
But this self-proclaimed “grandpa Gin Blossom” wholeheartedly supports ASU and his band, which performs at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Monday, Aug. 11.
He may make light of pop culture, but he and his bandmates take their music seriously.
The Tempe-bred band rose to prominence with its 1992 major-label debut album “New Miserable Experience.” The first single released from that album, “Hey Jealousy,” became a Top 25 hit and went gold.
“New Miserable Experience” eventually went quadruple platinum, and three other charting singles were released from the album, including “Allison Road” and “Until I Fall Away.”
The band’s follow-up album, “Congratulations I’m Sorry” (1996), went platinum, including the Grammy-nominated “As Long as It Matters” and the top 10 single “Follow You Down.”
Music has been Valenzuela’s career choice since he was Arlo Guthrie when he was 16 at the Celebrity Theatre.
“I’ve seen him a few times over the years,” he said. “I’ve never met him, but I am such a huge fan of his. I have all of his records. He’s just really musical and funny. He’s great all by himself, too, with and without a band.
“I listen to his music all the time. He wrote such beautiful songs. He has this really deep catalog of music that I just loved.”
These days, Valenzuela is learning about his peers.
“I’ve been on a roll lately, listening to a lot of new music,” he said. “It’s just been enjoyable to go down the rabbit hole on Spotify.
“I’m a cranky, old guy. It took me a long time to get to this Spotify world. But once I get fully ensconced, I can’t go back. I think it’s just fabulous because I can have whatever music I want.”
He’s further learning about modern music, thanks to his son, who has a recording studio. It has been said that every encounter is a learning experience. For Valenzuela, that hasn’t always been the case.
“There have been times in my life where I wasn’t learning so much,” he said.
“Maybe everybody has those periods where you’re just sort of holding on or you’re busy. You don’t seem to be so actively pursuing new ideas or trying to learn Romanian.”
Gin Blossoms
WHEN: :30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $57.42
INFO: foxtucson.com
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2025.