Robby Takac has a lot to be proud of.

As bassist for the Grammy-nominated, punk-rock, power-trio Goo Goo Dolls, he has been a key component in getting the band where it is today … and it only took 13 years.

Calling from Cape Girardeau, Mo., just hours before a show, the mellow, gravel-voiced Takac shares the details of his life, his band and particularly the astounding success story he co-wrote over the past year.

The Goo Goo Dolls’ sixth album, 1998’s “Dizzy Up The Girl,” boasts the hit ballad “Iris,” which earned the Dolls three Grammy nominations.

Although the guys (Johnny Rzeznik, vocals/guitar; Mike Manilin, drums; Takac, bass/vocals) walked away empty-handed, Takac isn’t overly disappointed.

“I think the show was a lot of fun, except for three points, well, I don’t have to explain ’em to ya,” Takac laughs.

“The whole concept of that thing is pretty creepy to me. It’s like judging apples versus oranges. If we would have won, I would have the same opinion. This is, like, not me, the ramblings of a bitter Grammy loser.”

However, Takac does feel the recognition was past due.

“It was cool to get a tip of the hat from the industry after 13 years of continually being ignored by it,” he says.

Radio ga ga

Goo Goo Dolls’ current single, “Dizzy,” is getting a hat-tip from modern-rock radio. The ear-candy tune is floating around the Top 10 — right where the band wants it.

“We needed a song for rock and alternative radio play while we were letting ‘Slide’ kind of take its course on pop and Top 40,” Takac explains.

While the Goo Goos have videos airing heavily on VH1 and MTV for “Iris” and “Slide,” Takac is happiest with the appeal of “Dizzy.”

“It’s the only video we’ve done that I actually like,” he says. “We had some pretty good success with ‘Iris,’ and it was from a movie, so we thought it would be fun to invent a movie around the idea of the song.

“On the other hand, we wanted to do a video that we weren’t performing in at all. There’s no lip-synching, there’s no anything at all. That was always something different we wanted to try.”

“Iris” is still holding its own, though, as the summer anthem for the thinking-man has spent nine months and counting on Billboard’s Singles chart.

Rzeznik wrote the tune after seeing a screening for “City Of Angels,” with what Takac calls “library music” as the soundtrack. From the story of the movie, Rzeznik wrote the song.

“A lot of great songs don’t get big,” Takac says, “but I guess the planet lined up for this one.”

Hooked on a feeling

When the Goo Goo Dolls first started playing music, the guys weren’t taking things seriously.

“We were just college kids who needed an excuse to drink. God, we did a lot of that,” he recollects. “Back in those days, getting a record out was a miracle for us. We weren’t very organized, and we weren’t driven by anything but wanting to go out and have fun.”

As struggling college kids in the ’80s, Takac, Rzeznik and George Tutuska, the original Goo Goo drummer, music wasn’t only fun, it was a means of escape.

“The band was like a club for us — a little retreat from life,” Takac says. “We could go into our little band room, make a ton of noise, have a blast and stay up all night and hopefully make it to classes the next day.”

In the Dolls’ early days, Takac was doing most of the singing and Rzeznik was doing a lot of the writing. Takac caroled everything on the first couple of records while Rzeznik was developing confidence in his voice.

By the release of the Goo Goo’s third album, “Hold Me Up,” the band had begun to take its career more seriously.

Takac and crew grew up in the ’70s listening to bands like Cheap Trick, Kiss and Led Zeppelin. Eventually, their musical tastes segued into late ’70s/early ’80s punk bands like the Clash and Sex Pistols.

Along the way, Rzeznik and Takac became major fans of songwriters and matured into substantial lyricists themselves.

Takac says he is inspired by anything he sees in the world around him.

“For me, anything that turns my face red is worth writing about,” he says. “You know, being happy or sad, anything that gets my blood moving around.”

Song writing is more than moving lyrics, however, and Takac is the first to admit it. He echoes the importance of having a good hook, which is a Goo Goo Dolls trademark.

“You need to know that there’s something there that’s going to attach itself to someone so they can really get into the song,” he explains. “A lot of songs have hook and no substance. I think the whole idea is to have your hook and then substance as well, which I think is the difference between what ‘N Sync does and a band like us does.”

Family values

When Takac first joined the Goo Goo Dolls, he was lacking support from his family. But after about five years, his mother was right behind him.

“For a while it was tough,” he says. “It’s a tough thing; your kid’s in college, and then he says, ‘I’m gonna drive around the country in a van for five dollars a day.’ To an adult it seemed like a setback.”

As the Goo Goos progressed through the ’90s, the band finally made its mark in the music industry with “A Boy Named Goo.” The album went double platinum with the helping hand of the heartstring-tugging “Name.”

But with the good came the bad. Problems within the band were surfacing and Tutuska had to be fired.

“There was a point there where there wasn’t much communication going on,” Takac says. “We got finished with ‘A Boy Named Goo,’ and were barely speaking at that point. That’s when we sort of decided that was the thing to do.”

Takac says the addition of Manilin brought a new freshness to the group.

“This is a major statement to say, but he’s probably one of the five best drummers out there. We’re so lucky to end up with him, you know.”

While Takac and Rzeznik have been constants in the band from the beginning, Takac contends they still have their quarrels.

“We completely get on each other’s nerves,” Takac says. “John always says, ‘We’ve known each other for 13 years and we’ve been friends for seven.'”

Stone solid

The Goo Goo Dolls have been playing its current tour for eight months and recently opened for the Rolling Stones for two weeks on the “No Security Tour.”

“It was the greatest thing that ever happened. It was unbelievable,” Takac says. “Imagine just sitting around your dressing room and gabbing with Mick Jagger. How weird is that?”

Takac says the Dolls have opened for some groups that have been around for only a few years and wouldn’t even let him be in the same hallway on the way to the stage.

The Rolling Stones, according to Takac, are not only the biggest rock band in the world but also are the nicest rock band in the world.

“The Stones were so cool, man,” he says. “They gave us a full stage, a full P.A., full lights and said, ‘Go out and have the best show you possibly can.'”

On the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Dizzy Up The Girl Tour,” volunteers from USA Harvest, one of the nation’s fastest-growing food-delivery organizations, will be on hand to collect canned goods and other non-perishable items for distribution to local shelters.

Takac believes this charity to be one of the best things his band has been involved with.

“It’s going really well. I’m really amazed at how many people are taking part in it,” Takac says. “This is really sort of cool because it actually benefits the community we’re playing in as opposed to collecting some cash and having it go wherever.”

The Goo Goo Dolls are also involved in the charitable organization “Rock ‘N Wrap It Up,” an organization that collects goods left over from catering a concert and distributes it to nearby shelters.

As the Goo Goo Dolls continue to garner fame in the industry, all the glamour and glory haven’t gone to the band members’ heads.

Takac, Rzeznik and Manilin have kept their feet on the ground, going about their career honestly, as if it was just another day job.

“We’re looking at probably March of 2000 to finish this [tour.],” Takac, says casually. “Hopefully there will be enough tragedies in the world so we can pull another record together.”

The Goo Goo Dolls headline “Veishea Center Stage” Friday night in Hilton Coliseum. Dovetail Joint and New Radicals open the show at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $7.50 for Iowa State students and $15 for Iowa State community members and student guests.