In 1997, the California-formed rock band Third Eye Blind released their first and seminal self-titled record. With hits like the Billboard Music Award-winning “Semi-Charmed Life,” the angsty “Motorcycle Drive By,” “How’s It Going to Be,” and “Graduate,” the quartet infiltrated the airwaves and soundtracked movies like Can’t Hardly Wait. Atypical for a rock-pop group, songs like “Jumper” dealt with serious issues like suicide, and “Semi-Charmed” focused on drug addiction. Along with the gravitas of the tracks, the record sold six million copies and was certified 6x platinum (the sophomore record Blue went platinum as well), solidifying them as one of the greatest rock successes of the 1990s.
“I feel like maybe part of our ability to still be relatable as a band at this point is because the songs are about real issues,” Third Eye Blind drummer/percussionist Brad Hargreaves told CityBeat. “It's not about us at the club. It's about real things that Stephan witnessed and experienced.”
Lead singer/founder Stephan Jenkins drew controversy with a series of lineup changes and beefs with other bands. After six more records, three EPs, two live records and two compilation albums, the band’s still here, albeit with Jenkins and Hargreaves remaining as the only original members.
Sometimes, these ’90s-era bands feel like a jolt of nostalgia. But as Hargreaves explained, he sees a younger generation discovering their music and coming to shows, including teenagers.
“So much music today is generated by computers and tracks that are being played, and DJs playing music that's already recorded,” he said. “We're a rock band, so we make it by hand every single night. I felt like the teenagers were really locked in on the guys playing their instruments and singing without help. I just appreciated that.”
In hindsight, maybe the ’90s were a more innocent time compared to 2024. “Even the scandals that the president had paled in comparison today, and Osama Bin Laden hadn't really made his mark yet,” he said. “I'm sort of glad we got to be a soundtrack starting out during that time and have our music related to that decade. But that was in some ways peak America.”
Hargreaves joined Third Eye Blind in 1995, a couple of years after Jenkins founded the group. Many members have come and gone, but Hargreaves has a good dynamic with Jenkins.
“We agree upon what is best for the band to thrive, and it's always been clear to us how to keep the band on the tracks instead of getting derailed,” he said. “From that standpoint, we look at how do we keep this thing going? And I think we really are sort of simpatico on that. We're different people, but you kind of want different kinds of people in the band. You need different flavors.”
Jenkins has managed the band with his own perspective. “People don't just give it to you. You have to go out there and get it,” Hargreaves said. “He's always been someone with a chip on his shoulder that said, ‘I'm going to go get it whether you like it or not.’ A lot of people have problems with that for different reasons. He unapologetically said, ‘I have something to offer, and that's the way it's going to be.’ The band has done what it's done largely because of his vision and his fortitude.”
That strength has allowed the band to continue to tour and release new material, most recently in 2021 with Our Bande Apart, and 2022’s Unplugged.
“We have no idea why it's still going,” Hargreaves said. “Once or twice a year Stephan and I sit down and we have this sort of incredulous conversation about the opportunities we still get and the duration that it's lasted. We are overwhelmed with gratitude a lot.”
The band’s working on new songs, and during their live shows, they’ve been covering Beyoncé’s “Mine” and the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” injecting even more nostalgia into their performances.
One piece of advice he’d give to up-and-coming musicians is to watch out for someone going after your gig.
“It’s better to buckle down and get real into it,” he said. “Because if you don't, someone else is taking your spot and they're not really trying to help you too much. Hopefully that doesn't make people feel too discouraged. If you're trying to make it in music, just demand to be heard.”
Looking back, Hargreaves said he would’ve done some things differently when it came to sponsorship — NASCAR, really? — but the band has its own label, Mega Collider Records, and he said the band does things in a more authentic way now than they did back then.
And the journalists are nicer.
“There were hostile interviewers,” he said. “They thought we were complete bullshit pop music that was totally without substance because they barely heard it, or they only heard “Semi-Charmed Life,” and someone made them interview us and they didn't care at all. But now the people who interview us grew up listening to us and caring about our music, so the interviews are way more fun and interesting.”
Third Eye Blind plays Riverbend Music Center at 6:30 p.m. on July 2 with Yellowcard and A R I Z O N A. More info: riverbend.org.
This story is featured in CityBeat's June 26 print edition.
