Gin Blossoms: Suicide, Corporatism, Addiction, Creativity, and the Lessons of Doug Hopkins

"Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You"... most of the hits from the Gin Blossoms' 1992 breakout album, New Miserable Experience are credited to "D. Hopkins," but the mysterious songwriter isn't mentioned anywhere else in the album notes, or even on the band's website. Joe became fascinated with the forgotten story of Doug Hopkins, the band's co-founder and original songwriter, and delved into the history, scouring decades of old interviews and news articles to piece it together. It's a story of heavy drinking, creative genius, and fraught band relationships, ultimately ending in tragedy. This zine serves as a belated eulogy for Hopkins and a powerful parable about the very real stakes of the choices artists make about how to pursue their goals.