No Doubt, Gwen Stefani's iconic 1990s ska band, reunited at the first weekend of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Sunday's show marked the group's first performance together since 2015, when they performed at the inaugural Kaaboo Del Mar music festival in Del Mar, California. The band formed in 1986.
Bassist Tony Kanal spoke with the Los Angeles Times about No Doubt's hotly anticipated reunion.
Kanal described the "vibes and rehearsals" leading up to the performance as "awesome." He elaborated that "The energy has been incredible at rehearsals and I can't wait for people to see the show we put together." He divulged that the band had been enjoying dinners together which helped to create "good vibes and the recipe for a grand return to form."
No Doubt isn't Kanal's only recent musical venture. The arrival of No Doubt's second hiatus in the mid-2010s brought with it a new musical group for the bassist.
In 2014, Kanal formed Dreamcar, a band composed of himself, Tom Dumon and Adrian Young of No Doubt and Davey Havok, the lead vocalist of AFI. Dreamcar released their debut album in 2017, Dreamcar, following up the drop with a U.S. tour. The band performed at Coachella that year, seven years before Kanal and No Doubt would reunite at the same festival. Kanal also toured with The Offspring in 2018 and 2019 while Dreamcar was on hiatus.
Dreamcar returned in 2024 and will be playing shows at the El Rey and the Cruel World Festival in May.
While working on a performance of the Nightmare Before Christmas with Danny Elfman, Kanal met Emmy-award-winning composer Blake Neely. The two became quick friends after Neel asked Kanal to contribute to the rhythm section of his orchestral project. Later, Neel would have Kanal play bass for the Crisis on Infinite Earths soundtrack.
The two musicians worked throughout the early pandemic, jamming out together well into the summer. Kanal played bass while Neely played piano. Kanal noted that he hadn't been writing songs lately, and Neely encouraged him to return to the craft.
"It was so kind for him to bring me back and start working on music again," said the No Doubt bassist.
Kanal added television to his resume when his first score appeared in the second season of Single Drunk Female, a Hulu comedy series. He described the experience of writing for television as "completely different than writing in a band."
"It was just a really cool different world to work in," he said. Talking to Deadline, he elaborated that writing for scenes "took a bit of practice and some letting go to write in an open way, where you let the scene dictate where the musical idea goes."
Reflecting on his string of musical successes and exciting work, Kanal said he is "really grateful to be in this place right now."
No Doubt's Coachella performance was widely praised by critics and Coachella goers alike. The band has not indicated if new music or a full tour are on their agenda, but their festival performance makes for an auspicious start to No Doubt's 2024.
