Gin Blossoms consists of Bill Leen, Doug Hopkins, Jesse Valenzuela, Phillip Rhodes, Robin Wilson.
Gin Blossoms are an alternative pop/rock band formed in 1987, in Tempe, Arizona. They took their name from a photo of W.C. Fields which bore the caption 'W.C. Fields with gin blossoms', referring to the actor's gin-ravaged nose. The band, whose music is weaned towards The Byrds and Tom Petty, released three albums and had several hits in the mid 1990s, before breaking up in 1997. Surprisingly, the band reunited in 2002, touring, releasing a DVD, and promising a fourth album.
Members during the band's early years included guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, bassist Bill Leen, vocalist Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist Richard Taylor, drummer Chris McCann, McCann's replacement Dan Henzerling, and Taylor's replacement Robin Wilson.
By the early 1990s, the lineup had changed to Leen on bass, Hopkins on guitar, Valenzuela on guitar, Wilson on vocals, and Phillip Rhodes on drums. During work on the group's second major-label record, Hopkins was fired and replaced with Scott Johnson, but Hopkins's songs " Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" went on to become hit singles. Their success was overshadowed by the suicide of Hopkins in 1993.
The Blossoms broke up in the spring of 1997, and each band member moved on to his own project. Vocalist Robin Wilson and drummer Phillip Rhodes launched the Gas Giants. Bassist Bill Leen retired from music to operate a rare book store. Guitarist Jesse Valenzuela fronted a short-lived outfit called the Low Watts, released a solo album, and kept busy writing and producing. Robin ventured into producing as well, at his Mayberry Studios in Tempe.
But the Gas Giants announced an "indefinite hiatus" in June 2001. On Dec. 4, 2001, it was announced that Scott would leave his current band, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, to rejoin the Gin Blossoms. The band regrouped and began playing together again in earnest (having done a couple of one-off shows in the interim) in 2002.