Hootie Babylon! Darius Rucker tells it all

Which '90s band once dropped $32,000 to instantly buy a dealer's entire ecstasy supply? The answer would be hard to guess at the height of their fame, but it was the seemingly clean-cut guys in Hootie and the Blowfish — who, as frontman Darius Rucker reveals in his excellent new book, Life's Too Short: A Memoir, could party in any band you can name. “When I die, I'm going to let them study my brain and tell you if I have serotonin,” Rucker says.

Rucker looks back on those days and more in our weekly new episode Rolling Stone Music now podcast. To listen to the full interview, go here for your podcast provider of choice, listen Apple Podcasts the Spotify, or just press play above. Here are some highlights from the interview.

Rucker says it's time to forgive fellow star Morgan Wallen, who was caught using a racial slur in 2021. “I think Morgan has become a better person since then,” says Rucker. “I've known Morgan for a long time. Since all that happened, Morgan tried to really improve himself and become a better person and see the world a lot better, it was better. And you know, it is not excusable. Not out yet for CMAs and ACMs. They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen isn't entertainer of the year and stuff is crazy. Nobody sells more tickets than Morgan.”

Rucker is recording an album with an as-yet-unnamed new band he's forming with ex-REM bassist Mike Mills and ex-Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman. “You can call it a supergroup if you want, but I think people will be really surprised at how good it is,” says Rucker. “But we're just a band. We are friends and met one day at Steve's school [Nashville session player] Tom Bukovac plays guitar. We were like, “Let's go into the studio and see what happens.” And we went into the studio and to be honest with you, the magic happened and then I can't wait for the record to come out.”

Rucker is currently on tour with Hootie and the Blowfish, but can't guarantee that will happen again. “It would be five years or more – if we ever do it again,” he says. “I was surprised to agree to this tour. Because I mean, for me, it's like going backwards. You know, as an artist, sometimes you don't want to back down.”

Hootie is taking Stone Temple Pilots' “Interstate Love Song” on tour simply because they'd like to write it. “We're doing this song because I remember when this song came out in the '90s, how jealous we were of how it sounded,” says Rucker. “You know, it just sounded perfect on the radio and it was so hard. You know, why can't we play it? And so now I guess we're just old dudes. We play what we want to play. So I love rocking this song.”

When Rucker named the band Hootie and the Blowfish, no obvious problem presented itself. “I'm telling you right now, I named the band and I never thought people would call me Hootie,” he says. “I look back now, and I'm like, 'You're such a boring idiot,' but I never thought about it. And then when it started happening, I thought, 'What the frigging did I just do?'”

Download and subscribe to Rolling rockhis weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts the Spotify (the anywhere get your podcasts). Watch six years of archived episodes, including in-depth interviews with Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Halsey, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Dua Lipa, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes with genre-spanning discussions, debates and explanations with rolling rockcritics and journalists.