Yesterday, the puppet masters behind the American Idol empire confirmed that in order to be a judge on any of their shows — including their latest attempt to take over the music industry, The Next Great American Band — your résumé had to have started to get a little moldy circa 1999. Congratulations go to Goo Goo Dolls frontman John (no more Johnny) Rzeznik, Sheila E. and Ian “Dicko” Dickson (yes, “Dicko,” of Australian Idol fame). The trio will join the ranks of David Hasslehoff and Paula Abdul and serve as judges on the show, which will debut October 19th on Fox. The Ryan Seacrest? New Zealand Idol’s Dominic Bowden (guess these shows really like to keep folks with accents around to confer credibility). Sheila E.’s last hit album came out in 1985, but she famously joined Prince on his Sign O’ the Times tour in 1987. The Goo Goo Dolls had a single chart from their 2002 LP Gutterflower, but their last real smash was of course “Iris,” which helped 1998’s Dizzy Up the Girl go multtiple platinum. But the Idol production team has proven they’re just as adept at resuscitating older careers as they are at launching new ones.


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