Learning The Hard Way was the lead-off single from Major Lodge Victory

Major Lodge Victory

Major Lodge Victory is the fourth full–length album by the pop rock band the Gin Blossoms. It was the first album released by the band since their 1997–2002 breakup. It was released on August 8, 2006, on , making it the Gin Blossoms' first new album in over 10 years.Hybrid promoted the album's...

, the first album released by pop-rock band, Gin Blossoms

Gin Blossoms

Gin Blossoms is an American 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 what appeared to be the actor's gin-ravaged nose, but was actually a skin condition known as rosacea...

 in ten years. It was promoted late summer and fall of 2006, and received heavy AAA airplay. It charted at #8 on the FMQB AAA Chart.

Gin Blossoms also performed Learning The Hard Way live on XM Radio, for which there is a video on YouTube.

Jesse Valenzuela

Jesse Valenzuela

Jesse Valenzuela was the original vocalist of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms when it was formed in 1987. In 1988, he switched roles with the band's new guitarist, Robin Wilson. He continued to be a member until the band's breakup in 1997, and reunited with the rest of the group in 2002...

 told Songfacts that he "started ruminating" on a 5 or 6 hour drive between Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

 and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

and "just kind of wrote down the song when I got home."