ANAHEIM – On Friday, No Doubt is set to resume a seven-night run at the 6,000-seat Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk, promoting its latest album, “Push and Shove.”

But 20 years ago, singer Gwen Stefani was no international music and fashion icon. She was, well, just a girl from Anaheim.

A girl with a gift for singing. Who liked to perform. And who dreamed of bigger things with her bandmates.

But, back then, in an era when glam-metal bands dominated the scene and grunge music from up north was starting to take over, the idea of an upbeat, ska-influenced band from Orange County making it big was unlikely at best.

I can speak with some authority about that time in the career of No Doubt: I was along for the ride in those early years, playing saxophone in a backing horn section from 1988 to 1994.

To this day, as I drive around Anaheim – the city I now cover as my beat – I remember a time when No Doubt was virtually unknown to music fans outside of Southern California. A time when the members of No Doubt lived and worked here – without people taking a second look.

Click through the photos to see the places that helped define the band.

To see a 1997 Register story by Eric Carpenter on his memories of No Doubt, click here.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or ecarpenter@ocregister.com