:''For the album, see Marcy_Playground_(album)'' '''Marcy Playground''' is an American alternative rock or Post-grunge band. ==History== Named for the formative location in lead singer John_Wozniak's childhood, the Marcy Open grade school in Minneapolis, Marcy Playground emerged in the late 1990s with clean and subdued alternative rock (often sounding like a tranquil Nirvana). Wozniak's first effort, Zog_BogBean_-_From_the_Marcy_Playground, was a self-produced labor of love, recorded in his bedroom studio with some help from his then-girlfriend Sherry Fraser in the early nineties. A small run of CD's were self-released by Wozniak, and to this day it remains extremely difficult to find. After attending the Evergreen_State_College for two years, Wozniak moved east to New York, where Marcy Playground began to coalesce around the songs that would become the self-titled album. Bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Dan Rieser filled out the band's sound, and complemented Wozniak's songwriting. The self-titled album was released in 1997, and Marcy Playground emerged into the mainstream with the success of the single "Sex_and_Candy." ''Marcy Playground'' is quiet and minimalist in tone, but filled with emotion and childhood imagery. Woz's songs run in many different styles: some are modern Folk_music; many have undertones reminiscent of children's songs; the blurred sound of Psychedelia makes appearances; and then there are the songs where Wozniak clearly defines himself as a rock man. A lot of its commercial draw was due to the success of Seattle's Grunge-influenced sound (see Post-grunge). The only band member who contributed to all of the album was Wozniak himself; several others filled in for Rieser and Keefe on some of the songs, notably Jared Kotler (bass and drums). Marcy Playground's next outing was 1999's ''Shapeshifter'', in many ways a more complex album than ''Marcy Playground'', despite not being as much of a success commercially as the self-titled album. The songs are longer and harder-edged than those on the self-titled album, and have a more layered sound. Whereas most of ''Marcy Playground'' has the feel of a quiet, Unplugged live show, ''Shapeshifter'' is clearly amp-driven rock, and maybe even less ''grunge'' inspired. A minor controversy came to light when Paul_Leary of the Butthole_Surfers revealed on Marcy Playground's BBS that the cover art for ''Shapeshifter'' had originally been conceptualized and commissioned by Leary for his band's aborted ''After_the_Astronaut'' album. He admitted to being a fan of Marcy Playground, but accused the band of an apparent lack of imagination and originality. Leary's outrage was eased once he learned that Capitol_Records, former home of the Butthole Surfers and then-current home of Marcy Playground, had pitched the artwork to Wozniak as original work from their own art department and that Marcy Playground had no knowledge of the work's origins. Upon learning the truth, Wozniak proclaimed that he was "honored" to have an album cover designed by Paul Leary. There were apparently no bad feelings between the band once the controversy had been cleared up. After ''Shapeshifter'', drummer Dan Rieser left the band to pursue other interests. The position was eventually filled on his recommendation by Gonzalo "Gonz" Martinez De La Cotera, a friend whose previous band had opened for Marcy Playground. After a considerable hiatus and at least one failed attempt to record a follow-up to Shapeshifter, Marcy Playground's third album, ''MP3'', was finally released in 2004 with even less commercial success than the two preceding albums. ''MP3'' fit the pattern of evolution from ''Shapeshifter'', with a more electric sound and a slicker production. Some of the songs on ''MP3'' also featured more overt messages of Wozniak's feelings on the music industry ("Hotter than the Sun," which tells a tale similar to the story of the band) and politics (the anti-censorship "Flag and Finger" and "Jessie Went to War," the story of a brother lost at war). This made ''MP3'' arguably more topical than previous Marcy Playground albums, the songs of which seemed to have a more generally timeless quality. Marcy Playground did little if any touring in support of ''MP3.'' Despite releasing many singles, the band never matched the success of their single "Sex and Candy", and are generally considered a One-hit_wonder. The band is currently working on a new album which is scheduled for release sometime in Fall 2006. ==Personnel== Current: *John "Woz" Wozniak, lead vocals, guitar, songwriter, producer *Dylan_Keefe, bass, backing vocals *Gonzalo "Gonz" Martinez De La Cotera, drums, backing vocals Past: *Dan_Rieser, drums, backing vocals ==Discography== ===Albums=== * 1990 - ''Zog_BogBean_-_From_the_Marcy_Playground'' * 1997 - ''Marcy Playground'' (platinum certified) * 1999 - ''Shapeshifter'' * 2004 - ''MP3'' ===Singles and EPs=== * 1997 - ''Sex and Candy'' * 1998 - ''Our Generation'' (Promo only) * 1998 - ''St. Joe on the Schoolbus'' * 1998 - ''Sherry Fraser'' (Promo only) * 1998 - ''Coming Up From Behind'' * 1999 - ''It's Saturday'' College Sampler EP ===Soundtracks Featuring Marcy Playground=== *''Hurricane_Streets'' *''Cruel_Intentions'' *''Simply_Irresistible'' *''Jay_and_Silent_Bob_Strike_Back'' ==See also== *List_of_bands_named_after_places ==External links== *Official Website *Official Myspace Page *Official Message Board Category:American_rock_music_groups Category:Alternative_musical_groups Category:Post-grunge_groups Da:Marcy_Playground De:Marcy_Playground Es:Marcy_Playground