Sugar Ray Members:
- Mark McGrath
- Rodney Sheppard
- Murphy Karges
- Stan Frazier
- Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock
Sugar Ray Gets Its Start
Sugar Ray is best known for their pop-reggae hit Fly and hot lead singer Mark McGrath. Before they changed their name, band mates Mark McGrath, Rodney Sheppard on guitar, Murphy Karges on bass, Stan Frazier on drums and Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock on turntables, were known as Shrinky Dinx. (Shrinky Dinks were those plastic toys you bake in the oven to make stained glass.) They had to change their quirky name cuz the toy company, Milton Bradley, threatened them with a lawsuit. They chose Sugar Ray because they all admired boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
Sugar Ray's Struggle To Succeed
The guys from California had dreams of becoming rock 'n roll stars but like most peeps in the biz, things didn't happen over night. Mark McGrath worked as a truck driver, Murphy Karges was a pizza chef, Stan Frazier was a paralegal and Rodney Sheppard was a telemarketer/actor. They made a video for their song Caboose with the help of a friend. Eventually it ended up with Atlantic Records prez Doug Morris. Atlantic wasn't really taken with Shrinky Dinx's music (they hadn't changed their name yet) but they were impressed with the Sugar Ray's appearance and offered them a contract.
Sugar Ray Hits It Big
In 1995 Sugar Ray released their first CD entitled Lemonade and Brownies. Like the combination of lemonade and brownies - the album didn't go over very well. But the good thing was they got to tour with the Sex Pistols, Korn and Cypress Hill. Mark McGrath began listening to Sublime and convinced Atlantic Records to let them work with Sublime's producer David Kahne and the result was 1997's Floored. Floored became a huge success, selling more than two million copies and pushed the guys of Sugar Ray into the rock star status they'd always dreamed of. A big reason Sugar Ray's album became so popular was because of the reggae-ish tune Fly. Sugar Ray shot to stardom and it's pretty much been smooth sailing ever since.
Sugar Ray - Did U Know?
- DJ Homicide likes "girly soap."
- Stan Frazier is a great juggler.
- Mark McGrath has a degree in communications.
Sugar Ray Says...
"Don't give up on your deams. They really do come true if you don't quit."
