UK: "MARCY PLAYGROUND'S" NEW SINGLE "SEX AND CANDY" BREAKS INTO THE BRITISH CHARTS

Record ID: 387531

  • Title: UK: "MARCY PLAYGROUND'S" NEW SINGLE "SEX AND CANDY" BREAKS INTO THE BRITISH CHARTS
  • Date: 27th April 1998
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM APRIL 27, 1998 (RTV - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) JOHN WOZNIAK SAYING, "FOR ME, MOST OF MY SONGS AREN'T TRITE LITTLE LOVE SONGS AND ANY TIME I EVER APPROACH A LOVE SONG I FEEL A LITTLE 'IFFY' ABOUT IT BECAUSE THERE'S JUST SO MANY LOVE SONGS AND IT'S SO EASY TO BE SUPER CHEESY WITH A LOVE SONG AND I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO AVOID THAT. THIS
  • Embargoed: 12th May 1998 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA99AJ6DMSZMG83019A8XZWM8B7
  • Story Text: It's been a hectic year for New York based trio Marcy Playground.

    In just 12 months, they clinched a record deal, released their self-titled debut album, re-released it under a new banner when the record company folded and hit the road on the tour trail.

    They also set some records along the way.Their best known and most successful single "Sex and Candy" set the record for dominating the number one slot on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart for 15 consecutive weeks (it's currently number 6).

    The band has been touring non-stop since the U.S.release of the album which has recently been certified platinum.Now, they're doing it all again in Europe.

    The infectiously sweet "Sex and Candy" is a song of lost love.

    Singer/songwriter John Wozniak wrote it after hearing a friend say: "Whoo.It smells like sex and candy in here." The line remained in Wozniak's head.It was fished out years later, in the early hours of the morning when with cigarettes and guitar, Wozniak sat down to write.

    "For me, most of my songs aren't trite little love songs," Wozniak said.

    "Any time I ever approach a love song I feel a little 'iffy' about it because there's just so many love songs and it's so easy to be super cheesy with a love song and I've always wanted to avoid that." Wozniak is a product of an experimental alternative school in Minneapolis, named the Marcy Open School.

    As a seven-year-old shy child, Wozniak would sit in the back of class, listen to records and play with guinea pigs.

    To avoid being bullied during the lunch break, he'd stay in the classroom, look out onto the playground as other children played and make up stories.

    Those stories, dreamt up as he looked down on the Marcy Playground, sometimes made their way into songs.

    In a strange bit of coincidence, Dylan Keefe was also growing up in Minneapolis' "open" school system.

    He attended Marcy's sister school on the other side of town but it wasn't until 16 years later that the pair would meet in a kind of union of kindred spirits.

    They started a band and after trialing a few drummers, Dylan's long time friend Dan Reiser completed the trio.

    Now permanently based in New York, the band embarked on putting a fresh twist on the traditional guitar/bass/drums format.

    What resulted was a style they label "electric folk".

    While still a new band, the members say their sound has come a long way after a year on the road.

    Reiser says the band has enough material now to record another two or three albums and they're itching to get back into the studio.

    "We really feel like we love what's going on in the band now musically and let's put it down so we can capture it," Reiser said.

    "A band goes through phases.Who knows what we're going to be like a year from now? It'd be nice to capture this.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register