John Wozniak | |
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 John Wozniak (right) as part of Marcy Playground | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Keith Wozniak |
| Born | January 19, 1971 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
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| Years active | 1990–current |
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John Keith Wozniak (born January 19, 1971) [1] is an American musician best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Marcy Playground. [2]
Wozniak was born and raised in Minneapolis. He learned how to play the guitar at the age of 14.[ citation needed ]
Wozniak's first solo effort was Zog BogBean – From the Marcy Playground recorded in his own home in 1990. In 2006 he recorded his second solo album, Leaving Wonderland...in a fit of rage (Produced by Jeff Dawson) and while searching for a label to release it on, decided to call it a Marcy Playground album and include new songs recorded with the rest of the band. [3]
Aside from influences such as Neil Young, Paul Simon, and Van Morrison, an early influence in his life was his high school girlfriend from tenth grade until his freshmen year in college, Sherry Fraser, of the band Two Ton Boa. She collaborated with Wozniak on Zog Bogbean, and on the song "Ancient Walls of Flowers" from Marcy Playground's self-titled album. The song "Sherry Fraser" was written about her.
Wozniak moved to Great Neck, Long Island, New York, in 1994 in order to collaborate with Jared Kotler, a multi-instrumentalist/music producer. Wozniak had written two albums worth of material and began recording what would become the eponymous Marcy Playground recordings at Sabella Recording Studio in Roslyn Heights, New York. More recording sessions followed with hiring Dylan Keefe as the band's bass player. Over two albums of material were recorded at Sebella by engineer Ken Goia, and these recordings brought the band to the attention of Capitol Records. The band was soon signed to Capitol and began a year-long series of club dates in New York City performing live in support of Marcy Playground. The band then began a radio promotion tour of the U.S. following the release of the first single "Poppies".
Follow-up single "Sex and Candy" was released shortly afterward. This song became very popular, rising to a then-record 15 weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart. [4] In 2012, "Sex and Candy" was named the fourth-best one-hit wonder of the 1990s by Rolling Stone . [5] "Sex and Candy" has been covered by Maroon 5, Prozak, Slothrust, and others. [6] [7]
Wozniak continues to regularly write, record and tour with Marcy Playground.[ citation needed ]
Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak, Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit "Sex and Candy".
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Marcy Playground is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Marcy Playground, released on February 25, 1997, on EMI. It was reissued later that year on October 7 on Capitol Records with a large amount of promotion for the single "Sex and Candy," which became the band's breakthrough single, spending a then-record 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
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"Sex and Candy" is a song by American alternative rock group Marcy Playground, a single from their 1997 self-titled debut album. It is a post-grunge song with psychedelic elements. Lead singer John Wozniak was inspired to write the song after a woman told him that a room smelled like "sex and candy." The song's abstract lyrics refer to the disco era and include hippie lingo. In 1997, Wozniak said that "Sex and Candy" is an unorthodox love song; later, he said he does not know what the song means. It was released to radio on the week of September 15, 1997.
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"Saint Joe on the School Bus" is a song by American rock band Marcy Playground. It was released as the second single from their self-titled 1997 debut album. Although far from being as successful as the band's later smash hit "Sex and Candy," "Saint Joe on the School Bus" managed to reach number 8 on the US Modern Rock Tracks and number 30 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. In the album liner notes Wozniak, the band's front man states "this song is about being picked on." A video was made for the song in which a schoolyard bully "cries wolf" and is eventually devoured by one.
"Sherry Fraser" is the name of the third single by alternative rock/post-grunge band Marcy Playground. Although nowhere near as successful as the band's earlier smash hit "Sex and Candy," nor the minor hit "St. Joe on the Schoolbus," the song did receive moderate radio and MTV2 airplay in 1998. The track is named for a friend of the band, who is credited on the band's eponymous debut album as S. Fraser, the co-writer of the track "Ancient Walls of Flowers".
Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage is the fourth and most recent studio album by the American alternative rock band Marcy Playground, released in 2009. It was begun as a John Wozniak solo album. The album's first single was "Blackbird".
Zog BogBean – From the Marcy Playground is an album, self-produced and recorded by John Wozniak in his bedroom studio with some help from his then-girlfriend Sherry Fraser and her brother, Scott. A small run of CDs were self-released by Wozniak, and they remain extremely difficult to find to this day. "Our Generation" and "Dog And His Master" would appear on later Marcy Playground albums.
re.present is the third major label studio album released by Jimmie's Chicken Shack, released in 2004. The album was a departure from the light and popular punk rock sound of Bring Your Own Stereo as this album leans towards a darker sound influenced by nu metal as it was showcased in the lead single "Falling Out" which features Aaron Lewis of Staind.
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