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STAY FROSTY

Mark McGrath nerds out the Sugar Ray way.

September 1, 2023
Christopher R. Weingarten

Anyone near an MTV playlist at the turn of the Willennium knows Mark McGrath’s curriculum vitae: four frothy alterna-pop megahits with Sugar Ray, a constant presence in the tabloids, a hosting gig on Extra, and a stint as the unofficial ambassador of frosted tips. But the whole time, deep inside that sleeveless bohunk flexing on the cover of Spin beat the heart of a true nerd.

“Hey, can I access the old editions of CREEM?” interjects McGrath, completely unprompted, around a half hour into our conversation. “I can’t imagine. [Doing] a deep dive from, like, ’72 to ’84? You’d never see me again.”

In the days before major-label fame and Scooby-Doo cameos, McGrath was slicing his stomach on stage like Iggy Stooge. Sugar Ray would sample the Germs and cover Black Flag. McGrath dominated VH1’s Rock & Roll Jeopardy! on three separate occasions. His band’s latest album, Little Yachty, might have a version of “(Escape) The Pina Colada Song” on the inside, but there’s a visual tribute to the Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry on the outside.

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