Sugar Ray

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Sugar Ray's Bio: After a five year hiatus, Sugar Ray is back and better than ever. The Southern California-based band makes its long awaited return with “MUSIC FOR COUGARS,” an exuberant reiteration of the band’s signature sound, with particular focus on songcraft and sonic invention. As ever, musical styles – from dancehall to disco, punk to pure pop – are mixed and matched, resulting in a celebratory, swaggering collection that is distinctively and delightfully Sugar Ray. Songs like the buoyant first single, “Boardwalk,” or the Rivers Cuomo-penned “Love Is the Answer” are fit to burst with the wit and energy that once saw the band rule over the Top 10. “MUSIC FOR COUGARS” sees this band of brothers operating at the very peak of its powers, with the skills, strengths, and smarts that only two decades together can provide. “I’m not going to say we made the best record of our career,” beams singer Mark McGrath. “That’s just so clichéd. But we did!”

Since their 1995 “LEMONADE AND BROWNIES” debut, Sugar Ray became stuck in a biennial cycle of touring and recording, touring and recording. 1997’s RIAA double platinum-certified sophomore effort, “FLOORED,” and its smash follow-up, 1999’s triple platinum “14:59” were trailed by 2001’s self-titled collection and 2003’s “IN THE PURSUIT OF LEISURE.” By the time of 2005’s “THE BEST OF SUGAR RAY,” the band had well and truly earned a break. Having devoted themselves to the band since its 1986 inception as The Shrinky Dinks, each member took the time to explore new creative terrain – McGrath stayed in the spotlight as co-host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news program, Extra. Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock relocated to Florida, where became a hugely in-demand club DJ; drummer Stan Frazier worked as a songwriter and A+R exec; bassist Murphy Karges became a video director; guitarist Rodney Sheppard teaches music to neighborhood kids. Perhaps more importantly, Sheppard, Karges, and Frazier started families, with all living within a two mile radius from one another in their hometown of Newport Beach. “It was just the natural course to sort of lay back for a while,” Sheppard says, “We had a good run up to that time and we’d gotten to the point where we welcomed a break. It just ended up being a bit longer than we thought.”

Sugar Ray was in fact quite active during their hiatus, busting out the hits at private corporate events, county fairs, and countless summer festivals. By 2008, the band was itching to get back into the studio. In July, McGrath left Extra in order to devote more of his time to Sugar Ray. At the same time, the band’s longtime friend, producer Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park), invited them to cut a new album for his just-launched label, Pulse Recordings. “All the stars lined up for us,” Sheppard says. “We always said we would never force ourselves back on the public, but everything just fell together nicely. It was an opportunity for us to make some new music again so we grabbed it.”

With Abraham at the helm, the band immediately set to work at the producer’s Pulse Recording in Los Angeles. The producer pushed the band to reach down deep and refine their songwriting, penned, as ever, in various combinations of band members. Perhaps more importantly, Abraham hooked Sugar Ray up with Pulse in-house producer/songwriter Luke Walker (The Deftones, Alkaline Trio, Filter, Elliot Yamin, From First to Last), whom the band enthusiastically credits for helping to both energize and focus the album. “The guy’s a genius,” McGrath enthuses. “He’s an amazing songwriter and he really infused a new attitude, a new creativity, a new way to get songs done and get ‘em done quickly. Luke is the MVP of the whole project.” “We really clicked with Luke,” Sheppard says, “separately and together. A lot of time in the past, the band would come up with a song and get it three-quarters of the way there. With Luke, we were able to realize all our ideas. He was an important ingredient in the songcrafting.”

From the start, the project proved to be the most artistically free of the band’s career. The sessions spanned close to a year, a leisurely process that enabled Sugar Ray to take their time crafting both songs and sonics. “Being the underdog again really frees up your creativity,” McGrath explains. “We had so much fun making the record. There was no pressure. It was purely about the love of songwriting and getting into the studio.” … Read more