Marcy Playground

Though Marcy Playground's members converged in New York City amid the mid-1990s, vocalist/guitarist John Wozniak and bassist Dylan Keefe both traced their roots to Minneapolis, while drummer Dan Rieser grew up in Ohio. The band drew its name from Marcy Open School, the experimental elementary institution Wozniak attended in the late '70s. There he endured intimidation from several classmates and chose not to join them on the playground at recess. Reflecting later, the singer described that difficult stretch as "a foundation for a future self." In an early group biography he elaborated, "The strange way in which I see the world today can be directly traced back to the time when, as a little boy, I sat paralyzed by the unfortunate realities of life as I looked out of a school window and down onto the Marcy Playground."

Keefe attended a neighboring school that served as a sister institution to the one Wozniak had known, yet the two Minneapolis natives did not meet until both had relocated to N.Y.C. An introduction arranged by acclaimed jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel revealed their shared musical tastes, prompting them to start a band. Keefe then brought in his former college friend Rieser on drums, which formally launched Marcy Playground.

The trio later signed with Capitol Records and issued its self-titled debut album in February 1997. Several months afterward, rock radio embraced the single "Sex and Candy," whose sound recalled Nirvana's more tranquil moments, lifting the record up the U.S. charts and securing it platinum certification. The musicians next turned to a sophomore album, aiming to dodge the second-record slump that has claimed many rock acts after an initial hit. Marcy Playground ultimately fell prey to that pattern: the 1999 release Shapeshifter drew widespread critical disapproval and quickly vanished from view. The group retreated from prominence yet kept issuing albums, delivering MP3 in 2004 and Leaving Wonderland...In a Fit of Rage in 2009. The remix album Indaba Remixes from Wonderland, containing reworked versions of tracks from Leaving Wonderland, appeared in 2010.