Formed in 1996, The Mooney Suzuki brought together Sammy James, Jr. on guitar and vocals, John Paul Ribas on bass, Graham Tyler on guitar, and Will Rockwell on drums. The quartet merged three-chord punk agility with the '60s momentum of the MC5, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks while spending the next three years gigging in and around their native New York City alongside Thee Headcoats, the Donnas, the Make-Up, and the Delta 72, among others. Telstar Records issued the band's first self-titled single in 1999. Their debut album, People Get Ready, followed on Estrus in 2000. Continued road work generated wider attention and a deal with Gammon Records, which released the critically acclaimed Electric Sweat in 2002. Columbia Records noticed both the album and the group's frenetic live shows, signing them shortly after. The label quickly reissued Electric Sweat with added live multimedia tracks. The band returned to touring and increased its earnings by licensing "Young Man's Mind" to Coors for a commercial and by recording a version of Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In" for a Nike ad. After a run on the 2003 Lollapalooza tour, they entered the studio with pop hitmakers the Matrix to begin work on their third album. Midway through those sessions the band was commissioned to supply the title song for Jack Black's film School of Rock, updating Mike White's lyrics and providing the music for Black to perform. Alive & Amplified appeared in August 2004. Columbia subsequently dropped the group, which signed with V2; that label closed before the next album, the stripped-down and predominantly acoustic guitar-based Have Mercy, could emerge. Elixia Records eventually released it in June 2007.
