Dream
Photo: Bad Boy

We couldn't get enough of them. Their songs were our soundtrack, and we laughed, danced, cried and loved along with them. They flashed across our radio and TV burning brightly — but where have they been lately? As you'll find out in our new regular feature Where Ya Been?, sometimes the stories behind your favorite songs are more interesting than the hits themselves.

Who: Dream

Biggest hit: 2001's "He Loves U Not"

Claim to fame: Members came together after responding to an 800-number solicitation for a girl group and impressed Bad Boy boss Sean "Puffy" Combs so much in a hotel audition that he signed them on the spot.

Why do I know that name?: Before "American Idol," there was Dream. The Southern California R&B quartet consisted of Ashley Poole, Diana Ortiz, Holly Arnstein and Melissa Schuman. Poole got on board by calling (800) BE-A-STAR, while Schuman and Arnstein auditioned at the suggestion of their vocal coaches, with the latter recommending her lifelong friend Ortiz for the prefab four.

Their manager set up a Beverly Hills Hotel audition for Combs, who initially seemed unimpressed with the 14-year-olds. "It was really scary but awesome," Poole said of the audition. "We sang some songs for Puffy from our demo, he shook our hands and said, 'Good luck.' We were like, 'Oh, didn't get that!' And then 10 minutes later, he was sending us a contract to sign."

The road to riches: Their debut album, It Was All a Dream, was released in January 2001, when all four were 16 or younger, and spawned the pop/urban hit "He Loves U Not." Legendary music-biz titan Clive Davis told the girls that the song would have been a hit no matter who sang it, but Poole said the fact that "four white girls on a hip-hop label" sang it made the song even more massive. The girls performed at the NFL's Pro Bowl in 2001, toured with 'NSYNC, Britney Spears, 98 Degrees and future Where Ya Been? subjects the Baha Men. Dream appeared at the American Music Awards and the VMAs. And, of course, Poole, 20, who is working on her debut solo album, said they thought the ride would last "forever."

Reality bites: Schuman left in 2002 to pursue acting and was replaced by Kasey Sheridan. The follow-up single to "He Loves U Not" tanked, in part, Arnstein said, because it came out just before the September 11 terrorist attacks.

So the girls hit the studio to record album number two, Reality, which hung in limbo as release dates came and went. The video for the first single, "Crazy," portrayed the formerly fresh-scrubbed teens in a sexier light, a decision that was the beginning of the end.

"I think the second album is 100 times better than our first one," said Arnstein, 20, who is preparing to go to San Francisco State to study psychology and now sings in the "Fleetwood Mac meet Coldplay" band Whirlmagnet. "There was this push for us to be more sexual and this emphasis on being skinny. We always had this mentality that we were real, we were really friends and really in love with music and having a good time. Suddenly that was not the game. It was, 'How much weight can you lose and how sexual can you be?' "

Reality was never released in the U.S., and the group's members drifted apart, with lead singer Blake the first to jump ship. "The music and chemistry were amazing, and we really were best friends and family," Poole said. "We did love each other, but we were very young, and as anyone who has ever been 18 knows, it's a confusing time in your life."

The moral: If the Dream seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Who: Marcy Playground

Biggest hit: 1997's "Sex and Candy"

Claim to fame: Held record for longest run at #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart at 18 weeks — until they were beaten by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me."

Why do I know that name?: In the book on "one-hit wonders," Marcy Playground's ubiquitous late-'90s hit deserves a whole chapter. The song got so big, singer John Wozniak said, it had its own accountant. The band, which also features bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Dan Rieser, got together in New York in the mid-'90s and took the name of the experimental elementary school Wozniak attended in the late '70s. Marcy Playground signed with Capitol and released their self-titled debut in February 1997 to little acclaim. But a DJ at a San Diego station started playing the strangely alluring "Sex and Candy," and pretty soon it was getting so much radio play that Wozniak said the head of radio promotions at Capitol actually said, "We gotta f---in' shut down this record! It's killin' your guys' career!"

Dude, what happened to you?: "We were actually pretty frickin' flabbergasted with the hugeness of it all," Wozniak said. "It was like going from playing fun little pickup games of grade-school T-ball to, all of a sudden, being a major-league baseball team in the pennant race for the World Series. If you listen to that song, it's pretty clear it wasn't written to be a hit. It's just a quirky little weird song. But it was too much. It's literally on hundreds of compilations. It became a quintessential '90s moment, and that's cool and I'm happy about that, but we had to tone it down a bit."

Now that's a good story: Wozniak said as "Sex and Candy" was emerging as a hit, he stood firm when his manager asked if he'd be interested in selling his publishing rights. " 'At some point a company will come along and offer you a bunch of money to sell it,' my manager said. But I said, 'No way,' " Wozniak said. "As the song climbed the charts, the offers kept coming in: $100,000, $500,000, $750,000, and my manager and lawyer are screaming at me saying, 'You have to do this!' I kept saying no, then to get them off my back, I said if someone offers $1 million in cash and $750,000 for my next record, I'll take it, knowing that would never happen. They told me I was insane and that nobody would do that. A week after the song hit #1, they came to me and said they had three offers for that amount. I just thought, 'Wow, that's kind of dark' -- but hell yeah, I took it!"

For our next trick: The follow-up, 1999's Shapeshifter, tanked, which Wozniak said was fine, since they purposely tried to make a noncommercial album. Fed up with the expectations put upon them because of "Candy," the guys asked to be dropped from Capitol. Rieser began playing with Norah Jones; Keefe got a job with National Public Radio; and Wozniak bought the legendary Mushroom recording studio (BTO, Heart) in Vancouver, British Columbia, and filled it with vintage recording equipment. The band released the album MPIII in 2004 on the Reality Entertainment label, and Wozniak just finished his heartfelt singer/songwriter solo debut, Leaving Wonderland ( ... In a Fit of Rage) and is looking for a label to release it.

"I would never want another 'Sex and Candy,' " Wozniak, 35, said. "I don't mind having a hit, but 'Sex and Candy' was too much for anybody, especially as a first hit."

The moral: Hit song + its own accountant = career killer.

To catch up with more missing artists, check out "Where Ya Been? Willa Ford Strips Down, Jesse Camp Drops Out".

Ever wonder what happened to Crazy Town? How about the Baha Men? Vitamin C? Tell us which faded stars you'd like us to check up on, and you just might find them in a future edition of Where Ya Been? Send us your suggestions and we'll get digging.

• Dream: Where Ya Been?

• Dream
• Marcy Playground

Hanson
Photo: Island

Though the annual South by Southwest Music Conference is known as a place for up-and-coming bands to get noticed, there'll be several artists at next year's 16th annual festival who already have hits under their belts.

Hanson, who were discovered at 1994's SXSW and played at last year's fest as well, will return again to the music industry schmooze extravaganza in Austin, Texas. They'll join such other airwave veterans as Marcy Playground ("Sex and Candy"), Girls Against Boys ("Kill the Sexplayer") and Jesus Jones ("Right Here, Right Now").

Of course, the underground is still represented in full-force, as the lineup for the March 13 to 17 confab also includes experimental electronic trio Add N to (X), feminist synth-pop group Chicks on Speed, theatrical surf-rock outfit Man or Astro-Man?, San Francisco indie popsters Beulah, New York country rockers Clem Snide, Texas singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston and fire-breathing sleaze rockers Nashville Pussy.

The Webb Brothers, Bare Jr., Brian Jonestown Massacre, Clinic, the Glands, High on Fire and Bullfrog featuring Kid Koala have also been tapped to play. More than 50 acts have been announced, but 90 percent of the complete lineup is still to come, according to organizers.

Robbie Robertson, former guitarist in The Band, has been named the keynote speaker for next year's SXSW. Currently a film composer and creative advisor for DreamWorks Records, Robertson will speak March 14 at the Austin Convention Center.

Director Martin Scorsese's 25-year-old "The Last Waltz," a documentary of The Band's farewell performance, will be screened at SXSW in its newly restored version, which features 5.1 surround sound.

Some of the panels planned include Attracting Media Attention, Indie Label Opportunities, How Much Does Music Matter?, Artists vs. Technology, The Road to Airplay and Studio Tips.

Last year's SXSW featured rappers Jurassic 5, Tha Liks and Black Eyed Peas; Austin rockers Fastball; experimental turntablist DJ Spooky; a rare show by the Ike Turner Revue; a reunion of Robyn Hitchcock's the Soft Boys; and a reunion of Juliana Hatfield's Blake Babies (see "SXSW: Decks, Drums, Rock And Roll").

• Hanson
• Chicks on Speed
• Beulah
• Clinic
• Marcy Playground

PJ Harvey
Photo: Island

PJ Harvey, Bloodhound Gang, Marcy Playground and Stroke 9 are among the artists lined up for the soundtrack to "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," the upcoming movie from "Dogma" auteur Kevin Smith.

Power-poppers Stroke 9, who scored a modern rock radio hit last year with "Little Black Backpack," offer up the first single, "Kick Some Ass," on July 3. The characters of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) will appear in the song's video, according to Universal Records.

"Jay and Silent Bob" focuses on foul-mouthed stoner Jay and the usually, well, silent Silent Bob, characters from "Dogma" and each of the other films in Smith's New Jersey chronicles, "Clerks," "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy." The film is due August 24, with the soundtrack coming out August 14.

Stroke 9 are working on their self-titled second album, the follow-up to Nasty Little Thoughts, with producer and former Talking Head Jerry Harrison.

• PJ Harvey
• The Bloodhound Gang
• Stroke 9
• Marcy Playground

Marcy Playground's<BR>John Wozniak
Photo: Capitol

Not only have Marcy Playground not broken up, says bandleader John Wozniak, but they're about to start recording another album.

Wozniak and bassist Dylan Keefe, however, will be looking for another drummer, thanks to Dan Reiser's pending retirement from the music business in favor of "a normal life." The band is scheduled to head into the singer/guitarist's Vancouver, British Columbia, studio January 28 to start demo-ing a spate of new tunes, including material he recently co-wrote with Jimmie's Chicken Shack's namesake Jimi HaHa, according to Wozniak.

"We just wrote three together," Wozniak said. "He came to my place in Pennsylvania. He lives in Annapolis [Maryland], and that's not too far away." Wozniak added that he has also been writing with old friend Chris Temple of the defunct band Lincoln, and that much of that material will also probably be on Marcy Playground's next album.

The "Sex and Candy" band is currently without a label after parting ways with Capitol after its 1999 sophomore album, Shapeshifter, but that doesn't worry Wozniak. Unlike most groups, they don't need the support of a record company to buy studio time, thanks to Wozniak's ownership of Mushroom, which he bought two years ago. The facility in the past has recorded albums for the likes of Heart and Fear Factory, while recent projects have included the current Spineshank album and tracks for Chris Isaak.

• Marcy Playground

Marcy Playground singer John Wozniak has been diagnosed with pneumonia, forcing the band to cancel at least three performances this week.

• Marcy Playground

Call it the "Mysterious Cover Art Case."

-- David Basham

• The Butthole Surfers
• Marcy Playground

The New York City trio Marcy Playground became one of the hottest new bands around after its unlikely "Sex And Candy" single held onto the top spot of the "Billboard" Modern Rock charts for over three months last year.

• 11/2 - New York City, NY @ Mercury Lounge
• 11/3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Pontiac Grille
• 11/4 - Boston, MA @ Bill's Bar
• 11/5 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 11/7 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
• 11/8 - Detroit, MI @ Shelter
• 11/9 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
• 11/11 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door
• 11/12 - St. Louis, MO @ Side Door
• 11/13 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
• 11/15 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird
• 11/16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Liquid Joe's
• 11/18 - Vancouver, BC @ Starfish Room
• 11/19 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
• 11/20 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
• 11/22 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
• 11/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
• 11/24 - San Diego @ Brick By Brick

• Marcy Playground

Marcy Playground has wrapped up a video shoot in Toronto for its new single, "It's Saturday," with veteran director Peter Christopherson, who's helmed clips for Nine Inch Nails and Filter, among others.

• Marcy Playground

Marcy Playground, who enjoyed number-one single success with "Sex and Candy," is preparing to deliver "Shapeshifter," the follow-up to its 1997 self-titled debut.

• Marcy Playground

Marcy Playground, who scored the alternative song of the year in 1998 with "Sex and Candy," will revisit the scene -- or scenery, at least -- of one of the most famous films of all time to shoot the video for its new single, "Comin' Up from Behind."

• Marcy Playground