November 24 [12:00 EDT] -- John Wozniak, the self-described shy guy fronting Marcy Playground, formed the band a couple years ago with guitarist Dylan Keefe and drummer Dan Reiser in New York City. Keefe is a fellow Minnesotan Wozniak met while gigging in the downtown New York scene.

For Wozniak, Marcy Playground's folk/rock is the outlet for repressed childhood angst. In the late '70s, Wozniak attended an experimental "hippie" school in Minneapolis, where everytime he stepped out to the actual Marcy Playground during recess, he reportedly got his ass kicked by bullies. So young John Wozniak stayed in the classroom instead, watching other kids have fun, and dreaming about the cool things he'd do if he were cool. "Sex and Candy," the first single of Marcy Playground's self-titled debut, is Wozniak's first stab at coolness.