Mark McGrath on 90s Style, Frosted Tips, and the ‘Sugar Raynaissance’

Mark McGrath has always been a sucker for nostalgia. As the frontman of Sugar Ray, he helped fine-tune one of the most iconic late-90s SoCal sounds—think, reggae-glazed pop-rock with hardcore punk roots—and led a band that gave MTV-voracious teens permission to not just explore new genres of music, but feel like they actually belonged there. There was zero pretension in McGrath’s sun-fried vocals—just vibes, dirty Vans, and maybe a beer (or three). Sugar Ray sounded a little bit like the best of everything, and, in that way, had something to offer everyone, which McGrath tells me was always the point. “I totally get the nostalgia for the 90s,” he tells me on Zoom, and laughs, “I was there! Seriously, though, hearing from people that we have helped them make memories [with our music] means the world. I have songs like that from [my childhood], too. Everyone does. That’s why I never get tired of playing our hits.” 

When the music video for Sugar Ray’s 1997 hit “Fly” landed, it rearranged the cultural expectations for what it meant to be cool. The band gave a nod to the crustier aesthetics of the early 90s, but McGrath’s houndstooth button-downs and goofy stage presence were indicative of the incoming 00s pop-rock era. Sure, there were other folks with frosted tips—the “Lance Basses of the world,” as McGrath says, but no one rocked them as hard as Sugar Ray’s Dickies-clad, sparrow-tattooed lead. Nor did McGrath ever venture far from his sense of style. Even when the 90s weren’t as en vogue, McGrath stood steadfast to his signature look. “I always think there was a stink to the 90s for a while,” he says, “People going, ‘Oh, God, frosted tips were the worst idea ever. I can’t believe we were wearing baggy clothes.’ It takes about 15 to 20 years for that stink to really go away, and I was still having frosted tips and being Mark McGrath during that down time.” 

Now that the “stink” of the 90s has reverted to sweet nostalgia, the Sugar Raynaissance is in full effect. Last year, McGrath hosted VICE TV’s Dark Side of the 90s (and now, VICE TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s), and the band is about to depart  on a U.S. tour with Gin Blossoms, Tonic, and Fastball that the singer says couldn’t have come at a better time. “That’s one of the things that rocks about getting older,” he says, “You can tour with people you actually like. There’s going to be a real sense of brotherhood onstage that I’m really excited about.” 

I talked to McGrath about the upcoming tour, his favorite TikTok subcultures, the best hair products for perfect frosted tips, and whether or not he ever did, in fact, have a girlfriend with a four-post bed.  

 VICE: Mark, I’m so excited to talk to you. Sugar Ray had one of the best sounds of the late 90s, especially in California. 

Mark McGrath: Totally. It’s [all about] the sand, the surf, the beach, the summers, the reggae—all of those things are the DNA of our music. For you to acknowledge that means a lot. I’m so grateful that people still remember and say that they loved it. It will never not be special to me.

Is that what inspired this tour with Fastball, Tonic, and Gin Blossoms?  

Definitely. You know, the four bands on this tour have had tremendous success beyond all of our wildest dreams. And I say “all of us” because I’m friends with all of those bands. I think we’re pinching ourselves that we can still go out and play these songs and get together and tour. 

What do you make of this newfound 90s appreciation? 

I mean, I love it! I’ve been on the ground floor. I saw the 90s happen in real time [laughs], so I have seen it go out of play, watched it get ushered back in, and now I think we’re in a beautiful spot for [90s music appreciation]. Enough time has passed. We tried to do this tour in the 2010s, and it was too soon. 

It happened [in the same way as nostalgia] for 80s music and hair metal; all of a sudden it was, “Oh, we love it! We were just kidding!” years later. The same goes for the music of the 60s and 70s. And once a sound is back like that, it never goes away again.  

The 90s was also uniquely on the brink of internet culture. What do you make of social media? 

I swear, [when] I go viral it’s always for the wrong reasons [laughs].

Are you referring to the time you broke up with a woman’s boyfriend for her via Cameo? 

It was so funny. Of course I was in on the joke. But the problem with social media is that people create their own truths. They’re so in their own narrative. But when you tell someone the truth and they disagree and pull some weird narrative they fostered, it’s just pointless and wild. 

Do you follow any meme accounts? What weird corners of the internet is Mark McGrath on? 

Well, I really love hair metal. 

Weirder, Mark. 

No, like I really love it. I read every blog and site, and I’m too embarrassed to put my name on there as a commentator but if you ever see someone really passionately talking about Danger Danger on a forum… It's probably me. Oh, and [I watch] those livestreams from prison on TikTok. 

PrisonTok! It’s wild. You can see entire four-course meals being cooked on PrisonTok. 

Yeah! Dinner from San Quentin, it is wild. Because I would totally die in prison. Tough guy stuff, and mafia stuff is something I have always been obsessed with because it’s so not me, and I just find it fascinating. 

Let’s talk about your image though—your style. It hasn’t changed much, which I respect. 

Thank you! You know, about 10 years ago I went back to doing the full frosted tips again even when it really wasn’t cool. 

What’s the frosted tips’ lore? 

Well, the genesis of that hairdo was a mistake. A great mistake.I had a friend in beauty school—mind you, enrolled in, not graduated from—and I said, ‘Sure, why don’t you come up and dye my hair.’ It was the day before we filmed the “Fly” music video, and I wanted to look like Scott Weiland with the all-black hair and just a little white dyed tip like a skunk. 

My first clue should have been the case of beer that my friend brought with him. I woke up the next morning at like 5 a.m. on the way to the shoot, and the hair that you see in that video —the blonde, but more so with spots of almost orange—was the hair I had. After that video, people were asking hair stylists for “the Mark McGrath” or the “Sugar Ray.” It went viral in a 90s way. 

What’s the secret to your hair? What styling products do you use?

I use soft Murray’s [gel] for styling. It’s in an orange tin can—the kind that truckers use. It’s nice and pliable. Just hop out of the shower, let your hair air dry a little bit but keep that moisture in, and then apply Murray’s where you want the spikes to be. 

OK, let’s move from the head down. What’s the Mark McGrath capsule wardrobe?

Well, the frosted tips are absolutely mandatory. And then a dark or white A-frame tank top. Go for some Dickies—mine are 30 inches in length—and any Adidas shell-toe shoe or a pair of Vans. Then draw on your sparrow tattoos, or find some slap-ons if you want to commit. 

I would also love to set the record straight: Have you ever had a girlfriend with a four-post bed? What kind of bedding situation is your jam? 

I personally have never had a four-post bed. Never, never, never [laughs]. Our old drummer wrote those lyrics, and I’m happy to say that his then-girlfriend did have a four-post bed with a canopy and all that. And, by the way, the “halo” line from the song has never been in reference to a condom—that’s another weird internet myth. 

I’m an Egyptian [cotton], high thread count guy. I got really into thread counts on linens. When I was younger, I couldn’t have cared less. I was a latchkey kid. But now my wife is someone who loves potpourri and linen sprays and candles, and I’ve become an expert in all of that. There’s this real high-end [sleep brand] called Duxiana—I’m not afraid to dip my hand in that. And I love Tempur-Pedic mattresses, they’re just fantastic. When you’re sleeping with someone else and they have to get up to go to the restroom, as I am maybe wont to do as a guy getting into his fifties, I know I won’t disturb my wife when she’s sleeping. 

A primo bedroom set-up is so important. Especially when you spend a lot of time touring, away from home. 

You know, it is. But I am so stoked to have the opportunity to continue playing our music, and that there’s such a demand for it. I mean, there’s not going to be any new 90s music coming out anymore, so if you love it you have to turn to our bands, and I think that all of us on tour are just grateful to be in that position. 

Learn more about Sugar Ray’s tour dates here, and tune into ‘Dark Side of the 2000s’ Tuesdays at 9p on VICE TV.

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