Mark McGrath, former frontman of Sugar Ray, discussed his unexpected journey from being a rock star to playing baseball in major league parks, likening it to a Make-A-Wish experience. He reminisced about his childhood in Southern California, supporting the Dodgers and idolizing players like Steve Garvey and Mike Piazza. McGrath humorously compared the crowd energy at a baseball game to a Sugar Ray concert and shared anecdotes about his interactions with fans and other celebrities, including Rick Sutcliffe. He also touched on the band’s current studio work, aiming for a fall release. McGrath emphasized his enduring love for baseball and the joy of meeting fellow sports enthusiasts.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray, baseball fan, Dodgers, major league, Bad News Bears, Rick Sutcliffe, Madonna rumors, band updates, studio recording, Gold Coast, Cheetah Club, Atlanta, All-Star game
SPEAKERS
Mark McGrath, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:02
Mark, welcome back. Nasty nationwide. Live from Hotlanta, Georgia and joining me right now. Every morning I get up and I do sports talk, but every morning, this guy acts like the rock star that he is. Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray
Mark McGrath 00:14
here led you to my own mind, man, you know what I mean, Legend of my own minds.
Nestor Aparicio 00:17
How you doing today? Well, I’m outstanding, but I’m the interviewer, so I’m gonna ask the questions today. You get on the stage, do your thing. Well, it’s as far as the rock star thing, I guess you become a rock star to meet chicks, hang out, have fun, and now you get this gig where you get to swing the bat. Like, did you play a little little league or what? Well,
Mark McGrath 00:30
you know, I did little league, and that was it, you know. And I didn’t even play high school or anything. So, you know, my swing was a little little, not so fundamental out there, but it, you know, it’s every boy’s dream going up to play in a big league Park. I got to, you know, hit in a major league Park. I got to play hockey. Play hockey, Madison Square Garden. I get to play basketball to form. So I feel like a fan, like winning, like some sort of Doritos contest. Get to play all these different places. So it’s full Make A Wish Foundation here, man, I’m
Nestor Aparicio 00:52
stoked. Well, I tell you charity thing, that’s great, the rock star thing. But, I
Mark McGrath 00:55
mean, we, like, on the Bad News Bears team in Southern California, sort of, you know, we did have our very similar to teams like that, with the stoners and all that, and the guys that show up late and the guy on the motorcycle. So, yeah, I’m from that Bad News Bears camp. I don’t think anything’s ever changed. If you see my swing today.
Nestor Aparicio 01:08
So as a baseball fan, grew up Southern Cal I mean, is it angels, or is it Dodgers? Dodgers,
Mark McGrath 01:12
Davey, love Steve Garvey, all that stuff in the 70s, all that good stuff. You know what I mean? And you know, I’m still a fan today. I’m Bumble lost Piazza. I think that was stupid. I think they’re still kicking their ass for that one. You know, we’ll see how Murdock will take this team until the 20 in
Nestor Aparicio 01:24
the 21st century. Well, I think Dave is going to get it together out there. Now, as far as the difference between being a rock star and being a hitter, you come out on the ballpark, and the crowd was a little docile today. I mean, it wasn’t a Sugar Ray type of crowd. No, it wasn’t. I
Mark McGrath 01:36
was surprised not to see a Sugar Ray type of crowd. I’m kidding you, man, I
Nestor Aparicio 01:39
got to tell you this, man, I got the press pass, and we’re coming down the in the elevator, and I had chicks offer me their mind and their body, really, for just an autograph, a picture with Mark McGrath. I mean, that must make a guy feel good. Is that what you’re sweating around, a little moist, I gotta admit. I mean, just you’re being here
Mark McGrath 01:53
hanging out with you. But hey, you know it’s like, like you said earlier, I didn’t get into rock and roll for the for the dudes, you know what I mean. So the chicks, it’s great, fantastic. What’s up? Rick so
Nestor Aparicio 02:01
what’s going on with Rick Sutcliffe? Say a few words.
02:05
What’s going on? You know, what are you doing? Man, I haven’t seen you in a while, but are we live? We are live. I better be careful what I say, as usual, then, huh? Somebody should have told my man, you don’t have to be long to be strong. Dude, everything was there, but your stride got long, which means your eyesight goes down. Did they get long? That’s it. What are they doing? You probably. Harold, probably told you what to do. And, you know, he can’t hit. How many career homers did Harold, yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 02:28
I would say this succulent was the one guy who was a pitcher that could handle the bat. No, no doubt, absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, this guy’s a big Dodger, fancy HE LOVES YOU SUCK Well, you
02:37
know what? But I won the rookie of the year before he was born.
Mark McGrath 02:41
How old are you? Hey, a woman never tells her age, you know,
Nestor Aparicio 02:43
come on, you’re 20.
02:45
Yeah, you 30 something maybe, come on,
Nestor Aparicio 02:48
tell me the truth. Man, Rick Sutcliffe here joining us on nasty nationwide, and we got Mark McGrath here from Sugar Ray. We’re jamming. That’s why you
Mark McGrath 02:54
come to these things. You know, get to meet people like Rick Sutcliffe and, you know, players like that that, you know, I’m a fan. I’m here for the whole weekend. I brought my dad down, you know. And it’s just incredible. I mean, I think my dad did gigs. You go around the world and we meet people. He didn’t care. He you know, he goes, Oh, now I see what you’re doing, because I took him to the All Star game. So I gotta be frank with you, I
Nestor Aparicio 03:09
read somewhere you dated Madonna, true or false? I just want to know, totally false, totally false. Yeah, but,
Mark McGrath 03:14
you know, it’s like, now that it’s been a long enough time, I start dispelling the rumor, but it was good for me for a while. You know? What I mean, it worked for me. I’m thinking, That’s my man. I’m like, keep stoking that fire. But no, you know, now it’s time to let you know it never I met her once. I walked her to a car, and next thing was like, Ricky Martin out Martin gravid. And I was like, I’m gonna ride that one. I’ll let that one go for a while. You know, that’s not a rumor. You wanted to spell Absolutely not. But you know, after two it’s been about two years now, so it’s time with the truth that time let the truth be known. Kiss on the cheek. Anything? No, nothing. Man, nothing. Not
Nestor Aparicio 03:39
even a walk. Yeah,
Mark McGrath 03:41
you know, I tell you, I tell you the whole thing, I bet you
Nestor Aparicio 03:43
would. Man, Mark McGrath, you’re live on nasty nationwide, I guess. Final question for you, what’s going with the band? I
Mark McGrath 03:47
mean, let’s get get serious. This baseball is your side light, the band’s important thing. Yeah, absolutely. We’re in the studio right now, you know, hopefully get a record out this fall. That’s what we’re working on right now. But they let me out of studios on weekends to do things like this. But we’re working hard, hopefully to come out in the fall. Man, you know that’s that’s the goal right now, chilling
04:02
out in hot Atlanta, GA, we’re here. You cheetah club for you or no, cheetah and the Gold Coast, right? The gold club, gold club. It’s gone a little downhill, tell you the truth. I mean, ever since that raid with the Knicks, Cheetah, Cheetah, well, I heard cheetah get so crowded, but hey, I’ll be there. Man, Spring Street ballet for nasty nationwide. Live from Atlanta. You.
