Rock and Reality Shows: Mark McGrath Exclusive!
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Rock star and Extra host Mark McGrath stepped off the red carpet and onto the Mike and Juliet Show set this morning. Unless you were living in a hole in the 1990’s, you remember McGrath from Sugar Ray, the rock group that swept the charts with “Fly” in 1998. While he made a name for himself as the Sugar Ray front man, he’s been popping up everywhere lately, from our studio to Celebrity Rock and Roll Jeopardy, to Pussycat Presents: The Search for the Next Doll, and of course, hosting Extra. He took a break from his whirlwind career to sit down with mandjshow.com for an interview.
You seem to have taken a hodgepodge approach to your career lately, popping up on game shows, reality shows, and everywhere else. What does this career change mean for you?
It’s fun. I’m lucky to be here, and I’m using all my opportunities. Whether it’s the Mike and Juliet show, celebrity news on Extra, or Rock and Roll Jeopardy, it’s all a great experience.
On Rock and Roll Jeopardy, you raised a lot of money for charity. What charities do you work with?
I’m working with Dreamstreet, which offers camp activities for chronically ill kids. It’s a great cause; the program gives kids the chance to see a horse or a swimming pool, which could be the only chance they have to do something like that in their entire lives. They are really doing the Lord’s work down there, and I’m honored to be a part of it. I got to rack up a good deal of money for them too …I won Celebrity Rock and Roll Jeopardy, three times, but who’s counting?
How would you rate your involvement with the search for the next Pussycat Doll, and do you have a favorite?
Yes, I did have a favorite; it was Chelsea. She was the underdog, she made the biggest transformation, and she had the most personality. Asia was a good choice. She had the total package, but Chelsea was what the show was all about. We start airing the second season next Friday. I haven’t met the girls yet; they don’t let me meet them until the very last minute.
What other music projects do you have planned?
Sugar Ray recently got together to record a song. On the Surf’s Up soundtrack, we have a song called “Into Yesterday” it was great to have a chance to record a song that was very Sugar Ray. It’s a surf movie set at the beach so I’d say Sugar Ray is pretty qualified to do a song for it. It was fun to get everyone back together. We are also doing a tour of the Far East this summer.
If you weren’t in entertainment, where do you think you would be with your career right now?
I didn’t really have a backup plan. My goal was to get a college degree, and I guess that was my backup plan, although I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I was a communications major and I didn’t know how that was going to lead me, although now I primarily host an entertainment news show so I guess it helped me.
