My name is John Wozniak and I sing and write the songs for
Marcy Playground. During the late 70's I lived with my family
in Minneapolis and went to the Marcy Open School. It was one
in a group of experimental hippie schools that had opened
in Minneapolis at the start of the decade. I was seven, and more
or less a shy kid. I would sit in the back of the classroom,
listen to records, and play with the guinea pigs; I never hurt
anyone. During that time, there were some kids who wanted to
beat me up; real mean kids from my neighborhood. When it came
time in the day for recess I was to afraid to go out onto the
playground because I knew these kids were waiting for me. So I
stayed upstairs in the classroom, looked out the window and
listened to "Free To Be You and Me." From the window I could
see the whole playground and everyone on it. Everything happening
at once. I made up stories about what I saw, and who I saw.
Although the experience was ultimately depressing, I found a
foundation for a future self. The strange way in which I see the
world today can be directly traced back to the time when, as a
little boy, I say paralyzed by the unfortunate realities of life
as I looked out of a school window and down onto the Marcy
playground.
In a strange bit of coincidence, Dylan Keefe, was also growing up in
the Minneapolis 'open' school system at that very time. We never
met though, since he attended Marcy's sister school on the other
side of town - The Lake Harriet Open Program. It wasn't until 16
years later we would meet on New York's Lower East Side, introduced
by a mutual friend (jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel). We became
fast friends. Soon we were talking about starting a new band.
After a brief stint of playing with several drummers, we realized
that Dylan's long-time friend, Dan Reiser, would be better
suited for our band than anybody else. Dan and Dylan, who began
playing together seven years ago at a college in Boston, had
both moved to New York to pursue lives in music. Together they
formed the core rhythm section for many successful NYC sing/
songwriters. By the time we got together, both were weary of the
'side-man' gig, and wanted to strike out with a band of their own.
So begins the story of Marcy Playground.
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