The Sugar Ray Story: Chapter 3
Now with DJ Homicide in the band and David Kahne as their producer, the band was pretty confident. Kahne was coaxing them towards their best work and the entire process took just over six weeks but they worked seven days a week, with little or no breaks. The band wanted a change in their surroundings so the venue for the sessions was Manhattan. They stopped in a cheap, rented room in midtown and set up their gear to rehearse or jam late into the night. The change gave the sessions an intensity that resulted to be very productive.
The album was release in June 1997 and was called Floored from the feeling they had after they got done with everything. The album did well, debuting in the Billboard listings in July at #75. The first single was huge...it was called, "Fly." It was #1 on the charts for 6 weeks. By Christmas, the album had gotten to the Top 10. Duting the writing of "Fly," Mark hated the song so much that he quit the band for five days. The band finally found him back in Southern California and they persuaded him to come back.
The video for "Fly" had Super Cat, the band members' mothers, and the house that Sugar Ray and McG shared for years. The video's producer was McG and it earned a nomination for Billboard Video Music Awards. Floored eventually sold over two million copies in eight months. The second single was "RPM." It wasn't as big as "Fly" but it did okay.
Sugar Ray soon found themselves on magazine covers such as Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Details, Request and People, Cosmopolitan (which Mark was the first male to ever be on the cover), and many teen magazines. Mark appeared on the Politically Incorrect TV show and had many photo shoots for magazines like YM and Teen People. He was also voted one of the "25 Hottest Celebrity Bachelors" in Playgirl. Mark's fame soared and he became a modern U.S. sex symbol and later moved on to international. The whole band appeared in the movie "Fathers' Day," starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.
During all this, Sugar Ray were touring. They were in the July 1997 Warped Tour with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Social Distortion, Pennywise, Reel Big Fish, and many more. They also traveled to Europe where Floored also did good. They also appeared on shows such as The David Letterman Show, Reverb, the Rosie O'Donnell Show, Late Night With Conan O'Brian, etc.
At the end of the Warped Tour during a Chicago date, lightning struck the stage at the end of "Fly." Rodney's lips got burned from the microphone, Mark's arm got bruised from where he was hit by the shock, and everyone got an electric shock. The same tour was cancelled that winter because Mark got blind sided by a fan and damaged his leg during an Italy concert.
Because of this, they also had to cancel the MTV Sports and Music Festival. The injury turned out to be worse than they thought. Mark even had to go into surgery and after that he needed a knee brace and electro/cold water therapy to repair his ligament damage. Also, their tour dates with 311 were right after Rodney's hernia operation. Later, in December, Mark broke his foot at a show with 311 in Nebraska. Loveline was cancelled due to Mark's soar throat.
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