Sugar Ray frontman — or perhaps more importantly, co-star of Sharknado 2 and Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser — Mark McGrath announced that he will release his debut solo EP with help from the crowdfunding site PledgeMusic. Though ’90s hitmakers Sugar Ray are still performing and, as McGrath puts it, “rocking stages around the world,” the lead singer and guitarist decided that it was finally time for a solo effort. He is still alive after all. When fans preorder his EP, they will receive its first single “Summertime’s Coming” instantly and will have the ability to download the digital EP in its entirety upon completion. Read McGrath’s message to fans from his PledgeMusic page, which he signs with a Gaelic greeting:

What’s Up Everybody? Mark here-

A gigantic thank you for all the love and support you have given me through the years, you’ve made this Southern California boy’s dreams all come true. Being the frontman of Sugar Ray has been an unbelievable experience, and we’re still rocking stages around the world today…but now I’m excited to announce that I’ll be releasing my debut solo EP. We’ve been working hard on the new songs at The Canyon Hut in Laurel Canyon in LA, and I am so stoked for you guys to hear some new music! In order to make this EP, and forthcoming releases special, we’ve decided to include you in the entire Mark McGrath recording and music experience…

I’ve been fortunate to team up with our good friends at PledgeMusic so that I can bring you behind the scenes in the making of our EP’s. By pre-ordering here, you will gain access to exclusive content that will only be posted here. I’ll be showing you pictures and videos from the studio and on tour, how we write songs (be kind, not all songs are keepers!), as well as other different updates about what’s going on with me musically. You will even receive access to the instant download of my latest single… “Summertime’s Coming”.

There will also be plenty of opportunities to own signed merchandise, be a VIP at one of mine or a Sugar Ray show, or even a chance for me to play acoustically in your very own living room!
The sky’s the limit here at PledgeMusic, and I’m interested to hear from all of you as how we can make the Mark McGrath music experience special and unique for all of us.

I’ve been so inspired to write music again with my friends in the band, so much in fact, that that the idea is to release a an EP every six months. I know it sounds ambitious, but to truly make this an incredible and intimate experience, the idea is to bring as much content as possible to the site and to make you feel like you were there. We found a great place to do that very thing right here at PledgeMusic, and an even better place to take you all along for the ride.

My first solo EP… feels great to say that, knowing you’ll be right there with me…

Sláinte,

Mark McGrath

If you’re more of a fan of McGrath’s acting than his music, note that he will play a role in the forthcoming Sharknado 3, which is due out this year. You have 57 days left to preorder McGrath’s EP, and some of the featured perks include a signed copy of the record, exclusive T-shirt, handwritten lyric sheet, your name in the liner notes, a birthday call from McGrath, a VIP Under The Sun Tour experience and an acoustic house performance (which will run you $15k). Check out more here.