Mark McGrath knows how lucky he is. Although the Sugar Ray frontman is currently renovating the house he and his longtime girlfriend just bought in the Hollywood Hills, he's happy to take time out to help a friend in need.

The band's hair stylist, Rob Hillis, suffered two strokes in December. "You just don't expect this kind of thing to happen," McGrath said. "Rob almost died, but now he's faced with monumental doctor bills, and I want to do my part to help."

Sugar Ray will perform at Anaheim's Galaxy Theater on Feb. 20, with all the proceeds going towards Hillis' medical bills. "The show sold out in an hour," McGrath said proudly.

McGrath calls Hillis "the funniest guy in the bar," and the one who gave him his trademark look. "I was trying to cop Scott Weiland's look, but unfortunately Rob was then too inexperienced to pull it off," McGrath joked. "It happened right before we were filming the video for 'Fly,' and I thought my career was over before it even started."

But that wasn't the case. The band's 14:59 is multi-platinum, and now Sugar Ray are gearing up to turn out another album. "We're not interested in doing another 14:59, but aren't going to change everything. Like the old saying goes, 'If it ain't broken, we're not interested in fixing it,'" said McGrath.

The band's longtime producer David Kahne will again be in the fold. "I'm not sure if he'll do the whole album; he's a very busy guy, but he will at least do some of it. David is responsible for me finding my voice, and us finding our sound. He's key to this thing."

McGrath said the band has already written half the album and will enter a Los Angeles studio in April (following the band's tour with Live) to write the second half. "I know that's a rock star clichT, but we're very stupid with money. In terms of dysfunction, this band has to write under duress. And I can't find much more duress than knowing that the meter is running. None of us is the most prolific; we write songs only when we know we have to."

JAAN UHELSZKI
(February 9, 2000)