Shootyz Groove

History

Shootyz Groove came together in 1992 with Donny on guitar, Spec on bass, Dose on drums, and two MCs, Season and Sense. The group’s members brought a mix of Croatian, Puerto Rican, Albanian, and French backgrounds. Within two years, they signed with Mercury Records and put out a live EP recorded in Queens in 1994. Their first full-length album, Jammin' in Vicious Environments (J.I.V.E.), hit vinyl and CD the following year.

To promote it, they toured with a wide range of acts, from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Slayer to Boogie Down Productions and 311. By 1995, bassist Spec had left, Mercury dropped them, and they released the hard-to-find live album Live J.I.V.E.. After bringing in new bassist Paul "Freak Love" and keeping up a heavy touring schedule, they landed a deal with Roadrunner Records. In June 1997, they dropped Hipnosis, their first Roadrunner album.

They then moved to Reprise Records and resurfaced two years later with High Definition, gaining traction thanks to the single "L Train." The band broke up after that record, with some members forming Dead Fly Syndrome. They reappeared in 2004 and posted a demo of "Heard That All Before" on their website, hinting at a new album that never got a title. Early versions of iTunes included "L Train" as a bundled track.

Their songs "Blow Your Top" and "Mad For It" showed up in the PlayStation game Street Skater 2, and "Mad For It" also appeared in Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. Eventually, they signed with a Japanese label.