Kazzer

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Kazzer, born Mark Kasprzyk, is a hip hop-influenced alternative rock musician and auto sports television personality from Canada. He grew up in Binbrook, Ontario, near Hamilton.

So far a one-hit wonder in Canada, he is best known for the song "Pedal to the Metal", which was aired regularly on MuchMusic and MTV Europe, played on contemporary hit radio, hot adult contemporary, alternative rock and mainstream rock radio stations in Canada.

[edit] History

At the age of 8, Mark began learning judo and became so skilled that he later was part of the Canadian National Judo Team and was an alternate for the Canadian team in the 2000 Summer Olympics. However, in his teens he discovered hip-hop and took up breakdancing. At 16, he began rapping and writing songs. Being relegated to alternate status for the Olympics is what inspired him to avidly pursue a career in music.

After his manager couldn't land him a record deal, Mark decided to give it one last shot and produced another demo which made it into the hands of Epic Records (a subsidiary of Sony BMG). Mark was signed and released his 2002 debut album Go for Broke in Canada, Germany, France and Scandinavia.

The lead single, "Pedal to the Medal", was co-written by Brian West, Grammy-nominated producer for the likes of Nelly Furtado. The song was featured on the soundtracks of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job, the 2004 film Catch That Kid and on the television series Malcolm in the Middle. It was also featured in the opening "splash" animation and on the soundtrack of the Midway Sports video game NHL HITZ PRO.

Kazzer was nominated for a New Artist of the Year at the 2004 Juno Awards. He has toured Canada repeatedly including a 2003 MTV Campus Invasion tour which on some dates he headlined and on others opened for Gob. He has performed at concerts and festivals in Europe, and opened for The Roots in Chicago, and for a New York Jets game.

Go for Broke sold 25,000 copies worldwide in 2003. Epic Records went through an executive change and Kazzer found himself without the A&R rep or label President who signed him and moved to Linus Entertainment, a leading Canadian independent record label distributed by Universal Records.

Mark has appeared in film and television, including a cameo appearance as a redneck in the 2004 MuchMusic comedy road movie Going the Distance. He was also one of many collaborators on Sports Car Revolution, aired on the U.S.-based specialty television channel SPEED Channel in 2005 and 2006. He has owned a 1962 Ford Thunderbird, a 1949 Mercury and a 1930 Ford Model A.

Kazzer's second record Broke was released on June 28, 2005, featuring the lead single "Ordinary".

Kazzer is currently working on his 3rd record set for release late 2008/early 2009.