Prozzak

Real MembersJay Levine, James Bryan McCollum

### Label(s)

Sony Music (Canada)Hollywood Records (United States)MapleMusic Recordings (Canada)Epic Records (Canada)

## Background Information

### Origin

Toronto, Canada

Prozzak (Simon and Milo) Is a Canadian Virtual band consisting of Jay Levine and James Bryan McCollum. Their recordings and animated music videos tell the tale of two friends, Simon (Levine) and Milo (McCollum), who are in search of their true love.

Since their formation in 1998, the duo have released four studio albums and received four Juno Awardnominations. Prozzäk was also among the top 80 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada until 2016

## History

In the 1990s, Levine and McCollum were members of The Philosopher Kings, a Canadian R&B band. After a physical altercation between them, they attempted to smooth things over by writing music together. While on a European tour with the Kings, the two created a comedic song titled "Europa" in which they sang in British accents. The song did not fit in with the music produced by the Philosopher Kings, but the band's record company, Sony Canada, approved of it, so the two set aside their differences and created Prozzäk in 1998. The band name was inspired by the drug Prozac. The creation of Simon and Milo (the animated members) initially began with accents suggested by the other members of The Philosopher Kings during their road trips. The cartoon characters designed by artist Scott Harder became a part of Prozzäk.

In *The Prozzäk Story* video, Simon and Milo are over 200 years old and were enemies in a previous life. Simon and Milo fought each other in a 20-year-old war called "Ochiyaki". During their battle with each other, a Great Unseen Voice projected down from the sky and told them they were to be best friends, sent through time to the 21st century, where they were given a mission. That mission was for the two to find true love through their music. The story is based on the formation of the duo.

In their music videos, Simon, a skinny character with jet-black hair and no neck, is in constant search of his true love, believing that the perfect woman is out there. As a result, Simon ends up feeling depressed. Milo is a muscular blond character that accompanies Simon on his quest. Their first album, *Hot Show*, was released in late 1998. The album featured the hit singles "Sucks to Be You" and "Strange Disease" and was certified triple platinum in Canada. Prozzäk was nominated for Best New Group at the 2000 Juno Awards, as well as being nominated for Best Album (*Hot Show*), Best Single ("Sucks to Be You"), and Best Video ("Strange Disease"). In 2000, Levine and McCollum wrote and produced several songs for Canadian pop group B4-4, including their hit song "Get Down". In late 2000, Prozzäk released their second album, *Saturday People*, on Epic Records. The album included the singles "www.nevergetoveryou" and "Be As". The album was certified gold in Canada and nominated for Best Pop Album at the 2002 Juno Awards. Prozzäk joined with Disney to increase promotion and released the album *Ready Ready Set Go*, also named *Simon and Milo*. It is a compilation of songs from their first two albums along with a new single, "Get a Clue" which was written for the TV movie *Get a Clue* starring Lindsay Lohan. Prozzäk's next album, *Cruel Cruel World* was produced from MapleMusic in 2005. *Cruel Cruel World* was released on an independent label and did not receive as much promotion as their first two albums, and did not achieve the same success. Two songs were released online in 2006, "DJ-J-Vox" and "DJ (Calibe Remix)". In 2008, the band released a song titled "Chloe the Chicken" on a kids' album titled *Roll Play*.

### Reunions

After being inactive for several years, Prozzäk performed a reunion concert at the Atomic Lollipop Festival in Toronto on July 18, 2015, where they debuted a new single. On September 18, 2015, Prozzäk released their first single in over ten years entitled "Baby I Need Your Love (Pussy Cat Pussy Cat)". This was followed by "Love Fools Anonymous" on June 15, 2016; in November that year they released "My Little Snowflake". On February 3, 2017, Prozzäk released the single "Love Me Tinder" from an album in progress. An animated music video for the single debuted on March 17. Titled *Forever 1999*, the album was released on March 31, 2017. In March 2018, the band attempted to launch *Prozzak: Love Addicts*, an animated series produced by Portfolio Entertainment and Duopoly. In September 2018, Prozzäk toured across Canada with Aqua and Whigfield as part of the "Rewind Tour".

On September 9, 2019, Prozzäk announced that they would embark on their final tour titled the "Never Get Over You Farewell Tour". On may 15 2022, Emily hampshire and Simon (jay Levine) start a new band named "glitch glitch". Their first song got leaked later in 2022. On May 22, 2022, Prozzäk reunited to perform at "Fizzfest" in Toronto, opening for Bran Van 3000.

## Members

### Virtual Members

* Simon Thornhill (Vocals, Bass)
* Milo (Guitar)

### Real Members

* Jay Levine (Vocals, Bass)
* James Bryan McCollum (Guitar)

## Discography

1. Hot Show (Album) [1998]
2. Saturday People (Album) [2000]
3. Ready Ready Set Go (Compilation Album) [2002]
4. Cruel Cruel World (Album) [2005]
5. Forever 1999 (Album) [2017]