Thinking back to 1992 when So What'cha Want was booming in everyone's stereo, people would be singing along and saying "Mario C...you can't front on that." But few people really knew who Mario C was or how he fit in with the band. After having worked on the last several Beastie Boys releases since 1992, Mario Caldato Jr. is something of a household name among Beastie Boys fans.

What many fans may not realize, is that Mario C, Money Mark, and Mike Nishita were friends and band mates long before any of them worked with the Beastie Boys. Mario and Money Mark were in a late 1970s band called Phaze2 which is mentioned briefly in Issue #2 of Grand Royal Magazine. Later in the 1990s, Mark & Mike Nishita along with Mario and their friend Bill had a band called the Jungle Bugs.

Mario first worked with the Beastie Boys on Paul's Boutique, although most people associate this project with just the Dust Brothers production. For a more detailed must read on the topic of how it all started, the online Ignite interview with Mario is a must read. After Paul's Boutique, Mario and the band built G-Son Studio is Atwater Village, California and began working on Check Your Head. Following the releases of Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty, Mario would often tour with the band to make sure the perfect Beastie sound was maintained on stage as well as it was in the studio. Many people take that for granted, but in a day and age where most producers quit working with the band the second the album is finished and "in the can"; Mario continues to see his finished product through.

In addition to his producing work with the Beastie Boys, he has also worked with several other bands such as: Soulfly (w/ Eric Bobo on percussion), Dandy Warhols, as well as Hot Sauce Johnson. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Mario C. Thus far he has been very successful and if the past is any indication more platinum awards are destined to be his.