Feature Photo: Athena Kay from Toront-oh, Canada; cropped by Padraic, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Len began in Toronto in 1991 as a home-recording project led by Marc Costanzo. His older sister Sharon Costanzo, who had already sung on some of his early recordings, joined the following year and established the sibling partnership that remained at the center of every version of the group.
The earliest Len recordings drew from punk, alternative rock, indie pop, and the underground Canadian music scenes surrounding Toronto and Halifax. The self-titled 1992 cassette EP was followed by Superstar in 1995 and Get Your Legs Broke in 1997. During those years, Marc and Sharon worked with a changing group of drummers, guitarists, singers, DJs, and friends rather than maintaining one permanent lineup.
Len’s sound changed dramatically as hip-hop production, turntables, samples, and rap vocals became more prominent. By the time You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush appeared in 1999, the public lineup had expanded to include Derek “D-Rock” MacKenzie, Brian “DJ Moves” Higgins, Philip “Planet Pea” Rae, and Drunkness Monster alongside Marc and Sharon.
“Steal My Sunshine” became Len’s international breakthrough after appearing in the film Go and on You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush. The single combined Marc and Sharon’s contrasting voices with a sample from the Andrea True Connection recording “More, More, More.” Len received Juno Award nominations for Best New Group, Best Alternative Album, and Best Single during the album’s commercial peak.
The group continued recording after that success. Material prepared during the early 2000s appeared in different forms as We Be Who We Be and The Diary of the Madmen. Marc and Sharon later returned with It’s Easy If You Try in 2012. Throughout Len’s history, the Costanzo siblings remained the core of a project whose membership frequently shifted according to the needs of a particular album, tour, or performance.
Marc Costanzo
Marc Francis Costanzo founded Len as a solo recording project in 1991 and remained its principal songwriter, producer, vocalist, guitarist, and creative director. He recorded under several aliases, most notably the Burger Pimp and Mumble C, and guided the band from its early punk and indie-rock period into the sample-heavy pop and hip-hop approach heard on You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush.
Costanzo wrote and produced “Steal My Sunshine,” building the track around a sample from “More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection. His production across Len’s catalog drew from punk guitars, old-school hip-hop, disco, electronic music, pop melodies, and deliberately playful studio experiments.
He also established the independent labels Four Ways to Rock Records and Funtrip Records, which supported Len’s early releases. Outside the band, Costanzo worked in music publishing and artist development, including a period as a senior creative executive at EMI Music Publishing.
Sharon Costanzo
Sharon Costanzo joined her brother’s recording project in 1992 and became Len’s co-lead vocalist and bassist. Her voice provided the melodic counterweight to Marc’s rougher delivery and remained one of the band’s most recognizable elements across its independent recordings, major-label work, and later reunion material.
Sharon’s performance on “Steal My Sunshine” became the defining vocal moment of Len’s career. The relaxed call-and-response between the siblings gave the recording much of its personality and helped distinguish it from the heavier rap-rock and alternative music dominating radio at the end of the 1990s.
She continued recording with Len through The Diary of the Madmen and returned with Marc for It’s Easy If You Try. Although Len frequently expanded into a larger ensemble, the partnership between Marc and Sharon remained the band’s foundation.
Derek “D-Rock” MacKenzie
Derek “D-Rock” MacKenzie became part of Len as Marc Costanzo moved more deeply into hip-hop production during the late 1990s. He appeared in the expanded lineup surrounding You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush and contributed rap vocals, writing, performance energy, and the humorous group identity that Len presented during its major-label period.
D-Rock helped write “Feelin’ Alright,” one of the album’s principal follow-up singles. Onstage, he was one of the vocal performers who transformed Len from a studio-centered sibling project into a loose, highly animated crew.
Brian “DJ Moves” Higgins
Brian Higgins, known professionally as DJ Moves, joined Len as a DJ, turntablist, producer, and hip-hop collaborator. His scratches and production work helped shape the group’s shift away from its original guitar-driven sound and toward the collage-like mixture of samples, beats, rock, and rap heard on its later recordings.
DJ Moves was part of the touring lineup during the success of You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush. He remained connected to Len’s later work, receiving writing and production credits on material associated with We Be Who We Be and The Diary of the Madmen, including “Kookoo Docks” and “Dante’s Inferno.”
Philip “Planet Pea” Rae
Philip Rae, known as Planet Pea and also credited as Kudu5, joined Len during the group’s hip-hop expansion. He contributed rap vocals and appeared as part of the public lineup during the You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush period.
Planet Pea also contributed to later Len recordings. His writing credits include material connected to “People (Come Together)” and “We Be Who We Be,” extending his role beyond the band’s 1999 touring and promotional cycle.
Drunkness Monster
Drunkness Monster was part of Len’s expanded late-1990s lineup and worked as a DJ and turntablist. During concerts, he and DJ Moves handled turntables and helped create the old-school hip-hop atmosphere that surrounded the band’s live presentation.
His presence reflected the broader “Len crew” concept used during the group’s commercial peak, when the band operated less like a conventional fixed rock lineup and more like a collective of vocalists, DJs, producers, musicians, and friends.
Brendan Canning
Brendan Canning worked with Len during the group’s independent years and contributed to Get Your Legs Broke. He later played keyboards on “The Hard Disk Approach” from You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush and contributed spoken material associated with “Steal My Sunshine.”
Canning also played an important part in the song’s musical origin by introducing Marc Costanzo to the Andrea True Connection recording “More, More, More,” whose instrumental break became the foundation of “Steal My Sunshine.” He later co-founded Broken Social Scene with Kevin Drew and became a major figure in Toronto’s independent music community.
Matt Kelly
Matt Kelly contributed guitar and drums during Len’s independent and major-label periods. He played electric guitar on Superstar, drums on portions of Get Your Legs Broke, and guitar on selected tracks from You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush.
Kelly’s appearances illustrate the fluid nature of Len’s membership. Musicians often changed instruments or moved between studio and touring roles as Marc and Sharon reshaped the sound from one release to the next.
Drew “You’re You” Lidkea
Drew “You’re You” Lidkea was part of Len’s revolving early lineup during the independent years. He belonged to the group of musicians who helped Marc and Sharon develop Len as a live and recording project before its major-label breakthrough.
Drew MacEachern
Drew MacEachern was another member of Len’s early supporting lineup. His association dates to the band’s formative Canadian alternative-rock period, when its personnel changed frequently between recordings and performances.
Jody Mayne
Jody Mayne was part of Len’s extended early membership. Like several musicians connected to the first phase of the band, Mayne contributed during the years when Len was moving between home recordings, independent releases, and live appearances.
Roy “Big Dog” Thirlwall
Roy “Big Dog” Thirlwall was associated with Len’s rotating lineup during its independent era. He was part of the network of musicians and collaborators surrounding Marc and Sharon before the group adopted the larger crew format used during the late 1990s.
Mike Ramsay
Mike Ramsay was one of the musicians connected to Len’s earlier lineups. His tenure belongs to the band’s pre-breakthrough history, when Len operated through a changing group of Canadian studio and live performers.
Craig Bennett
Craig Bennett was a member of Len’s extended early lineup. His involvement came during the period in which the group’s sound was centered more heavily on punk, indie rock, and guitar-based alternative music.
Malcolm Sweeney
Malcolm Sweeney was part of Len’s revolving membership during its independent phase. He is remembered among the musicians who supported the Costanzo siblings before the group’s transition into the sample-driven style of You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush.
Additional Studio And Live Contributors
Len’s albums also featured numerous guest musicians and performers who were not permanent members of the band. The early recordings included contributions from musicians connected to the Halifax scene, while You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush included guest appearances from Biz Markie, Kurtis Blow, Moka Only, C.C. DeVille, Buck 65, and several members of the Cryptik Souls Crew.
Other credited instrumentalists across the catalog included Joel Plaskett, Chris Murphy, Michael Catano, Larry Ciancia, Suzie Katayama, David Stenske, Kori Ayukawa, Wilson Laurencin, and additional players brought in for individual tracks. These collaborations reinforced Len’s identity as a studio project built around Marc and Sharon rather than a band restricted to one permanent instrumental lineup.
Len Studio Albums
Superstar (1995)
Get Your Legs Broke (1997)
You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush (1999)
The Diary of the Madmen (2005)
It’s Easy If You Try (2012)
Selected Len EP And Alternate Release
Len (EP, 1992)
We Be Who We Be (2002)
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Updated August 1, 2026.
Complete List Of Len Band Members article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
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