Formed in 1996 by former college classmates Mark Allen Holt & Michael Mroziak, FOUR YEARS after their graduation from Ithaca. Forming the troupe was a way to keep them occupied instead of watching their more successful classmates pull away from them in the grand rat race of life. Later in 1998, Keith Bielmeier joined the troupe.
A Cast Of Thousands released its first CD, "Please Buy This CD", in the fall of 1997, and enjoyed its radio debut on the Dr. Demento show in November 1997. It all went downhill from there...
Beginning in February 1998, the troupe made numerous appearances on the Toronto, Ontario based 'Cap'n Dave' radio show (CIUT-FM, Toronto). They also enjoyed moderate success on the internet, scoring a handful of hits on mp3.com (including "A Christmas Message from the ACLU" hitting 1 in December 1999). They also dominated comedy charts on the Australian online site mp3.com.au for the second half of 2000. They did not, however, make the French forget Jerry Lewis.
The troupe has released a total of 5 CDs, including a full-length made-for-radio satirical Christmas play. The troupe also released numerous singles online under its previous web affiliation with Ampcast.com. In late 2007, the group signed with the web site The Mad Music Archive (even though they're a sketch comedy group) to distribute their catalog of material online.
In 2008, the group released a compilation package, "It Seemed Like a Good Idea Then," online at http://www.themadmusicarchive.com
All three troupe members live in silly towns with their amazingly tolerant wives, and one of the guys even changes baby diapers in his spare time. Mark lives in Syracuse, NY, while Keith & Michael both live just outside of Buffalo, NY. The latter town's pro sports teams are proof that God was also a comedy writer before moving on to more ambitious things like the universe.
