No Authority’s Tommy McCarthy on the Band’s Rise, His Wife’s New Music — and What’s Coming Next

Fans might be able to see the group back together again soon, the singer teases

If you grew up in the 1990s, chances are that at some point you had No Authority’s earworm “Can I Get Your Number” stuck in your head. The 2000 single off the group’s self-titled album helped catapult them to MTV-era fame, something member Tommy McCarthy remembers like yesterday.

“It was definitely quite an adventure,” says McCarthy, now 45. “We saw the world and we had a blast.”

McCarthy joined No Authority — which included Ricky Godinez (a.k.a. Ricky Rebel), Eric “Stretchy” Stretch and Danny Zavatsky — after Josh Keaton left following the release of the group’s debut album Keep On in 1997.

“It took a little while to win everybody over because everybody loved Josh, he’s a great guy and an amazing singer,” says McCarthy, who’d moved from South Carolina to Los Angeles to find a job in entertainment, at one point dancing backup for MC Hammer. “I came in under the microscope and I had to prove myself.”

No Authority scored spots opening for Britney Spears and 98 Degrees as well as on Nickelodeon’s All That Tour in 1999.