LUSCIOUS JACKSON

Formed: 1991, New York, New York; Disbanded 2000

Members: Jill Cunniff, bass, vocals, songwriter (born New York, New York, 17 August 1966); Gabby Glaser, guitar, vocals, songwriter (born New York, New York, 12 December 1965); Kate Schellenbach, drums (born New York, New York, 5 January 1966). Former member: Vivien Trimble, keyboards (born New York, New York, 24 May 1963).

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Fever in Fever Out (1996)

Hit songs since 1990: "Naked Eye," "Under Your Skin," "Nervous Breakthrough"

Luscious Jackson, the funky all-female foursome, derives its name from the athlete Luscious Jackson, who played basketball for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1970s. The music group Luscious Jackson, which emerged in the early 1990s, takes its inspiration from the funk and soul of the 1970s, and mixes it with the rhymes, rhythms, and samples found in hip-hop and rap. Streetwise, stylish, and sassy, the New York–based band often earns comparisons to the Beastie Boys, a similar all-white, all-male, rap-inspired trio based in New York City; the press initially dubbed them "the Beastie Girls." The band enjoyed a few successful albums, most notably their second release, Fever in Fever Out (1996), but eventually disbanded amicably in March 2000 to pursue other interests, both personal and professional.

The future band mates met at various punk clubs when they were teens. Kate Schellenbach, a friend of Mike D from the Beastie Boys, was the original drummer for his then-hardcore band. The threesome went off to college, with Schellenbach remaining in New York and Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser heading to San Francisco for art school. They officially reconvened in 1991, recruited Cunniff's classically trained friend Vivien Trimble, and started off by playing opening gigs for the Beastie Boys around the New York City area, an association that landed them an EP, In Search of Manny (1992), on the Boys' label Grand Royal. In 1994 they released Natural Ingredients, which brought them to the attention of many college students immersed in indie rock and in search of female role models. The album explores a young woman's coming of age. Natural Ingredients is a dance album, uneven at times and generous in its use of different genres, but the band's third effort, Fever in Fever Out (1996), moved them out of indie rock and into the mainstream.

Primarily produced by Daniel Lanois, noted for his esteemed work with U2 and Bob Dylan, and largely written by Cunniff, Fever in Fever Out has a smooth sound. It marks a clear advance in the band's songwriting, performing, and producing skills; the songs are fully developed, offering clearly defined choruses and melodies rather than a smattering of disjointed samples and loops. With the smash radio hit "Naked Eye," which peaked at number twenty-four on the Billboard Top 40 chart, the album was propelled to gold status in 1997, within a year of its release. Cunniff sings in the first chorus with rapid-fire, articulate delivery: "Wearing nothing is divine / Naked is a state of mind / I take things off to clear my head / To say the things I haven't said."

In 1998 keyboardist Trimble quit the band to pursue other interests. The remaining trio released what proved to be their final and most critically acclaimed work, Electric Honey (1999). On this recording the band is at its most accomplished and mature, having assumed greater production and mixing duties. The songs explore themes of self-acceptance and satisfaction. Nevertheless, the album did not sell as well as Fever in Fever Out.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

In Search of Manny (EP; Grand Royal, 1992); Natural Ingredients (Grand Royal/Capitol 1994); Fever in Fever Out (Grand Royal/Capitol, 1996); Electric Honey (Grand Royal/Capitol, 1999).

carrie havranek