With their own unique blend of hip-hop, jazz, rock, pop and almost any other genre imaginable, the members of Luscious Jackson are back with their second full-length release "Fever In Fever Out." Those only familiar with their contribution to the "Clueless" soundtrack (the disco tune "Here") might be surprised how much more there is to the band besides disco diva-ism. In fact, one of Luscious Jackson's main strengths lies in their inability to get categorized into one musical genre.
"We like to mix everything up," explained Luscious Jackson vocalist / bassist Jill Cunniff in an interview with The Michigan Daily.
Like the title "Fever In Fever Out" suggests, the new album starts off feverishly with the infectious and irresistible groove of Luscious Jackson's current single, "Naked Eye," and ends on a calmer, laid back note with guitar-based tracks like "Faith" and "Stardust."
The band strays even further from the straight-forward hip-hop beats of 1993's "In Search of Manny" EP and goes for a more sophisticated, almost trip-hop sound at times. Tracks like "Under Your Skin," "Take A Ride" and "Water Your Garden" have a live and multi-layered ethereal feel to them not seen on "In Search of Manny" and barely seen on 1994's "Natural Ingredients" thanks to the help of new producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel).
"We played mostly live on this record. There's a few loops. We worked really hard on the live sound and spent a lot of time on it. So, (it was) kind of a totally different approach," Cunniff said of the differences in recording "Fever In Fever Out" and the group's other works.
Between the release of "Natural Ingredients" and the recording of "Fever In Fever Out," the band had the chance to work on that live sound by opening for R.E.M. on their arena rock tour. Unfortunately, as an opening band, Luscious wasn't given much time to perform.
"We actually had a little longer than half an hour. We had enough time to get through it. By the fifth song, you're warmed up and then you get off the stage. That's kind of how it was," Cunniff explained.
Known for their excellent headlining live shows, fans who saw Luscious Jackson with R.E.M. missed out on one of the more interesting aspects of a Luscious Jackson concert - having members of the audience join the band on stage and dance as they perform "Life of Leisure" from "In Search of Manny."
Hopefully this time around the band will keep that tradition.
"You know, we've been doing that a few times lately and the thing that bothers me is that I feel a little vulnerable. Sometimes the fans get too close up to you and it's like, not that I'm so special or anything, suddenly people are hugging you that you don't know, and it's a little strange. So we're seeing each night if we still feel it's a good idea," Cunniff said of the dancing tradition.
"It's a lot of fun. It just means people are really in your face, and if people don't get off the stage when they're supposed to it's a real drag," she added.
When asked what she was going to do to pass the time while on tour, Cunniff replied: "I'm gonna bring my book on economics 'cause I'm just so ignorant. I've been trying to educate myself about things, you know, the things I didn't study in college."
While not the answer one would expect from a musician, it's not such an unusual answer considering the fact that the members of Luscious Jackson are somewhat vocal on issues dealing primarily with women's health. They've played benefit concerts and appear on the "Ain't Nothing But A She Thing" compilation benefiting various women's health organizations.
"I wish I could say I'm more active. I'm definitely not as active as I once was, and I'm definitely in between many philosophies. So, it's really hard for me to be decisive about my causes. I mean, I'm definitely in a transition right now," Cunniff said concerning which causes she supports.
On a lighter note, Cunniff and Luscious Jackson keyboardist Vivian Trimble plan to write more songs while on tour under their acoustic side project the Kostars. Their album "Klassics with a K" was released earlier this year through Grand Royal Records. The band also expects to make more television appearances in the future.
In one of their more memorable appearances, the members of Luscious Jackson posed as the band playing Little Pete's junior high dance in the unfortunately canceled cult Nickelodeon show "The Adventures of Pete and Pete."
"Everyone's seen that thing. It's amazing," Cunniff said of the "Pete and Pete" episode titled "Dance Fever."
"Nothing like TV to get you out there," she laughed.
Whether it's making television appearances or supporting causes, the members of Luscious Jackson are sure to "keep on rockin' it" no matter what they do.
Luscious Jackson (left to right): Gabby Glaser, Vivian Trimble, Kate Schellenbach and Jill Cunniff.