Gabby Glaser

Multi-instrumentalist Gabby Glaser first won the attention of music fans as the guitarist, keyboard player, and singer with Luscious Jackson, with whom she recorded three full-length albums and an EP. New York native Glaser took up the guitar when she was 13 years old; during a sojourn in San Francisco, she met fellow Lower East Side resident Jill Cunniff, and the two became fast friends. After returning to the Big Apple, Glaser and Cunniff became habitués on the city's music scene, and for a while they attempted to put together an all-female hip-hop group. While that effort failed, it prompted Glaser and Cunniff to start writing songs together, and they launched the first version of Luscious Jackson as a duo, with Glaser on guitar and keyboards, Cunniff on bass, and the other instruments programmed onto a DAT tape. Before long, Glaser and Cunniff decided to expand the band's lineup so they could be more flexible on-stage, and drummer Kate Schellenbach and keyboard player Vivian Trimble joined the group. Luscious Jackson's knack for funky but laid-back grooves attracted the attention of Mike D of The Beastie Boys (Schellenbach had played drums with The Beasties during their days as a hardcore band), and they were signed to the rappers' fledgling Grand Royal label. The group's debut EP, In Search Of Manny (which featured a picture of Glaser's mom's high-school boyfriend on the front cover) was released in 1992, and earned an enthusiastic reception among alternative rock fans, as did their first full-length album, 1994's Natural Ingredients. In 1996, the group scored a hit single with "Naked Eye," a track from its second album, Fever In Fever Out, and the band took part in the Lillith Fair and Lollapalooza tours, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and was featured on a memorable episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete alongside Iggy Pop. In 2000, Luscious Jackson went on extended hiatus as the members of the group focused on their personal lives, but in 2006 Glaser began playing out as a solo act, backed by guitarist Ian Love, bassist Guyora Kats, and drummer Sammy Siegler. In 2007, Glaser released her first solo album, Gimme Splash, which found her melding funky grooves with lean, guitar-based rock & roll; it was also announced that Luscious Jackson were contemplating a low-key reunion tour and that the group was working on a new album of funky children's music. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide