Vivian Trimble, co-founding member and keyboardist of the New York City rap-rock group Luscious Jackson, died on April 4th. She was 59.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved friend and band member Viv on Tuesday,” surviving Luscious Jackson members Jill Cunniff, Gabby Glaser, and Kate Schellenbach wrote on social media. “She had been in treatment for cancer for several years and developed a complication on Monday. We were not expecting this. She was a great friend and a gifted musician and choreographer, but it was being a partner to David and a mother to Nate and Rebecca that gave her the greatest joy. We are devastated beyond words to lose our graceful sister.”
Vivian Elizabeth Trimble was born on May 24th, 1963 to musician parents and was raised between the US and France. After attending Oberlin College, she moved to New York and began teaching GED classes. Through that job in 1991 she met Cunniff, who had formed Luscious Jackson along with longtime friend Glaser and early Beastie Boys member Schellenbach. Trimble joined the band shortly after they signed with Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal Records in 1993.
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Luscious Jackson became immensely popular in the ’90s alt-rock sphere, performing at major festivals like Lollapalooza and Lilith Fair. The band landed significant airplay on MTV, as well as appearances on shows like Saturday Night Live and Viva Variety and a needle-drop in the 1995 rom-com Clueless.
The band scored their biggest hit with “Naked Eye,” the first single from their 1996 album Fever In Fever Out. The song reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album became certified gold. In the meantime, Trimble also had a more acoustic-focused side project with Cunniff called Kostars.
Trimble left Luscious Jackson in 1998. Not long after, she teamed up with former Breeders bassist Josephine Wiggs under the moniker Dusty Trails, and they released their eponymous sole album in 2000. It featured guest vocals from Emmylou Harris.
Trimble is survived by her husband David and their children Nathaniel and Rebecca.
