UDO

Assuming that superproducer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig gets over his current case of Hepatitis A that’s forced him off the band’s European tour, Vig will be joining the rest of the band in their upcoming Japan visit. The alt-rockers are currently on tour for their third and latest album, Beautifulgarbage.

          Vig wrote on the band’s website: “I feel really bad…I’ve never missed a gig in my life!! Over the years I’ve played with fractured bones, food poisoning, the flu, head exhaustion, wicked hangovers, pinched nerves and all sorts of ailments. But I need to get rid of this infection completely, or it can come back and bite me in the arse even worse.”

          Vig’s absence doesn’t seem to have slowed Garbage appreciably, however, as Matt Chamberlain—the drummer who played on Beautifulgarbage with Vig in the producer’s chair—has stepped in for temporary duty. While the album demonstrated once again Vig and fellow Garbage studio wizards Steve Marker and Duke Erikson’s mastery of the mixing board, Garbage have shown in previous Japan appearances that their live show is a different experience altogether.

          Above and beyond Garbage’s slick mix of grunge and electronica, what makes the band appealing, after all, is charismatic frontwoman Shirley Manson. The Scottish singer’s emotive vocals and seductive looks have made her, along with Alanis Morrissette and Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, one of the present reigning women of rock (sorry Courtney).

          Manson was recruited by Vig and co in 1994 when they saw her fronting her former band, Angel Fish, on MTV. She was quickly poached by Garbage and the band soon scored success with its debut single, “Vow.” At the time, Vig described Garbage’s modus operandi: “We want to use all these differing elements like techno, punk and noise, ambient, jazz and rock, and mix them all up around a pop song.”

          Their self-titled debut album quickly followed, exploring the dark areas of human emotion on the hit single, “Only Happy When It Rains.” Version 2.0 followed in 1998, topping the UK charts in May of that year. The following year, Garbage were commissioned to pen the theme song for the new James Bond movie, The World Is Not Enough.