Lotion was a Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band formed in 1991 by brothers Bill and Jim Ferguson (bass guitar and guitar respectively), drummer Rob Youngberg, and vocalist Tony Zajkowski.

Career

Lotion formed in New York City's East Village and released two seven-inch singles—"Head" and "Tear

Tear (song)

"Tear" is a song by Lotion released as both a two-song single 7" and a four-song Compact Disc single in 1993 through Kokopop and re-released in 1996...

"—on Kokopop before releasing their debut album—Full Isaac—through spinArt Records

SpinART Records

spinART Records is a now-defunct New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by artists such as The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black and Michael Penn....

 in 1994. The album received album of the year from The Village Voice

The Village Voice

The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

.

To promote the release of Full Isaac, Lotion toured America and Europe with Pavement

Pavement (band)

Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

, Throwing Muses

Throwing Muses

Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...

, and Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...

. In 1995, the band released a self-titled EP

Lotion (EP)

Lotion is a 1994 extended play by the band of the same name released through Big Cat Records.-Track listing:All songs composed by Lotion, except where noted#"Around" – 6:04#"Juggernaut" – 3:07...

 on Big Cat Records

Big Cat Records

Big Cat Records is a UK record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Operated a US office in NYC for a few years. Purchased by V2 Records in 1996, at which point their roster became much more diverse in style...

, with a second EP—The Agnew Funeral E.P.

The Agnew Funeral E.P.

The Agnew Funeral E.P. is a 1995 extended play from Lotion, released through spinART Records.-Track listing:All songs composed by Lotion, except where noted#"Marijuana Vietnam" – 4:49...

—recorded the next year. In 1996, Lotion released their second album—Nobody's Cool

Nobody's Cool (Lotion album)

Nobody's Cool is a Lotion album released in 1996.- Track listing :All songs composed by Lotion# "Dear Sir" – 2:37# "The New Timmy" – 2:19# "The Sad Part" – 3:21# "Rock Chick" – 3:44# "Blind for Now" – 3:11...

—, with liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

 by Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...

.

The Telephone Album followed in 1998. During the promotion for this album, the band made an appearance during an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In 2001, Lotion announced that they were officially on hiatus while they pursued their own interests.http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/galleon/1956/home.htm Soon after, they announced that they had decided to part ways. Tony Zajkowski has gone on to play bass and sing for Schizo Fun Addict and has joined with former Lotion band-mate Rob Youngberg to form Honeycomb.

Various artists compilations

• 1993 Chairman of the Board: Interpretations of Songs Made Famous by Frank Sinatra ("Fly Me to the Moon
  Fly Me to the Moon
  "Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was originally titled "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets...
  
  ")
• 1997 Blatant Doom Trip ("Quality of Armor")

External links

• [] Allmusic
• http://www.universalbuzz.com/catalogresults.asp?ArtistNumber=98 Universal Buzz
• http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=lotion Trouser Press
• http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_lotion.html Thomas Pynchon Essay