Garbage consists of Erikson Duke (bass, guitar, keyboards), Manson Shirley (vocals), Marker Steve (guitar, sampling, loops), Vig Butch (drums, producer, editor).
Garbage is an international rock group formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994. The band members are Butch Vig, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson and Shirley Manson.
As of October 2005, the band is on hiatus in order to spend "much needed" time with their friends and family. However, Manson has said the band has no plans of permanently splitting, as several sources had previously indicated. A greatest hits album, b-sides album, and various long-awaited DVDs are planned for release in mid-2006 (all of this has yet to be confirmed officially by the band).
Vig, the producer of such influential albums as Nirvana's Nevermind and the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream, decided he wanted to play in a band again. He asked fellow producers Marker and Erikson, whom he had played with in Spooner and Firetown, to join him. After the group saw Shirley Manson on MTV (from her careers with Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie and Angelfish), they invited her to audition for (and after two auditions, asked her to join) the band. According to Butch Vig, Garbage got its name even before Shirley joined the band. While they were making some sound which included guitar riffs and electronics (later used in the song Vow) one of the guests in their studio called that music "garbage" several times. The name was later used as a band and album title. Another anecdotal origin for their name was that Butch Vig contributed a remix to Nine Inch Nails' album Fixed, which Trent Reznor labeled "garbage".
Garbage's angry, emotional lyrics contrasted with their catchy, pop alternative rock music. Garbage utilizes samples, electronic loops, grungy guitars, and various other effects to produce haunting and melodic tracks, made distinctive by Scottish singer Shirley Manson's sultry vocals. The fact that Garbage is composed of three music producers is made obvious by the high production quality, with many layers and a "wall of sound" production aesthetic.
