Pop-punk act
Lustra formed in Boston in 1996 under the name
Seventeen. The initial lineup of
Chris Baird on drums and vocals,
Nick Cloutman on bass and vocals,
Jon Baird on rhythm guitar, and
Jason Adams on lead guitar recorded their debut album, Breakfast at Tammy's, in 1998. Following a lineup shuffle that moved
Chris Baird to bass and
Cloutman to guitar while introducing new drummer
Bruce Fulford,
Seventeen recorded the 1999 EP
Ransom Your Handsome and the 2000 album
Bikini Pie Fight!, co-produced by Ron St. Germain (
Sonic Youth) and
Scott Riebling (
Letters to Cleo).
Several major changes occurred following the release of
Bikini Pie Fight!:
Jon Baird left the band, the band moved from Boston to Los Angeles, and following a steadily increasing level of legal harassment from Seventeen magazine, the newly configured four-piece changed their name to
Lustra in 2001, releasing their first album under that name in 2003. The following year,
Lustra appeared in the 2004 frat boy comedy Euro Trip, performing their original song "Scotty Doesn't Know" in a scene that features fellow Bostonian
Matt Damon in a cameo as the band's lead singer. Following up on the wider visibility afforded by the movie was complicated by
Adams and
Fulford leaving the band, eventually replaced by guitarist
Travis Lee and drummer
Phil Matthews. The revived
Lustra returned with Left for Dead (including "Scotty Doesn't Know") in 2006. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide