Evan Lurie first gained notice as keyboardist for the Lounge Lizards, the "fake jazz" group that was a downtown New York City sensation in the late 1970s and early '80s, alongside Arto Lindsay, Anton Fier (later of the Golden Palominos), and his saxophonist brother John Lurie. As the Lounge Lizards wound down in the late 1980s, Lurie released his first solo album, 1990's SELLING WATER BY THE SIDE OF THE RIVER. This was followed by 1998's HOW I SPENT MY VACATION, a collection of some of Lurie's soundtrack work. Since that release, Lurie has focused on film and television soundtracks almost exclusively.