Deftones’ 1997 classic Around the Fur put the Sacramento legends on the nu-metal map with its trademark radio-ready self-consciously sensual brand of sleaze. The album cover, a top-down candid photo through a fisheye lens of a woman in a bikini sitting on the edge of a jacuzzi at a party, perfectly captures the slightly surreal and voyeuristic vibes of the band’s classic sophomore full-length. It’s been lovingly memed to death at this point–check out our very own merch section for some notable examples–but stands the test of time as one of the group’s most provocative and immediately recognizable covers.
But what about the woman on the cover? Brooklyn-based skateboarding outlet Jenkem Magazine recently tracked down model Lisa Hughes to get her take on the process and her feelings on the iconic photo. In a full-length video released on January 5th, which also included interviews with Maverick Records art director Kevin Reagan and photographer Rick Kosick, magazine founder Ian Michna flew out to Seattle to chat with Hughes at a local skate park.
Hughes, who also contributed old photos and archival footage for the Jenkem video, went on to reveal that the photo was a candid taken at a party while the band was recording in Seattle:
"I always knew a lot of people around the area, so I’d always go to afterparties after the bar closed down because I never wanted to go home…this happened to be where they were staying at the pool at their hotel."
The cover model also dropped some trivia about the drink visible in the background of the photo–“My friend and I always made this drink. It was so gross… we called it ‘silk panties.’ It was vodka and peach schnapps… but that was our drink back then.” Hughes and Michna then retreated to a Seattle bar to try out the beverage, which Hughes admits is a little better than she remembers.
Not much changed in Hughes’ life after the album release, and she didn’t have to deal with the unique and often uncomfortable struggle of getting recognized in public. “Just my friends knew…but I had some cool opportunities from it,” she went on to explain. “Other people would say, ‘Oh, this is the girl on the cover of the Deftones,’ and we got into clubs because of that. Or, you know, Stephen [Carpenter] would invite me to the shows and I’d go to the shows quite a bit after that album release, which was really fun.”
Hughes is apparently enjoying a second wind of mild notoriety as a new generation discovers nu-metal and Deftones through platforms like TikTok. Now a full-time medical professional, she chuckles during the interview while looking over a copy of the vinyl release–“I’ve been signing a lot of these lately for some of my daughter’s friends.”
Check out Jenkem Magazine’s full interview with Hughes here.
