The Housewives Really Cook in Music Business : 3 spouses of rock ‘n’ rollers clean up with songs about vacuuming and furniture polish

Three 30-ish married women have formed a rock ‘n’ roll band, The Housewives. The idea smacks of the 1988 TV movie “Rock ‘n’ Roll Mom” in which Dyan Cannon shucks her apron and curlers and becomes the idol of millions. Only it’s not the same.

“We’re not getting away from dull day jobs,” said Hope Juber, who founded the group. “We all live in rock ‘n’ roll households.”

All three are married to professional rock ‘n’ roll musicians. All are seasoned show-biz professionals in their own right.

How professional are they? Maggie Mayall was in Chicago singing with the Charlie Musselwhite Band when she met her husband, British bluesman John Mayall. Juber, married to Wings veteran and studio guitarist Laurence Juber, is a comedy writer and story editor who has worked on “The Brady Brides” and “The New Munsters” and has supplied personal-appearance material for Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Harrison is an actress and singer whose credits include “The Waltons” (where she met her husband, Jon Walmsley, who now plays guitar for Richard Marx) and numerous commercial jingles.

“The idea was a whimsical thought I had about 11 years ago that it would be a very funny thing for a rock ‘n’ roll group to be called The Housewives,” Juber said. “Then, when I found myself in the position of a housewife, with a husband and kids, I decided that now would be the time.”

“We use our real lives for material,” Mayall said. “Real life is what rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be all about. Most rock ‘n’ roll is about cars and sex and love. We talk about that, but we’ve also got a Ronettes-type song called ‘Be My Baby-Sitter,’ a Beach Boys thing called ‘Permanent Wave,’ a song called ‘Pledge or Behold’ about the choices you’re forced to make as a consumer and a love song between two vacuum cleaners.”

That’s the kind of material, no doubt, that’s landed The Housewives on national TV shows with a large female audience, such as “Oprah,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Hard Copy” and “The Home Show,” as well as KNBC-TV’s late-night “It’z Fritz,” where Laurence Juber, the show’s music director, also plays regularly in the house band.

“Laurence is the musical brains behind The Housewives,” Hope Juber said. “He’s been involved in the writing of all the songs, and it’s as close to his heart as it is to ours.” He’s also the husband most likely to be seen at Housewives shows, although the trio is prepared to perform to taped accompaniment if its usual complement of live musicians is unavailable.

“It’s real fun,” Hope Juber added, “when we get on stage with all three of our husbands in the backing band. If they as musicians didn’t feel that what we were doing had quality, they wouldn’t put up with the time we spend on the project. But they know good music and think that this is a terrific group.”

The Housewives will play at 8 tonight at At My Place, 1026 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. Admission is $7.50. For information, call (213) 451-8596. On Tuesday night, they will be at The China Club, 1600 N. Argyle Ave., Hollywood. Showtime is 10:15, and admission is $10. For more information, call (213) 469-1600.