Canadian Maverick signing Lillix -- formerly known as Tigerlily -- has just finished recording a song in Los Angeles with producer Glen Ballard, collaborator on the first two international albums by another Canadian artist on Madonna's label, Alanis Morissette.

The teen pop-rock quartet, which hails from Cranbrook, British Columbia, completed "24-7" with Ballard, which Lillix manager Jonathan Simkin says they are all "over the top about."

This week, Lillix will start working on a song or two with former 4 Non Blondes' mainstay Linda Perry, whose credits include P!nk's current "Missundaztood" album.

According Simkin, the plan is to then hook up with ex-Consolidated drummer Phil Steir (No Doubt), who will redo some existing tracks, possibly add cool loops and do some remixing, and perhaps produce some new songs. Then, the girls will finish recording in Vancouver with producers still to be determined.

Here's how the Lillix/Tigerlily story started. Simkin, a Vancouver entertainment attorney (Nickelback, Default) and partner with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger in a new production company, received a phone call 18 months ago from Bruce Burns, father of 16-year-old singer-bassist Louise Burns, seeking legal advice.

Simkin says he gave him a half-hour of free time but during the conversation became intrigued by the sound of this teen-girl group, which wrote and played its own instruments. He asked him to send the demo after Tigerlily had finished recording in a local studio. About six months later, the package arrived.

"It was awesome," recounts Simkin. "It was a quickly done demo, but the songs were remarkable."

Vocalist-guitarist Tasha Ray Evin, 16; vocalist-keyboardist Lacey Lee Evin, 18; drummer Sierra Hills, 15; and Louise Burns grew up in the small community of Cranbrook and, like many their age, were weaned on MuchMusic. The influence permeates Tigerlily's music, says Simkin, which he describes as pop/rock with an edge and an ever-so-slight hip-hop influence.

"The demos were pretty good, but I thought they needed to be updated," says Simkin. He set the band up with Dave Genn, then guitarist with the Matthew Good Band, and Brad McGiveron, a.k.a. Tridon, who among other things was the drummer in DSK and played and wrote with Bif Naked.

They recorded a three-song demo at Greenhouse in September of 2000, which Simkin shopped to both U.S. and Canadian record labels. "A lot of people went ape-shit very quickly," recalls Simkin. "But Maverick was quickest out of the chute."

Within a couple of weeks of the label receiving the demo, Maverick's Guy Oseary and Russ Rieger made arrangements for the girls to come to its Los Angeles offices. Over the Christmas holidays, to prepare for the opportunity, the four-piece went to Vancouver to work on an acoustic show with Genn and McGiveron. "So they didn't have to lug their gear," explains Simkin.

In late January, they went to Maverick to showcase. "They played in (Maverick partner) Guy Oseary's office, and the deal was offered on the spot, before we ever left the building," says Simkin, who hit it off with the girls so well, he decided to manage them.

"(Lillix) is the first act I've managed. I managed Matthew Good for about 20 minutes once between managers, and I managed Datona for about half an hour once," he says.

What prompted this accomplished attorney to get into the job of artist management? "I absolutely fell in love with them, as a group," says Simkin, who has since picked up Holly McNarland for management as well. "Part of what was so appealing is having dealt with so many jaded (people) over the years, to have people so refreshing unaffected was wonderful. It was like finding something so pure and uncorrupted, and, I suppose, there was a real instinct of wanting to protect them."

Lillix returned to L.A. in late February to meet with some producers. Because the girls didn't have enough songs for an album, they went back into Greenhouse in March to lay down more demos with Genn and McGiveron. An album's worth of material was then sent out, and, over several days, in L.A. once again, the four-piece showcased acoustically for such producers as David Foster, Glen Ballard, Marc Tanner, John Shanks, and Matthew Wilder.

That July, the girls opened for The Moffatts in their hometown, before heading again to L.A. from August through to October to start recording album tracks. They began with producer John Shanks, who has worked with Melissa Etheridge, The Corrs, Michelle Branch, and others. He produced four songs at Henson Studios (formerly A&M) and, following a short break, the band picked up with Marc Tanner (The Calling, Eddie Money, Nelson) and cut another four songs at L.A.'s Cherokee studio.

Of all eight tracks about half will end up on the finished album, Simkin says.

"Next thing was Maverick having all that trouble and Warner worldwide doing a major trimming of the fat," recounts Simkin. "It absolutely delayed stuff and we didn't know what was going to happen. The firings happened in late December, but in early January everything was clear, yes, we're definitely a go. Let's finish the album."

Asked why the band is going with various producers, not unlike a dance/pop act, Simkin says "I think the feeling with Maverick -- and I didn't necessary disagree -- is that they are so young and so in touch with their sound, let's not commit to a producer without really knowing how it's going to work out."

Simkin adds that Genn and McGiveron may also be given the opportunity to produce a song or two on Lillix's label debut.

"The girls and I absolutely adore Dave and Brad. They did a wonderful job. If it wasn't for them, I'm not sure they would have gotten a deal," says Simkin.

"(Maverick) is certainly aware that we would like Dave and Brad to get a shot and my gut tells me that they will."

The album is expected out this summer.