GENE LOVES JEZEBEL gives ‘Kiss of Life’ 

“It would be very difficult for us to break up the band,” Gene Loves Jezebel vocalist Jay Aston said two years ago. “We’re brothers and we have a definite bond between us.” 

That bond broke last year when Aston’s twin, Michael, left the British group to forge his own musical identity. How much his departure influenced the band’s latest LP, “Kiss of Life,” is debatable. Gene Loves Jezebel’s songs still have the neurotic lyrics that made their earlier records so strangely enjoyable. 

But the group has taken a new approach onstage. Gone are the layers of makeup, as well as much of the mousse and other hair preparations they were known to glob on. 

When they open for Billy Idol Friday at Alpine Valley and Saturday at the World Music Theatre, they want the audiences to see Gene Loves Jezebel for what they are; musicians rather than musical caricatures. 

“There were many years when the only people who took us seriously were, ironically enough, young girls,” Jay Aston said. “They were the kids who were too hip for Duran Duran, and they seemed to understand us. 

This image almost caused the band to split. When Michael left the group, it gave the musicians the perfect “out” to disband and try something else. What held the group together was a deep love for Gene Loves Jezebel. 

“It sounds terrible corny, but having Michael leave and then disbanding would’ve been almost like losing two brothers,” Aston said. “That’s why I could never abandon it.” 

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