Not Dead Yet
Even without the ‘Smart’ Brother, Gene Loves Jezebel Lives 

There’s no Gene, much less a Jezebel. 

Formed in 1982 by twins Michael and Jay Aston, the Welsh band of four men (who some writers pointed out wore enough makeup and were pretty enough to be women) was seen as an alternative to the New Romantic movement that spawned pretty-boy bands Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. A pouty throwback to the glam days, they slathered on the makeup, teased out their hair and strutted onstage to songs such as “Desire” and “Jealous,” their best known number. 

When Michael left to pursue a solo career, critics predicted an early death for the band. After all, he was regarded as the “smart” brother. 

“As far as the record company was concerned, Michael was the focal point, so that’s how we were marketed,” Jay Aston says. “I didn’t take it as a slap in the face that he was considered the one who spurred us on. In the group, we knew he and I both had a huge input on what happened and what didn’t happen. Nobody wanted to see him leave the group, especially me, but we had to groove to our own things. 

“I think it’s a considerable accomplishment that it’s 1993, he’s still not in the band and we’re still around and we actually want to be around. I don’t think a lot of people thought we had it in us. But we knew we did.” 

Gene Loves Jezebel will headline a show tomorrow at the China Club. Low Pop Soleids is the opening act. 

“It’s funny about how ‘famous’ we are, or aren’t, because some places we’re huge,” he said. “We draw more than Jesus Jones. Then we go somewhere else and it’s like, ‘Hello?’ We’re in town.” 

Phoning from New York a few minutes later than our scheduled interview slot, Aston apologized. 

“I was downstairs getting some coffee,” he said. “I have a weakness for that and cigarettes, two things that singers shouldn’t do. They’re horrible for your voice.” 

He is affable and funny – things he hadn’t always been in the past. I pointed this out and he agreed. 

“Before, Michael and I both did the interviews, so we shared the responsibilities of promoting the band,” he said. “I didn’t feel the need to talk as much, and when I did I tended to be nervous sometimes. I don’t know why. But lately, I’ve been doing a lot of press by myself and just having a really fun time chatting. I don’t worry as much about how I’ll sound. If I sound stupid, I sound stupid.” 

“And,” he added, “truthfully, sometimes I am stupid.” 

The tour and interviews are to promote the band’s latest album “Heavenly Bodies,” its first for Savage Records. After recording for Geffen Records and Polygram, Gene Loves Jezebel decided to head over to Savage, which also has David Bowie on its label. 

“A couple other companies (including Atlantic) wanted us, but Savage actually was a fan of ours,” Aston said. “That was an important factor when we decided. They weren’t interested in us re-creating ‘Jealous’ for them, which was fortunate because we knew ‘Heavenly Bodies’ wouldn’t have one on it. I know it sounds like a crazy thing to do, but we deliberately wrote this album with no intention of writing a pop single. Maybe it won’t do as well as if we had a ‘Jealous’ on it, but for us it is a tremendous achievement.” 

The album still contains the band’s trademark. Jangling guitars, but several of the songs are rather sweet. While not gentle by Whitney Houston standards, the lyrics have an ethereal quality that seems to belie the group’s rowdier past. 

“Yeah, a lot of people have told us that,” Aston said. “It’s true to an extent. But I have to admit that when they’re played live, sometimes they sound loud, depending on the acoustics. That’s why it’s good to be able to hear them on the records, and live.” 

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