Nothing Dragging Jay Aston Down
Jay Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel have had a uniquely rocky career. Formed around twin brothers Jay
and Michael Aston in 1982, they were met with the praise and snarls of critics but built a cult following with
hits including "Desire" (#7 Billboard Dance charts.) In 1989, after building internal tension within
the band, Michael departed amicably for a solo career. Jay, James Stephenson and Peter Rizzo brought GLJ bigger
success with their next album and a Billboard #1 Modern Rock Track "Jealous." The label for their critically
acclaimed follow-up album Heavenly Bodies folded and left the band with yet another heartbreak. A new light shined
ahead when the band released their latest album aptly titled VII (their seventh studio album.) Now on the verge
of "The Resurrection Tour," singer/songwriter Jay Aston had time to talk with The 80's Music Central.
80sNut: You've had a busy year.
Aston: The last couple of years, actually, with the new album and we've been touring a lot.
80sNut: Your new album VII came out on a new label, Robison Records. Tell us how how that came about.
Aston: I did a thing with my brother (Michael) which was supposed to be an acoustic tour. But when I got to America, his agent thought it was a Gene Loves Jezebel tour and booked it as one. Which really p-ed me off. But I carried on doing it anyways for the year. So we did some gigs and I'd met Taylor (Robison) before but I didn't remember because it was a long time ago. He approached us and said he'd like to pay for a recording. I was in New York working on solo material right before that.
80sNut: Now, I know you've spend some time on different labels. So, was this a change working for a fan owned label?
Aston: Well, it has changed. All the labels we've had have been really into the band. Taylor is very keen but from their level of experience they are learning as they go along really. They've learned a lot.. There's always an upside and downside to it but the material they are 100% behind. He's always got ideas and I've always got ideas which he's always ready to listen to.
80sNut: You recently released a remix album called Desire.
Aston: That was Cleopatra Records that called James (Stevenson). Their idea was to do some new versions of those songs and sending them out to people. I've seen them so a lot of things then I thought "I've never been into techno." It'll never be my thing. It might be interesting to some people. But I have to say, there are a few songs that turned out really well like what Wayne Hussey of The Mission did. One of the guys that did "Always A Flame", I think it was a guy from Denmark, I like that version.
80sNut: Then there were a couple tracks that came out even more anthematic.
Aston: Yeah. I think "Motion Of Love" was wasted because I always wanted that to be a rather dark song in the first place. My brother and my relationship didn't help that song at all.
80sNut: Why do you say that?
Aston: We weren't getting along at the time. I'd written the song, recorded a brilliant demo version of it. As you know that pre-Nirvana period, you had to spend a fortune on a record because the record company would go "It can't be any good unless you spend a fortune on it." Today you could release a demo and get a lot of play out of it.
80sNut: Do you think the tension between you and your brother helped or hindered that album?
Aston: I think it hindered. We were less detail oriented because we weren't working together. I ended up singing most of... well, even before, I sang on most of the songs anyway. On our first album I sang on a couple of songs but, by the time we got to Discover I sang on most of them. So there was nothing for him to do really, so the tension was bad. So he'd end up singing parts that I didn't approve of. Like the song "Sweetest Thing," we'd record it and he'd have to sing it because there was nothing left to sing, so he'd end up singing verses on songs. He's a singer and obviously he wants to sing but the songs are about my pain.
80sNut: It's hard to share something like that. And right now there is a lot of controversy with your relationship.
Aston: Taylor and James both thought it would be a good idea if Michael was involved in the band again. I didn't think so, from day one. I didn't think it was at all and it wasn't. We clashed (working on Desire.) He's got his own language - how Gene Loves Jezebel should sound and it's not the same as mine. He wanted to call the album Sordid and Songs Of Rage And Desire or something. And it's just not my kind of title for an album. We used to swap album titles. He called the first one Promise. I called the next one Immigrant. I got Discover.
80sNut: Then there was a fight over the title Vagabond.
Aston: Vagabond was one that was going around. Instead we went with Michael's idea - House Of Dolls. I didn't like that one because it's a Nazi term. But there was a fanzine that had ads with "come to the House Of Dolls" in it that we took it from. I wanted to call the album Suspicion because we were doing really well in England but the critics were really suspicious of us. I thought that was the right title for the album but that's what happened.
80sNut: So you don't have that much contact with him anymore.
Aston: Not really. We've got too much blocked stuff. It's really weird you know. When you are that close to someone and find out they look at life with a completely different view. And every time I was doing thing with him, I was doing them for the wrong reasons. I thought he should be involved. On the other token he'd think that blood is thicker than water and brothers stick together. It's all very well but when you are trying to sing a song and someone is going completely the other way, always trying to change the lyrics. It should be awhile 'til we are speaking, I think.
80sNut: I hope things get resolved there because I know it'll be causing some confusion soon.
Aston: It already has. I get calls from people who know me well saying "Oh, your playing, when are you planning on playing." And I'm like, "No, I'm not playing. The band's over in England and I'm here (L.A.)"
80sNut: I know recently a club here in Vegas had Gene Loves Jezebel booked and I had to call to check if it was you or Michael playing.
Aston: That's my brother's problem. It's weird, he thinks he has a right to the name. But the problem is the people book him because they want to hear "Desire," "Jealous" and the hits when they are all my songs and James'.
80sNut: And he plays them anyhow?
Aston: He'd play them very badly deliberately for whatever reason. He'd just get pissed off, pissed at the audience because he has a different version of it. He's treading on our work, that's the problem. Usually the radio station or promoter would demand they play "Desire" and they are just not my vocals... we are different singers.
80sNut: That's got to drive him insane.
Aston: Yes, with all the people that are not interested in Gene Loves Jezebel might like just one song. And say "Oh, I'll go see Gene Loves Jezebel." because it's on the marquee and they won't be getting a quality product. When James, Pete and I are the actual thing.
80sNut: Now on this new album... the first single is amazing, entrancing and many other songs stand out. The sound is so different especially on the single.
Aston: A lot of them come from my time in New York and let my head space totally after Heavenly Bodies when the label (Savage) just crashed. So I went out on my own, tried to do things on my own. There's always been a dark side to what I do, anyway. I have a natural love of melody, mood and I like to drag people in. It sounds like a happy pop song until you really listen to it. Originally I called the song "Life Keeps Dragging Me Down" but I thought it was too much. But it's a positive song in the end. As the song says "you just keep rolling."
80sNut: With the emergence of the Internet, do you find your fan relations different?
Aston: Yeah, I just bought a computer about 5 months ago. I check into the web pages once in awhile and sometimes a fan with come across you by chance. It's weird to be online because someone sends you an Instant Message and by chance they get ahold of you. But the dialog with them is just fine. I just keep it pretty light. <laughing> There's a lot of crazy people out there. Believe me, I know.
80sNut: I did a search earlier and came up with over 500 fan sites. You really do have a strong fan base.
Aston: They're a weird little group. <laughing> We're in an odd position. We're not on a big label at the moment. But we also have the Mission tour coming up which will be great.
80sNut: How did that come about?
Aston: James is always working on ideas on what we can do because we are on a small little indie label. What we can do to bridge the gap a bit. There's obviously a lot of fans out there but with things on a lower key they don't know you have a record out or that you are touring. Wayne (Hussey of The Mission) did some stuff on Cleopatra. Their bass player played on my solo record. And he'd been working with James and Mike Peters (The Alarm). So there was some sort of synchronicity and Wayne was ready to tour again.
80sNut: I'm definitely impressed by that tour line-up. What songs off the new album, VII, do you catch yourself singing.
Aston: "Uptown" I like singing a lot also "Who Wants To Go To Heaven?"
80sNut: Tell me more about that track. I know there's some history there.
Aston: I was playing in New Orleans and someone from Anne Rice's little company there came up to me and mentioned they always liked to play "Kiss Of Life" at their convention. Because it could easily be a song about a vampire. I never thought of it that way. It wasn't my intention but it totally sounds like it could be a song about one. So they asked me if I'd write a song. I said "Ahhh.. Ok." I'd never done that before. Never written a song for somebody else. And I've always spent a lot of time in and loved New York, and there I found "Who Wants To Go to Heaven?" A rather rhetorical question, really.
80sNut: And I can't believe they didn't use the song for the Interview With A Vampire movie.
Aston: Well, that's politics you know. I know there were about 20 people that told me "You've got it!" "You've got it!" but I'm sure they told everybody that. I know Guns 'N Roses got it because it was a Geffen picture. And we weren't on Geffen anymore. I think Guns 'N Roses would have won through because they were struggling a bit after The Spaghetti Incident.
80sNut: Do you find any band out now that you find similarities with?
Aston: Gene Loves Jezebel is rather unusual. We haven't chased the Gothic thing or chased anything really. We've got our own little thing which was probably not that wise. We probably should have packaged ourselves into one of those little genres. But music is bigger than that I think. I like to seduce people and bring them in. I've seen the power of the music work. Hopefully, a song or two off VII will do that... but certainly live.
Things got even rockier recently with the release of Love Lies Bleeding by Michael Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel.
Is it meant to confuse the public? Is Michael riding on the continued success of his former band? Who knows. But,
what we do know is the band has sold more than 1.5 million albums and expects more when Beggars Banquet releases
GLJ Best Hits on September 1st. You can learn more by visiting http://www.genelovesjezebel.com
Martin Hennessy III