Feature: Jealousy Curve, Philadelphia’s Best Rock Band

Posted by Mike on 5/17/10 • Categorized as Featured, Music

Jealousy Curve's Michael Leavy

Philadelphia, PA: Not exactly known for its music scene. Sports teams and fatty food? Yes. Legendary music acts? Not so much. But then you dig a little deeper. You find a band like Jealousy Curve.

The closest Jealousy Curve has come to startdom is a single track on the soundtrack for Dane Cook’s Tourgasm DVD. They’ve released two full-length albums, and their third, Marionnettes, drops this week. I heard about them while researching an article for Rock Philly magazine. I listened to their music. I watched them live. I sat down for a chat with the guitarist. You could say I got to know about them.

You need to know about them. Here’s the tale.

Contrasts

Jealousy Curve has spent the last year and change travelling with the Eco Rhythm Tour, a show that visits college campuses and hands out flyers about global warming before and after a concert featuring a mixed bag of acoustic and rock acts. Jealousy Curve is the headliner. Usually.

Tonight, the Eco Rhythm Tour visits Widener University as part of some campus-wide celebration. The bands will share the bill with Day 26, a pile of R&B bullshit assembled on MTV’s worthless and ironically-named reality show, Making the Band. But I don’t know that yet. I’m happy to say that I’d never heard of the headliner before arriving at a sign-in table outside Widener’s Field House. The girl with the guest list sees me with my camera equipment and all-access pass and asks if I’m here with Day 26.

Me: Who’s Day 26?

Guest List Girl: You’ve never heard of Day 26?

Me: Nope.

Guest List Girl: They’re all over the radio.

Me: Like I said.

Unfortunately, most of the crowd waiting outside is here to see the latest shallow-as-a-puddle R&B joke that P. Diddy slapped together. I’m thankful for my press pass as I push past them and into the Field House.

Day 26 is on stage for a sound check. They’re running through some do-re-mi vocal warmup nonsense. It takes about fourteen seconds to figure out what these guys sound like. All I can think is, “Boyz II Men covered this ground twenty years ago, and they did it better. Get off the stage.”

Jealousy Curve’s music, which I’ve been scoping on Myspace and Youtube, has me ready to proclaim them the best band in Philly. And they’ll be sharing the stage with this silliness? Tonight will be a night of contrasts.

I’m looking for Steven LaFashia, Jealousy Curve’s guitarist, who I’ve gotten to know via email the last few weeks. He finds me setting up the video camera at the foot of the stage. He’s awkwardly tall, with long frizzy curls that lay in front of his face. At first he reminds me of Slash, but really, it’s only the hair. Where the Guns N Roses legend sports leather and chains and nose rings and a top hat, LaFashia wears faded black jeans and a black t-shirt. Pretty sure he’s wearing work boots too. The lack of embellishment will become a motif that only grows stronger as I get to know this band.

He shakes the hair out of his eyes and offers a handshake. We chat a little bit — small talk mostly. He’s gracious and eager, like he’s excited just to be here and flattered that I want to interview him. But he’s also calm and purposeful, like he’s been here plenty of times before. Like he has a job to do. Here’s a guy who plays guitar for a band that is just inches from the big time, and he’s the most humble musician I’ve encountered. It’s a pleasure to meet him. We make arrangements for an interview after the show.

Guitars and Drums and Shit

The show begins, the crowd full of R&B fans clamoring for Day 26. The first two openers play their sets. There’s Huck, a solo acoustic act, and a band called Ike, an alternative-pop Fallout Boy clone. We make it through their performances without incident (or inspiration), and by the time Jealousy Curve takes the stage, the small rock contingent in the crowd is begging for something to kick our asses.

And the Day 26 fans are not feeling another band that plays guitars and drums and shit.

Vocalist Michael Leavy greets the crowd with a simple, “Hello. We’re Jealousy Curve,” and the band gets to work. From LaFashia’s first chord, every rock fan in the Field House knows things just got serious. The groans of the Day 26 crowd are quickly replaced by the cheers of the rock fans.

Eventually, all anyone hears is the music: LaFashia’s relentless guitar work is an undertow that sucks you through the songs. Mike Leavy’s straightforward, powerful vocals are refreshing. You’d never see him on American Idol, but you’d never find him looking for a singing gig either. All this commitment and talent weaves through the no-nonsense, bass-heavy compositions, and I’m smiling.

In most music reviews, the bassist and drummer get glossed over in favor of glamorizing the charming frontman and virtuoso guitarist. Can’t do that for these guys. Shane Rozum, who plays the drums like he’s having way too much fun, and bassist David Sikorski, who may be the coolest cat on the stage, deserve the spotlight for a moment. Rozum’s skills are ridiculous. I spend a lot of time watching him play his clever rhythms with ferocious speed and precision, smiling and sometimes lip-syncing along with his frontman. Sikorski is near flawless on bass and, in a way, that’s a problem: when bass is played well, you don’t notice it. And the guy is seriously dedicated. LaFashia tells me later about the time his bassist played through a stomach virus. Sitting on the floor backstage and puking into a bucket, Sikorski strummed along with the rest of the band rocking on stage.

Music That Doesn’t Need a Stylist

Jealousy Curve epitomizes the phrase “no gimmicks.” No fancy haircuts. No eyeliner. No tricks. They come on stage and grind out powerful, honest rock music.

If anything, their lack of a gimmick may be the only knock against them. Not for me – I find it refreshing. But to all the record executives looking for the next catchy, radio-ready band, Jealousy Curve’s lack of carefully crafted emo-rocker hairstyles hurts their marketability. To those execs: Wake up, assholes. The good music is the stuff that doesn’t need its own stylist.

When I got to the Field House, a crowd of five hundred buzzed for Day 26. They wanted to see the easy-to-like R&B boy band from MTV. They’d never heard of Jealousy Curve. Most of them had never been to a rock concert.

As Jealousy Curve finishes their set, and LaFashia’s last chord echoes and fades out, everyone’s cheering. LaFashia lifts his guitar strap off his shoulder and someone in the crowd yells, “Jealousy Curve, stay on the stage!” The cheers go louder. But no, the Day 26 show must go on. Leavy wraps up his mic cord, Rozum comes out from behind the drum kit, Sikorski and LaFashia lay their instruments on the guitar rack. It’s all reminiscent of a construction crew finishing up a day on the job site. The guys from Jealousy Curve wave and nod to the fans, and the most genuine rock band in Philadelphia leaves the stage to what would prove to be the loudest ovation of the night.

Stephen Lafashia (left) and Michael Leavey

Stephen Lafashia (left) and Michael Leavy

The Most Humble Rock Musician Ever

After the show, I catch up with LaFashia for some Q&A.

Mike Lizzio: Everyone loves the origin story. What was it like for you and Mike before Jealousy Curve became a reality?

Steven LaFashia: Mike and I were friends in high school and played in another band where he played drums. We couldn’t even play. I had been playing guitar for about six months and Mike had just gotten a drum set. That was a great band for us because we learned how to play and write songs.

ML: How would you have described the sound of your music then?

SL: It was pretty terrible stuff. We got better and always played originals, even from the beginning. My guitar style has not really changed since then. I still play much like I did when I was fifteen.

ML: How did Jealousy Curve get started?

SL: Mike Leavy and I started the band initially as just a recording project, doing some demos and posting them online. We were initially looking to form a band with another singer but couldn’t find anyone that blew us away so Mike started singing. We began tracking our debut record at home.

ML: What was the early reaction to the music? Did people seem to dig it?

SL: We have been lucky to always get recognition for our music since we started. We have been fortunate.

ML: When did you know you were on to something?

SL: Our high school band got accolades and we knew we were decent. We knew we were on to something with Jealousy Curve when we started playing live and people came out. The response to the first record was really cool and we were flattered.

ML: Was there a specific time when you and Mike decided that music was the way to go? When it became your full time commitment?

SL: We always knew it was the way to go. It has always been full time, and we have been lucky to see the fruits of our work over the last several years.

ML: What prompted the decision to add band members?

SL: We were making cool demos as a duo but you can only go so far like that. We knew we wanted to play shows and tour. A band is so much cooler than a duo. We were lucky to know Dave and Shane from other bands and we have been together for almost three years.

ML: Having seen you guys play, there are a lot of things I like about the band. But I’d like to hear what you think. Step back from it all for a minute: What makes Mike a good frontman?

SL: Mike is the best musician I know. He plays everything very well. He has only been singing for the life of this band, and blows me away with his progress. He is a great frontman because he can sing so well, but more importantly he is real and he gives off something which is authentic. There is no gimmick. Dave is the best bass player I know. Shane is the best drummer I know. I am lucky to be in a band with guys that push me and have great musicality. I am surrounded by great musicians. They are also great friends.

ML: What makes you a good guitarist?

SL: I play what I know and what I love. What I lack in technical ability I try to make up for with cool sounds and ideas. I consider myself still quite a novice.

ML: What does the music mean to you?

SL: The music is my life. We have been so fortunate with it. It really blows me away.

ML: Your Myspace page has thousands of fans. How does it feel to be local heroes?

SL: [Laughs] I don’t know if we are local heroes. We have been so lucky. There are hundreds of great bands in this area. We are doing the same thing as all of the other bands, just trying to get our stuff out there.

ML: With such positive buzz, it’d be easy for the guys in Jealousy Curve to get a big head. How do you maintain your humility?

SL: When you hear an amazing record or see a great live show it gives you perspective. Like anything in life there is always someone better than you at everything you could do.

ML: Of course, any band would hope for huge success, but few achieve it. What are your expectations?

SL: We just want to make this new record as over the top as we can with amazing songs and performances. After that we will tour hard behind it. There are no guarantees, but we want to reach everyone we possibly can.

ML: What can our readers look forward to from Jealousy Curve?

SL: We are recording our second full length record this summer and are planning for a fall release. Then we’ll tour again, hard.

ML: Anything else you want our readers to know?

SL: We are easy to reach and consider our rapport with fans a gift. Email us anytime at mail@jealousycurve.com, and feel free to find us at Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter.

And They Love Their Job

A few weeks after the interview, I head out to World Cafe Live to catch another show, this time in a much more intimate setting. Front row, surrounded this time by real music fans, I feel like we’re all finally in our element. Watching the guys from Jealousy Curve, dressed again in jeans and t-shirts, I’m thankful for bands that do nothing on stage but play good music.

The members of Jealousy Curve play like it’s their job. And they love their job.

BlindingLoud.com