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Another band originating in the 90s is Evan and Jaron.  I first heard their song Crazy for this Girl on the radio, and after Google-ing the lyrics to find out who was behind the sound, decided I wanted to learn more about them.  This led me to writing a band bio about them.

Identical twins Evan and Jaron Lowenstein were born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and first began pursuing a career in baseball.  Both were driven towards their athletic career choice, and, according to their MySpace, started pursuing music when they realized the guitar very easily might get them more girls than a bat.  However, other reviews of theirband state that it was after they received portable disc players (remember those things?) for their birthdays that they became interested in music.  

They are strict Orthodox Jews, and have not let that be ignored- not playing music on the Jewish Sabbath, nor on religious holidays.  Though they have had opportunities to tour with some of the greats, they turned down some offers due to having to play during times which interfered with their beliefs.

They have also resolved the question of whether or not they write songs together- they do not.  All their songs have been written separately, though Evan has some collaborators outside the brother-duo, and Jaron sometimes writes with Jeff Cohen.

They performed local gigs and every Tuesday night at KaLo’s Coffeehouse, under the band-name Durable Phig Leaf.  After releasing a four-song tape, they released Live at KaLo’s Coffeehouse, which eventually sold 15,000 copies.  Soon after, they formed Evan and Jaron, and released their debut EP, Not from Concrete in 1996.  Only a few months later, Jimmy Buffett contacted the duo and after hearing them live, offered a contract for his own record label.  They got a deal next with Island Records, and worked with guitarist Danny Korchmar to release We’ve Never Heard of You Either, in 1998.

Their sophomore major-album release, Evan and Jaron on the Sony Columbia label, saw its debut in 2001 and features such greats as Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac; and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty’s the Heartbreakers.  Crazy for this Girl soon became a top-20 hit after being featured on Dawson’s Creek, and led to a spot on MTV’s TRL (when MTV was still Music Television).  Though the appearance did get them some airtime, it is seen as a step backward because it caused them to seem like your typical boy band, which they most definitely are not.

Though they may have missed some opportunities in touring due to their faith, their audience and fan base still seem to have held through.  And with a slight miss on MTV, it doesn’t seem as though they are being grouped with other boy bands of the 90s, something that is probably better for their reputation anyways.




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