DOUBLE TROUBLE TWIN BROTHERS' MUSIC CAREER TAKES A TURN FOR THE BETTER (AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE FRUIT ROLL-UPS).

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Around three years ago, twin brothers Evan and Jaron released an album titled ``We've Never Heard of You Either.''

It didn't do much for the Lowenstein siblings, now 26. These days, though, a lot more people have heard of the longtime musical partners.

As you read this, in fact, ``Crazy for This Girl,'' a cut from Evan and Jaron's self-titled debut for Columbia Records, is nearing the Top 20. The heart-stirring tune has racked up tons of spins at Top 40 and adult contemporary radio from coast to coast.

``I guess we always knew we'd get heard by lots of people,'' says Jaron Lowenstein. ``That's what being on a big label does for you - or that's what they're supposed to do for you, anyway.''

The duo, which has been performing since 1993, wasn't an overnight success by any means. They spent years touring the country, slowly building a firm fan base.

``The guys did have a major label record out, which was OK, but we saw they had great material and were terrific performers,'' says Greg Linn, vice president of marketing at Columbia. ``They had these wonderful songs, and that's what drew us to them. They displayed a lot of range. They're creative guys and have very different styles individually despite being twin brothers.''

Born and raised in Atlanta, the Lowensteins, initially were too busy working as semi-pro baseball players to think about careers in music. It wasn't until Evan heard Elvis Costello's ballad, ``Alison,'' that his path in life was revealed.

``I didn't necessarily want to be him, I just wanted to be the guy who wrote that song and sang it with so much emotion,'' Evan recalls. ``I was just trying to play other people's songs and only through my frustration at not being able to, did I put my own chords here and there and alter the melody accordingly - creating what became my first couple of songs.''

In 1994, Evan and Jaron launched A Major Label Records (because radio stations kept telling them they wouldn't play anything that wasn't on ``a major label'').

Their first release was ``Live at Kalo's Coffeehouse,'' followed by ``Not From Concentrate.'' Shortly afterward, the twins were signed to Island, which issued ``We've Never Heard of You Either'' in 1998.

``If you went back and listened to our first songs, you could identify that we weren't terrible,'' Jaron says. ``There was a lot of work needed, but we had our shining moments.''

An equally twisty road resulted in the completion of the new album, which features drummer Mick Fleetwood on a couple of tracks.

The Fleetwood connection begins in Havana, Cuba, where the Lowensteins were invited in 1999 to participate in the Music Bridges cultural exchange program along with about 40 other artists, including Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls, Burt Bacharach and the Fleetwood Mac founder.

``We'd never been to Cuba before so we weren't sure about the food situation,'' Evan explains. ``So, we took a case of fruit roll-ups with us, and, as fate would have it, Mick loves them, too. He would sneak into our hotel room late at night and we'd share bonding moments over fruit roll-ups the way sailors do with beer.''

In addition to Fleetwood, John Medeski of jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood lent his keyboard talents to a half-dozen tracks, while Semisonic front man Dan Wilson penned a song with Evan. Alanis Morissette producer Glen Ballard also co-wrote a tune.

``That's how you get good,'' Evan says. ``When you collaborate with people, you get to see how they do things and possibly use some of that in your own work.''

Two years ago, the Lowensteins moved to Los Angeles. They even wrote a song about it: ``Outerspace'' opens the current album, which has been selling so steadily it has lingered for nearly four months in Billboard magazine's Heatseekers chart for new and developing artists.

Since their first gig for 40 people at an Atlanta coffeehouse, Evan and Jaron have been building a loyal fan base across the country.

``The key to the whole thing in this business is touring,'' Jaron says. ``You have to get in the van and keep going. You've got to play the same places and keep coming back. That's the only way you're ever going to get noticed. You have to go to them wherever 'they' are.''

Now that the big leagues have beckoned at Columbia, the twins have found other avenues to reach potential fans. One of their songs, ``From My Head to My Heart,'' was included on the ``Runaway Bride'' soundtrack in 1999 alongside tracks from such heavy hitters as the Dixie Chicks, Billy Joel and Marc Anthony.

``I think it set the stage for 'Crazy for This Girl,' '' Evan says. ``That's one thing record people know how to do - develop a career and get the ball rolling.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Evan, left, and Jaron Lowenstein are topping the charts with their new single, ``Crazy for This Girl,'' off of their self-titled debut for Columbia Records.