Stave off shaving, say the new fans of Jesus beards
Stave off shaving, say the new fans of Jesus beards
Los Angeles magazine, September 2009
Illustration by Ruth MartenThe Nashville band Kings of Leon has revived more than the indie Southern rock that has won them Grammy awards. They are also partly responsible for the return of full beards. As the band’s star has risen, the bushy-faced look of the four musicians has started to replace the manicured goatees favored by their fans. One of the only grooming choices that can still provoke, a Jesus beard (which also carries associations with Appalachians, Rip Van Winkle, and the Unabomber) is thought by many to indicate the wearer has lost touch with reality—think Joaquin Phoenix.
Austin Brown started growing a man-mane in 2005 to protect his face when snowboarding. What helped him on the slopes, though, became a hurdle at LAX. “The TSA guy looked at me like I was Taliban and really gave me a hassle,” says Brown, a 34-year-old music marketing executive with an untrimmed four-inch reddish beard flanked by light brown shoulder-length hair. Billy Gibbons knows the feeling. His band, ZZ Top, has been synonymous with face fur for 30 years. “The discovery of avoiding lather and razor is catching on,” he says. What appears to be a shift from the ’90s metrosexual clean-shaven aesthetic is rather an affinity for naturalism and punk rock’s disregard for mainstream trends. The newly hirsute say their chin pets don’t represent a desire to drop out of society. “People are intimidated by it,” says Pete Majors, a record shop manager with a kinky brown beard. “But I’m a big teddy bear.” Gareth Stehr, a pro skateboarder, likes the attention attacted by his scruff. “Some people might think my beard looks tough, some might think it looks stupid—but they thought of it.”
It’s a plus that shrubbery turns off some folks, says Ryan Koontz, singer for the San Diego band Dirty Sweet: “It weeds out people I would not want to associate with.” Some of Koontz’s bandmates sport long beards, too, but style watchers wonder if the habit will continue as the group gains popularity. The Kings of Leon, notably, display fewer chin locks with each new album drop.
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