Chestnut Hill's  ex-'Beatle' is area's only 'SEXCOP'

by DENISE MAHER

You've got to have a good sense of humor to name your '80s high school punk rock band The Beatles. It takes a bit more brashness to deny that another band of the same name never existed.

Josh McIlvaine, who has long since demolished his version of The Beatles, would rather call his current endeavor SEXCOP, a musical revue rather than a band (since he is the only permanent member). And although he's changed band mates, set lists and venues, his sense of humor remains. The one-man act is a Chestnut Hill resident with a passion for rock and roll, self-written lyrics and dramatic, stylistic live performances. He has a penchant for freedom in his musical endeavors and is carving a unique niche in the local music scene.

Most of his material is character- or story-driven, which he likens to Smokey Robinson songs. And he keeps performances simple by remaining the only constant member of SEXCOP, which was formed in May of this year.

"You never know who might pop up on stage," McIlvaine said. "[I] play with a lot of people I've known for a long time and different music or in different bands or different performers."

But just in case his musician buddies aren't available, McIlvaine can hold his own on guitar, and his many influences and limitations in other instruments give him a unique sound and force him to get creative in trying to replicate a style or sound.

Elvis, Hank Williams and James Brown are his inspirations for live entertaining, but his musical influences run the gamut from Brazilian to Native American to R&B and even country. This isn't your run-of-the-mill mixture, but it works well for him. His voice is clean and crisp, and his lyrical storytelling is simple and humorous.

McIlvaine maintains he's sold his soul to rock and roll, but lets other musical styles also influence his songs.

"I go through music phases, where I listen to a lot of bluegrass or a lot of African music or I listen to Bjork or something. I'm not like a super-musician guy," McIlvaine said, "I'm more of like, I'm a singer, and I write songs and melodies and things like that, and I can play guitar well enough for my songs, and create enough stops and hook. ... I like to get people who can play very well. It's nice to be able to feed off that."

This wavy-haired NYU grad lets the vibe of different musicians work with him during his performances. He tries to do at least two a month in Philadelphia and New York, and even ventures to Boston three or four times a year.

In fact, it was his New York schooling that led him to the name SEXCOP. One night, an artist/poet friend named Heidi Kujac mentioned that she always wanted to name a song "sexcop," and the idea was born. For a long time, McIlvaine tried in vain to work the word into a song, but to no avail. One day, he realized that SEXCOP would be the perfect name for his band that wasn't quite a band -- a name that could have been a song, but wasn't quite a song.

When in Philly, McIlvaine has been playing at the Highwire Gallery fairly consistently, and likes it because of its concert feel. He enjoys venues where he doesn't compete with a sports game radio commentary for the attention of his audience. Like a true blue musician, he says it should be about the music -- the fewer distractions, the better.

One night when he was in a rough and tough bar in Center City, he was inspired to write while watching a 76ers game. A short, drunken man came up to the sturdy McIlvaine and wanted to know what he was scrawling in the notebook he took out, to which he responded "none of your business."

Although a snarling remark or five was thrown back his way in response to his insistence upon being left alone, he maintains it was important to get those ideas down on paper. He carries a small notebook in his pocket for just those occasions.

McIlvaine said he has to write down his ideas right away when it comes to song concepts. If not, the ideas can just disappear like the vagrant musicians that come on stage with him -- they're good, but fleeting. He said it's the same whether it's someone doing something distracting in the audience that makes him trip up on lyrics or when there's a loud band playing next door.

"It's kind of my goal not to play in a place where I would be competing with TV or the chatter ... I did play Boston recently, and I just got there and I knew it was the wrong type of place," McIlvaine said. "It was near Fenway Park, and ... I got down there and realized it was a kind of cover band place. It took them forever to turn off the radio . ... It's stuff like that can be difficult."

In one New York club he played recently, he said, "I could literally hear the music next door pounding through the wall."

He's never going to be the band that makes the walls of the club shake, but he hopes that by next summer, when he finishes up his first full-length CD, people will start listening a little closer to the storyteller in his songs rather than waiting for their eardrums to bleed.

The set list changes when he creates new material or gets sick of playing certain songs. But he says the second time he plays a song live is always better than the first, which can be nerve-wracking. Sometimes the audience doesn't respond to every song, either.

Although the SEXCOP demo is not currently for sale, you can get on a mailing list for upcoming concert events or ask any questions about McIlvaine's creations by e-mailing lonelycabooserecords@hotmail.com.