>>PREVIEW
JULIETTE & THE LICKS
Saturday, November 12
Warehouse
Appearances can be deceiving. Just ask musician Juliette Lewis, who, after doggedly proving herself in Hollywood as a gifted actress (Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, My Louisiana Sky), is now doggedly proving herself in the music industry.
Lewis is the unabashed wildcat fronting the two-year-old rock ’n’ roll band Juliette & The Licks.Along the flamboyant lines of Ian Svenonius, Iggy Pop and a young Tina Turner, she already holds the title of most gripping lead singer on the scene at the moment. The buzz surrounding the Licks’s live show continues to spread like prairie fire and the band lives up to that expectation. Still, proving herself to non-believers is a role she savours – even if it means not exhausting herself by the fifth minute of the set.
"Oh my God, I’ve gotten so much better ’cause in the beginning I would give everything in the first song. By song number two I was just panting, not knowing how I’m going to get through the set. So, I’ve learned to pace myself," says Lewis with a laugh from a stop on the road, where she and her band have been whooping it up for six months.
"The first show was at a lesbian club in Los Feliz where it was lesbian night. It was really cute – the air conditioning didn’t work, it was like 110 degrees. But that was fun – I was so anxious just to get the first one out of the way, you know? The people seemed to be into it and we had, y’know, a handful of songs and a good half-hour set and I think it went well."
Things have continued to go really well for the band. Juliette & The Licks have received rave reviews from rock ’n’ roll taste-makers everywhere. During our conversation, the affable Lewis comes off as the real deal. She’s warm, articulate and fully realizes that it looks like she just rolled out of bed one day and decided to be a rock star. In actuality, she has been a songwriter for the past 10 years and a music fan since infancy.
She first impressed audiences with her vocal talent in the films Natural Born Killers (1994) and Strange Days (1995). Upon the urging of a pal, she hand-picked the amazing boys behind the Licks: guitarists Todd Morse and Kemble Walters, drummer Jason Morris and bassist Jason Womack.
They released the …Like a Bolt of Lightning EP in October 2004 and their full length You’re Speaking My Language in May 2005. Lewis has shown that she knows a lot about music – enough to point out that mainstream critics were incorrectly identifying her ferocious rock ’n’ roll as punk and enough to bring some important influences to her music and performances.
She’s resurrected Chrissie Hynde, Blondie and Patti Smith. She’s thrown in a taste of vintage Van Halen and, mostly, has given a truly unruly and excellent female spin to the Stooges.
"I find music is pretty limitless in what you can express – it’s like acting, you have to get out of your own way. The way I act, I don’t over-think things, so my creative process kind of transfers itself with music as well.
"The reason why I took (this) up at 30 versus 25 or 20 is because I’ve developed a point of view. I know what I like musically and I have enough tenacity and fearlessness that I could get it started and see it through. When I was 20, I wouldn’t have had what it takes to keep this going. I’m really excited where we’re at now as a band because we’re really developing as songwriters together."
Juliette & The Licks are already accumulating a game plan for their sophomore release. Although focusing more on her music and connecting with her musical audience, Lewis stars in the upcoming film Catch & Release with Jennifer Garner, due in April 2006. |
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