Juliette Lewis (Juliette & The Licks) - Q & A
October 23, 2007, 11:34 AM   Juliette Lewis, the actress who shot to stardom with such movies as Cape Fear, Kalifornia and her most notable role to date as a demented serial Killer in Natural Born Killers has now endeavored as a gutsy and outspoken front-woman for her band Juliette and the Licks. The licks have just recently embarked on their first US tour and I had the opportunity to interview Juliette to discuss her views about the band and the music industry.
Flavia1334: Who are your musical influences?
Juliette: There's a lot, and its funny. Because the challenge of the band is creating this chemistry, where we can think the same thoughts at the same time. Like when the guitar player writes a riff and it matches a feeling that i have had or a lyric. I get inspired by the musicians in my band. For this record I put together a CD of rock and roll that is akin to my band, everything from Thin Lizzie to Joe Walsh, the Doobie Brothers, Iggy and the Stooges and Led Zeppelin. Really classic rock with a bite, even some stuff thats dancy. My musical influences change all the time. I went through a whole torch singer period but i also like disco, you know what I mean? For this record I was looking to make a timeless, solid, rock record.
F: What are your views about music downloading? Lots of people have different views on it, what are yours?
J: It's wierd becuase I am trying to forge my way with this dream. The music industry is in such a strange state and is almost collapsing in on itself. CDs are almost becoming obselete. I still buy CDs, I don't download. All my friends buy downloads, but they buy, not illegally download. Karmically I would buy stuff. For me though it begins and ends at the live show. I think it's the one medium that the artist can still be untouchable in the sense that if you have a really strong audience and a really strong live show and you are writing interesting music you can survive if you don't mind touring. So with downloading, I would buy it, I wouldn't take stuff off the internet for free.
F: Itunes is an example of a legal download tool although a lot of artists still don't like that way of selling music (downloading).
J: Yeah, my thing is I don't like listening to music on little computer speakers. I just buy CDs. I like the artwork. I like holding them. It's really inconvenient, cause I travel with two giant CD cases of things I haven't put on my Ipod yet, I do own an Ipod!
F: What do you do to keep yourself busy during your down time on tour?
J: What do I do to keep myself busy? (laughs). I rarely have downtime, we are constantly in motion. If we aren't doing a 15 hour drive on the bus or doing sound check in a venue, I am doing phone interviews. My whole goal is to go everywhere in the world with this musical dream and that's happening so far. Just recently we were opening up for Muse and i was doing phone interviews to Brazil because we were about to play there. It seems that I am always working to set up the next territory! When we do have downtime we watch stupid movies or sometimes good movies! I like documentaries. I just watched a documentary on Patty Hearst that I really liked. I am also usually songwriting and trying to master the next thing because I started this musical endeavor late. I am constantly musically obsessed and I am trying to put things out as fast as they come, which is still too slow for me.
F: Any bands right now that you are listening to that you are really excited about?
J: Yeah, the new Foo Fighters record and the new Queens of the Stone Age record are the best rock records that I have heard in a really long time. It's everything I like. They are both totally different, but they are both super quality. I love those two records. There is an artist called "Joan as Policewoman". She's out of New York and is a singer/songwriter/pianist with incredible lyrics, and a soulful beautiful singing voice. Everyone should check out her work,
F: If you were to collaborate with another artist who would that artist be and why?
J: There's so many people, I really like Timbaland, because he's doing really wild interesting things that make sense with that person. He's really diverse.
I did something with the Prodigy a long time ago. I love that genre of music because its totally different. It's not like classic songwriting where you do verse, chorus, verse, chorus. It's more about hooks and things that sound melodic or strange.
I would like to write with Dave Grohl. He played drums on the record but we never wrote together  . I think he would be really fun to write with because he is such a really great American songwriter. Oh my god, and then there's Josh Homme (however you pronounce it). I love him as a producer. I would actually love for him to produce the next record, him or Rick Rubin. I can dream, it all starts with a dream (laughs).
F: Where do you get your song ideas from? you have talked about dreams, but are there other places they come from?
J: It can come from anything, and thats what's so fun about rock music. It's just so diverse and wide open. You can still test your government, you can write about being sexually frustrated, you can write about the fcat that it is a beautiful day outside and the sun is shining. The possibilities are endless.
The classic relationship tug of war is always inspiring. A lot of times lyrics come to me off of a riff. I write with the guitar players in my band. A lot of times their music inspires me and I will just hear words and lyrics and the song sort of becomes itself, you just have to be open to it.
For example; "Death of a Whore" came from a riff that Todd was playing and the melody I was singing sounded, and felt like a haunting. Like a spirit who was filled with regret and maybe seeking redemption in some way. It was one of the last songs I wrote. Then i saw this magazine article "Truck Stop Hookers" and I thought "UGH, what a horrible life!". When people choose a path it's their undertaking and their own actions that lead to their demise, and how terrible that is when you can't turn back. That's the most cinematic song. Drama and emotion in music go hand in hand.
With "Hot Kiss" the first thing i heard was "Hot kiss, won't you tell me what you miss boy", and I guess subconciously it was just about me missing my boyfriend at the time when I was on the road.
"Killer" is just a fast unrelenting song, its a metaphor about a friend of mine who is a ladykiller (laughs). My lyrical delivery is inspired by the rhythm of the bass so lots of time the music itself is where i get a lot of the inspiration from.
F: What is the reaction from fans about the new album?
J: We formed about 4 years ago and the last 2 years we have been touring relentlessly, we didn't have a label in the States so we have mainly been in Europe. We have built a strong fan base. I like to call them "Licks Lovers", not fans. We are doing well over there, and in the states we have our seeds. With this record we are dwelling as songwriters together. In the beginning I just wrote songs that were energy based -really juvenile- but I wasn't seeking perfection through music. Music is just about a feeling and energy and connecting with an audience. I just wanted to get it up and running as fast as possible. For me it's really rewarding that we are known really for our live show, and I think now with this record the songs are catching up with what we are as an an energy and as a band.
F: What do you want people to know about you -the rock star- that they don't already know?
J: It's more of a feeling and not so much intellectual. I want people to feel me, and I don't mean literally. Although I am very tactile. I like to break the boundaries of social veneers and etiquette and get to where everyone is letting loose and we are sort of swapping energy and that to me is what the music, the interchange, is about. it is really powerful because i honestly love people, drums, bass and electric guitar, its really that simple.
F: Last question, are you more passionate about being a musician or about being an actress? and why?
J: Well, I am equally committed when I am doing either one of those things, but music is my everything, it requires my creative fire, whereas with acting I am only using an aspect of my creative self. Music is where I am using drama and even the visual designs which I want to get better. I oversee everything, from the cover art to the tracklisting, to our set list. When we do our shows and even the merch designs. Every aspect of the Licks is my creative identity. It is a much richer experience as a whole. I do find acting more challenging.
Last edited by altsounds : October 24, 2007 at 12:35 AM.
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