“I always try to get the ten year old within out” she said, “let’s go outside.” While being on tour with The Pretenders, promoting her new album ‘Terra Incognita’, and starring in two new movies- ‘Whip It’ from her friend Drew Barrymore, and ‘Sympathy for Delicious’ from Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis gave us a candid glimpse into the ride that she’s on. After her performance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, we talked about everything from the transformations of her band, to the driving force behind her personal mantra: Be loud and proud. Mantra alone makes her the new judgeMENTAL calendar girl, but an out-of-body performance on the flip side of a sweet, contagious smile, didn’t hurt the cause either. You know how we love our contradictions.

Juliette: What’s so funny is that I am independent to the core. There is no big major label conglomerate; there is no big management- this thing has been fueled only by my fire and my will you know? In the ‘Licks’ [referring to her former band- Juliette and the Licks], musicians came and went because some guys didn’t wanna be on the road for two years. Other guys were like, “I’m gonna go back to my solo project- thanks!” Musicians are always juggling many different projects and not everybody’s meant to be making music for years together. It’s a wild thing when you do have that and I did have it as long as I did with Todd [Todd Morse] for five years and that was our run. He had another band he had been with for fifteen years before me [The punk band H20]. We outgrew each other creatively. I wanted to get weirder. He liked playing hooky, fun, rock songs. Song writing’s a really intimate, personal thing, so at the end of last year, there I was. I’d been on the road for two years touring ‘Four on the Floor’ [released 2006]. The guys left. The other guys that remained; their heart was not in it anymore and I was like ‘well who am I now? Who am I as an artist?’ I had established the ground work, and my whole thing was that I was going to develop as a song writer after the fact, ‘cause the first thing for me was getting it off the ground. It was always about the live show. I wrote songs that packed a punch and has some energy. They were a bit hooky so I could get the live show off the ground and really sort of rally the troops to see who was really in it and who had a similar heart.

jM: It [The ‘Licks’ music] was so fun! I wasn’t expecting it to be so punk and edgy. When we heard it we couldn’t figure out why you would walk away from what you and The Licks were doing. It was so fun! When we saw the new show, we figured it out. It’s still so you, but you’re in a new phase right? This is a new direction.

Juliette: Yeah. It’s all still with me- I don’t walk away, but I design new sets for different times ‘cause that’s my right as an artist. I think- I’m gonna do a moody set, or I’m gonna do a more laid back set, I’m gonna do a more punch you in the face set- that’s my right, but now I have more material to do that… to get my rocks off and add more to give. That’s how I feel. There’re more dimensions, but it took a lot of courage. We [The Licks] broke up, and it broke up a love relationship too. We were having the elections [presidential]. The whole feeling was one of displacement, alienation, and really feeling alone, because I wasn’t done. That wasn’t the ride. It wasn’t just like ‘woohoo’- a couple of fun rock records and that’s it.  I started feeling like ‘No. Now I’m gonna get to work and really reveal and open up and find out who I am musically. I hadn’t played piano since I was nine, but I wrote ‘All Is For God’- the first song off the [new] record, ‘Female Persecution’ and ‘Ghosts’. ‘Ghosts’ was about the demise of a friendship- someone you thought was your friend; they’re not- a real sad feeling. So those were some really deep ass songs that I wrote on tape cassette, shed a few tears, and I called Omar (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez- guitarist and founder of Mars Volta- a progressive, experimental, neo, jazz rock band) who I’d met in Japan at a music festival. I looked up to him. I knew I needed a producer this time rather than doing everything myself. Before, my head was in this idea of a collective- the band spirit. It was all ‘the band, the band, the band’, with me being the personality, and now it’s about shedding all that and getting down to melody and being really exposed emotionally, and musically, creating all these tongues and sounds and things I wanna hear.

jM: Were you afraid? I mean was it something you knew you could do, or was it just something that you knew could be done and you were gonna try it?

Juliette: Do you mind that my answer was so long?

jM: No! We wanna hear what you have to say.

Juliette: Oh man! That’s what I’m saying; yes I was scared. I was scared because it didn’t all fall into place right out of the sky. I needed that time to sit back and go ‘Oh, you have an audience’, ‘cause I was working for four years and I was just trying to find an audience. Fifteen years of film doesn’t mean people keep showing up for years. You have the curiosity for a minute, but then what holds them is people who wanna go on a journey with you musically. I looked back ‘cause I had toured many parts of the world over, so I found a little sense of confidence in that. I’m not one that thinks they ever have it made. I never think that. I’m always like ‘it’s not good enough’. I never for one second rest on my laurels, or just sit back… which is probably a problem- I should do that.

(Group laughter)

jM: Well what makes you sit back?

Juliette: Well now I’m enjoying it a little more. I think the more you gain a little bit more confidence…I don’t know- it helps. There’re positive things to being that way and negative things. It’s also the company you keep too- it makes you less stressed. Right now I have a really great band. They’re so positive and really wonderful.

jM: That connection is important I think.

Juliette: It is. I have a group of people who wanna get weird with me musically and get adventurous. That’s the whole point of why it’s called Terra Incognita- its unknown territory. That’s what happened. After touring, touring, touring, you can get into routine and habit, and I always feel like this is death for an artist: too much routine. I don’t like getting comfortable.

jM: I don’t think you would do that. You don’t seem like that kind of person.

Juliette: I kinda’ fight it.

jM: You seem like the kind of person, that if you got stuck in a rut, you’d find something to change it real fast.

Juliette: Yeah! I write songs now where I can change my set around, or get groovier, break songs down and still add things live. I write things [specifically] for the live show to shed my skin so to speak. So for the new record, I tape recorded a bunch of songs, and the next thing was I dialed my friend Chris Watson, he’s in my band. I’ve known him for like ten years or something. We got together and said, “Hey you wanna write together?” How that goes: you can’t plan that. We got together and he played a riff. The first two songs we wrote were ‘Hard Lovin’ Woman’, (Note: Her performance of that song received a standing O on this same night.) and ‘Suicide Dive Bombers’. They’re the most meaningful songs. They were sitting in the stars- they were sitting there in my consciousness, ‘cause I had wanted to get these songs out for the last year, but when he played a riff it untapped [them]. It lifted a valve or something and it comes out.

jM: Are you happy?

Juliette: Yeah.

jM: You don’t have to say you’re happy if you’re not.

Juliette: Oh no, no, no- I’m actually the happiest I’ve ever been.

jM: Really? The happiest?

Juliette: Yeah. I’m working hard and stuff, but I’m in the middle of a journey. This record, it had a lot of meaning. It’s sort of been written in the stars since I was nine. I was leading up to it.

jM: Technically it sounds like you were a musician first… in your heart.

Juliette: Yeah I was a singer who became an actress (she smiles). Songwriter, actress and singer.

jM: Your performance blew all the shit I was gonna say out of the water. You move people as you move along. You pull them into the moment. I saw the audience change right in front of us. I see what it is you do. You don’t expect anything going in but you know what you’re bringing. When we read things about you, it seemed like a lot of people identify you as an actress and don’t want to accept you this way. The thing about your acting is I always believe you. You’re so believable. Maybe that’s why it’s hard for people- maybe they think you’re acting like a rock & roll queen. But it’s not true, I can see that THIS is you too.

Juliette: That’s what I’m saying, it’s the many truths. That was the thing about this record and getting with someone like Omar who’s as radical thinking. I don’t know if you know Mars Volta, but he thinks way outside the box- way more far out than I do, but the thing is, these are all my truths. I’m as much the haunted woman as I am the rock and roll animal. I’m like the soul fire as I am the vulnerable little 7 year old. You know what I mean? Those are all my truths, everybody has them. It’s like in my movies too. I always play with contradictions. It’s the human spirit- we have these dualities. That’s what was so fun about working with Omar. We could express these contrasts sonically, like having these big ole’ bottom drums, really groovy drums, and then on top of some atmospheric guitars at times. We could play with these contrasts rather than everything locking in with the rock and roll. The Licks is really fun, and it’s a certain kind of spirit, but I do like these other facets as well. But it’s the thing about computer land. [You can do those things in] computer land.

jM: I don’t speak that language. She (Christie- jM) speaks that language.

Juliette: The people [in computer land]…if you got on a chat board about my acting, people are always saying things, but what’s funny is, being in film for fifteen years- I don’t have an ego. I always expect the odds to be against me, I always expect to have to prove myself. It doesn’t bother me. It’s fun.

jM: But you’re surrounded by people who are not like that. How do you manage to maintain that [attitude]?

Juliette: What do you mean? Hollywood culture?

jM: Yeah.

Juliette: It’s a weird industry, I’m not gonna lie. I never related to many things about it, that’s why I never wore the right dress or that kinda’ thing. I didn’t get into acting to be a debutante. I got into it to open up the heart and soul of characters. Really the through line is that I’ve always been sort of an outsider kind of creature; the voice for the underdog in a way. I never even cared in the beginning if people wanted to come for a laugh, I never gave a shit. I always tell the story about my younger brother who loves everything subversive and strange musically: he hates the Beatles. He loves ‘Minor Threat’ and like hardcore bands I don’t even know the names of, but he hates the Beatles. That’s music. It’s personal. For me, I was just gonna go out and find “my people’s”- I mean I knew they were out there…and to perform. It’s like a heightened reality, but with a lot of truth.

jM: You seemed like you were in a trance sometimes [during the performance]…like the way that you move. I’ve seen pictures of you performing and thought, ‘well maybe she’s posing’ and then thought, ‘well that’s not cool’. I don’t want my orgasms pretty…

Juliette: “I don’t want a poser!” (She mocks) Oh yeah!

jM: I don’t want my orgasms pretty…

Juliette: I don’t know what pictures you’re lookin’ at!

(Group hysterics)

Juliette: They’re not all pretty!

jM: Well you’re really attractive- that’s not your fault. Now that I’ve seen you perform, I realize that you’re just always in that moment in some form- that’s the trance. I dig it.

Juliette: Well the other thing too is that being in my thirties…what year are we in? 2009? I wanna put out as an artist, and a female artist, something that represents complexity and vitality and strength, and that’s what it all is LIVE. Really the live medium for me is where it all goes off and gets “on” for me. My artistry all comes together there. For me, playing with ‘The Pretenders’ and seeing Chrissie Hynde at what ever age she is, I go ‘great’ I have a future in this arena. I bring all of it; the drama, the theater, the music and the rock & roll. This is just another extension of whatever people like in any movie I’ve ever done.

jM: I wasn’t gonna bring it up, but “Whip It”…

Juliette: Oh I don’t mind.

jM: …but I didn’t want to do that to you in case we were meeting your music self. I guess they really are all related.

Juliette: I did a movie(s)! They’re coming out! I’ll talk about it. Just ‘cause we’re talking about the record….my mantra is be loud and proud.

jM: We like it! We wanted to bring up the fact that you were doing a roller derby movie. We really connect with the lifestyle. One of the first interviews we ever did was interviewing about 27 members of TXRD (Texas Roller Derby) in Austin.

Juliette: That’s awesome!

jM: It was. Because of who you are, it’s insanely appropriate that you would have done that film (Whip It!). They live out loud all the time. They believe in actively embracing all the parts of their selves. They don’t deny their business self, the artistic self, etc., – they own it all. I think it’s really karmically in tune that you would end up doing these things and being involved in that. Don’t you think?

Juliette: I agree with everything your saying ‘cause I hadn’t done movies in three years and it was almost like my little heart that Drew Barrymore’s…

jM: AND I THINK OF HER THAT WAY!!!!! That’s how I think of her! See? See? Dreams come true, they do!

[More hysterical group laughter]

Juliette: Yeah! No it was written in the stars. It was kind of magical. It’s a small part but it’s a very key part to the movie. Ellen Page is the young upstart, she looks up to me and I’m like the roller derby legend in the thing. Drew came to me for that and it so made sense that it would be the first movie I’d go back to after this long time off. And yes…the whole spirit of roller derby is something I would be so proud to embody or support. Because again, there’s a community of people; you have young and old…our teacher was 45; the youngest was like 18, or whatever age you have to be. They’re students, nurses, mothers, punk rock chicks and everything in between. It just breaks the mold. Their athleticism and their sportsmanship- it’s so incredible. I know [why people are attracted to it because] it’s a very colorful sport and has a lot of character…

jM: But it’s who they are, they run all of that themselves.

Juliette: Yup- that’s right.

jM: Those girls do that. They put the track up; they take it down; they run the whole thing from here [points to heart]. They don’t get paid to do it; they do it because they love it, and that’s how I see you, and that’s how I always see Drew. We’re working on a screenplay that we really want her to be in charge of because we see that vision in her. We’re doing whatever we can to get her involved. There’s something about the way she sees things. I see [that she could see] the connection between you and ‘Whip It!’ It’s all very connected.

jM (Christie): I had read the ‘Derby Girls’ book that Shauna Cross wrote which the movie was based on, and when I saw the listing on IMDB I almost screamed when I saw the cast list because every one of those girls who were in that book was in that cast. I went ‘Oh my God’, I called her (Carita- jM) up and said ‘you’re never gonna believe the fucking cast they got for this movie’. I was just like ‘Yaaaaaaay!!!’

Juliette: [Non-stop smiling.]

jM: You said they had to change the name of your character for the movie?

Juliette: Yeah whoever the original ‘Dinah Might’  wasn’t giving it up.

jM: They take those names very seriously.

Juliette: Iron Maven, which is my character’s name, she was in the movie and she plays another part. She said, “Well you can use my name”.

jM: Well, God love her.

Juliette: Yeah.

jM: They own those names. There’s a big list with all the names. I don’t care if they’re working in a coffee shop; they don’t want you messin’ with their tag.

jM: Juliette it was so nice to meet you. Meeting you was even better than we imagined it could be.

Juliette: Really?

jM: Seriously.

Juliette: I have to tell everybody that we’re still on the road. I’m still on this journey and I’m gonna add different elements as I go on. That’s the thing people do not know. It is homegrown.

jM: That’s why we’re here.

Juliette: I don’t have like lighting technicians; I don’t have all these things that I would love to have some day just to complete the vision. I have to tell everybody to go to the MySpace page cause’ that’s like the information bible for touring. It’s just Juliette Lewis. I’ll be on tour for like the next year. You do know it’s not ‘The New Romantiques’?

jM: [We look at one another in stunned confusion, understanding up to this point that the band is called ‘Juliette & The New Romantiques.’]

Juliette: It was the name for a minute. I thought I would have another band name, but then I thought it was more courageous just to be my own name. I had changed so many things and then I thought ‘You know what? Just be my wacky self’. [More laughing] We may make up our own funny name, but for now it’s just my name. So if I do collaborations and stuff…

jM: Like with prodigy!

Juliette: That’s right!

jM: I just heard that one for the first time the day before yesterday. It was good!

Juliette: What you probably don’t know is that as much as I tour in Europe, there are so many more festivals; a lot more festivals than there are here. I make friends with all these bands, and I’m always the resident freak show. People are always like ‘hmm, what’s she gonna be like?’, and it’s really fun for me. Prodigy came about when Liam- the guy that does all the music for Prodigy- his friend had seen me way early on and he reached out to me and asked if I wanted to collaborate. I flew out to London on my own dime because I was just gung-ho to write songs, and to work with them was awesome ‘cause that’s a completely different kind of songwriting. You just riff. You riff and come up with little melodies and hooks and he chops it up, and creates a song. It was so different. It’s pretty cool.

[Juliette eyes the glorious gift bag we brought full of old school candy…]

Juliette: judgeMENTAL? That’s what it’s called? I’m gonna go online.

jM: We just make sure that …people need to judge what they’re putting in their heads.

Juliette: I love that!

jM: They need to be more careful. The mainstream [media] doesn’t cover what it considers subversive very often. When it does, it’s usually in a bad light. There are many situations/people/ artists walking around everyday that people don’t know about. That’s what we do.

Juliette: Here’s the thing: you gotta decide what you’re being fed. Even in our consumerist culture. We coulda’ talked all about that…with the fuckin’…what you’re being sold… what you’re being sold about beauty too.

jM: We talk about all that [stuff].

Juliette: Have you interviewed Beth Ditto yet?

jM: Ha! That was [judgeMENTAL’s] second interview. Those are the kinds of people we attract (and seek out). Karmically we keep ending up where we’re supposed to, I guess because of what we do. We end up with real people- real people who have a light on them. But they fought for the light, they weren’t just born there. Like you, she was one of those people.

jM: It wasn’t because a brother or sister was famous and they got a deal because of it.

Juliette: I know!

jM: Soon afterward [the interview], her [Beth Ditto] whole life blew up and now she’s a media darling. She’s such a cool person who deserved it.

Juliette: Yeah. We need her and what she represents… for the diversity of our female artists. It’s so important.

jM: It’s real- that kind of energy. Like what you’re putting out; you inspire people. Energy is real. That thing that you’re putting out… you can’t see energy, but the lights come on. You’re doing that for people.

Juliette: It’s a break from the television and the anesthetized culture like, “I’m gonna be safely here, and you’re gonna be safely over there” ….this is a nice little buttery warm show [I’m doing], but normally, when I first came out…I like to get in people’s faces.

[More laughing]

Juliette: People are like, “Oh my God you’re too close to me!”

jM: “Back up!”

Juliette: They’re like, “What are you doing?!”

jM: …and people either hug you or [shriek] and stand way back! I know. We have that effect on people too.

-jM

~More pictures of our time with Juliette!

FlippingBook WordPress Gallery

Just a few of our favorites from Terra Incognita: Terra Incognita, Fantasy Bar, Romeo and Ghosts, All Is For God, Uh Huh

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