It might not surprise you to hear that Juliette Lewis was suffering through an identity crisis.
Not that you know the actress personally, but you’ve seen her in films such as “Natural Born Killers,” “Strange Days,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Kalifornia” and others. You know that Lewis is drawn to roles that range from the outwardly psychotic to the bizarrely over-the-top. Whether she’s flirting with a nutso Robert De Niro in “Cape Fear” or playing serial killer Mallory Knox in “Natural Born Killers,” Lewis’ penchant for the unusual is obvious.
So it came as little surprise when the actress formed a rock band four years ago. Her storied performance of P.J. Harvey’s “Hardly Wait” in the sci-fi film “Strange Days” had fans wondering if she had the rocker bug in her. And sure enough, she does.
The actual surprise comes later this month, when Juliette and the Licks release their third record in as many years. “Four on the Floor” positions the Licks, who play the Fillmore Auditorium on Saturday, as torchbearers of ’60s-styled rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s a fresh reinvention for a band that was sounding like a rehashed ’90s alt-rock outfit on their last outing, 2005’s “You’re Speaking My Language.”
“Previously there were some good songs, but they were unfocused and it sometimes sounded like we lacked a certain identity,” Lewis, 34, said recently. “There were a few lineup changes, and that didn’t help things. But now we’re a confident band, and we’re playing with more of a purpose and a stronger sense of who we are.”
Scratch that whole identity crisis bit. Now Lewis just needs to decide if she’s an actress or a rock star. Or does she?
“People who might read a lot of People or Us magazines, they’re always like, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be an actress!”‘ Lewis said. “But I’ve never followed that idea of being an actress – you know, the condo in Aspen, the trainer, the stylist, the Marc Jacobs shoes. That’s never been who I’ve been. I did some hit-and-miss movies, and I did some incredible, cutting-edge movies. I’ve always just been trying to be honest and trying to build a cool body of work.”
Unlike other actors-turned-rockers, Lewis has shown actual skill and dedication in regards to her music career. When the band first formed, it immediately turned to the road to solidify the sound. The continuous touring has had an impact. The band initially came off as a rock ‘n’ roll parody, but the members now play and write songs with a certain gusto that can only be attained by long hours on the road.
“For me, it’s a discovery,” Lewis said. “I love the creative freedom of writing a song on Wednesday and playing it later that week. You can never do anything like that with movies. And I’m not done with movies. I’m doing what I should have been doing a long time ago, and I’m making up for lost time.”
Lewis, who emancipated herself from her parents and dropped out of high school by age 15 so she could focus on a career in film, credits her father for introducing her to important rock music.
“My first memory of rock ‘n’ roll and thinking my dad was the coolest thing in the world was hearing the Who – a lot of their music from the ’80s – and just thinking how amazing it was,” Lewis said. “And just five days ago, I got to stand on the stage and watch the Who play a festival in Europe, and that was a teary moment and it was just amazing because that’s where my journey has brought me to. They’re just as relevant today as they have always been.”
Lewis connected early with the idea of artistic honesty, and surely that contributed to her haunting, Oscar-nominated performance in “Cape Fear,” which she filmed with director Martin Scorsese as a 17-year-old. But while she’s dreamed of forming a band for decades, she’s glad that she waited.
“Even when we were doing ‘Strange Days,’ I so wanted to sing in a band, but I was a bit of a basket case then and it’s good that I got through with my drug problem early on so I don’t have to do that now,” she said. “The rock ‘n’ roll dream is better as a sound individual. At 21, I would have been more of an imitation of things I’d heard. Now I can be more honest.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Juliette and the Licks
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL|Fillmore Auditorium, 8 p.m. Saturday with Chris Cornell|$37.75|
ticketmaster.com, 303-820-8497
