Jenny Lewis: indie rock's romantic new queen of the scene

Who would have guessed Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis had a soul singer trapped inside her indie-goddess self? While Lewis's solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love), is missing some of her Los Angeles band's snap, crackle, and pop, it makes up for it with a gospel-steeped soulfulness only hinted at on Rilo Kiley's three stellar albums.

Lewis enlisted gospel singers the Watson Twins to help bring many of these introspective numbers to life as she ponders fame, fortune, and faith. Just how autobiographical some of the songs are--the title track recounts the woeful tale of a scrappy, child-pimping stage mom--this former child actress isn't about to say, But she did spend her formative years shilling for Jell-O and acting in movies like the Shelley Long flick Troop Beverly Hills (1989). She now says "acting came more for practical and financial purposes, and that lost its charm eventually,"

The screen's loss is the concert hall's gain. Just ask Diddy. He caught Lewis and her band Rilo Kiley opening for Coldplay at Madison Square Garden this year and was duly impressed. "Apparently Diddy was seen checking out a Rilo Kiley CD after our set," says a pleased-as-punch Lewis. "God bless him."

RAY ROGERS: Rabbit Fur Coat is a big artistic leap for you, These new songs have very different textures from Rilo Kiley songs,

JENNY LEWIS: In the band we tend to jump around a bit stylistically, and this record is a little more focused. I think of our last record, More Adventurous, as kind of flying above Los Angeles in an airplane and looking down and seeing a bunch of swimming pools, whereas I think this record looks like a tiny little lake. This one flows a little bit better from song to song.

RR: Fans may be surprised by the gospel influence. Where does that come from?

JL: There was one record in particular that I grew up with, Laura Nyro and LaBelle's Gonna Take a Miracle [1971]. It was a great '70s white soul record by this folk singer Laura Nyro, with LaBelle backing her up on a lot of standard tunes. That record was always playing in our house on Sundays, and my mom, my sister, and I would sing along to it. That record represents a really full time in my life growing up, and it has always been in the back of my mind somewhere. Without a band surrounding me here, I was using that as the guiding force.

RR: There's a loose theme that runs through the record about a spiritual search, a theme that's writ large in the culture today, be it in the evangelical revivalism, the interest in Kabbalah, the supernatural, Scientology, and so forth, How personal is that search for you?

JL: It is a part of my life, and it is very personal. I didn't grow up with any sort of formal religious schooling, and the older I get the more I question. There are different elements in my life that have led to this: certain relationships that have been successful or have failed miserably, friendships that have fallen by the wayside, lost touch with loved ones. All of these things strip you down in a sense and make you feel alone, and in those moments maybe you look to something bigger than yourself, whether it's God or some sort of ghost friend of L. Ron Hubbard. And maybe just being inundated with images and ideas and fear makes you search for something a little simpler and purer. And the more I search the more confused I become. It hasn't really gotten any clearer, and so the search continues.

RR: Your parents had a lounge act in Las Vegas called Love's Way in the '70s. What do they think of your songs?

JL: They can appreciate them. There's some stuff in there that might make them flinch, but for the most part they're pretty supportive.

RR: What would make them flinch?

JL: There are some references throughout that might hit home in a way that they're not necessarily ready to accept.

RR: All right, that sounds vague enough.

JL: [laughs] I don't want to get myself into trouble with my, urn, you know, my mom.

Ray Rogers is a frequent contributor to Interview. Above: Dress by MIU MIU. Sunglasses by DIOR. Cosmetics by TARTE. Hair products by BUMBLE AND BUMBLE. Styling: SUSAN JOY. Hair: BRIAN MAGALLONES/aartistloft.com. Makeup: DEBORAH ALTIZlO/aartistloft.com. Fashion details page 159. Photos: KT AULETA.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning