Have you heard of Juliette and the Licks? You will soon! Actress turned rocker, Juliette Lewis, brought down the house at Axis Night Club, Thursday November 11, 2004, in an all age’s show, that totally kicked ass! I’m telling you, it was totally banging!
Walking into Axis with mixed feelings and skepticism, like many other concert goers, not knowing what to expect and then in return, like the rest of the audience, I was left with my jaw open wide. Juliette’s sex appeal, voice and convulsing dance routines, showed the crowd that she was serious about having fun, digging the music, and giving it 110 percent, which the audience gave back, in the form of whistling, clapping and shouting.
Juliette has an amazingly unique set of pipes that would make even rocker Joan Jett envious, and her sex appeal is seriously smoking. Juliette’s catlike figure pounced and pawed to the rocking drum beats of her full time drummer Patty Schemel, formerly of Courtney Love’s band Hole, while wearing a fuscia body suit, a feminine version of Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler or something from ex-Van Halen rocker David Lee Roth’s closet, and outlined in purple and high-heeled white leather boots. She took charge and owned the stage dancing like the free-spirited wild chick she is, like a young Mick Jagger or Iggy Pop, except they didn’t have the long sweaty hair whipping ability of Lewis. Todd Morse, formerly of the band, H2O, is Juliette’s lead guitar player, had some serious punk rocking riffs and some solos that seemed influenced by Eddie Van Halen, while bassist Paul Ill , carried the solid punk anthem.
Although the show was only forty-five minutes long, the band is so fresh and new and currently only has the songs from the new album in their repertoire; the ten dollar entrance fee was cheaper than trying to download that many songs on I-tunes. You couldn’t put a price on the buzz in the club’s atmosphere, which was priceless. This band is going to be big and not just from the actresses’ star power, but by their solid rocking grooves.
Their first album, called, Like a Bolt of Lightning is hot off Fiddler Record’s disc maker and it’s in stores now. Let me tell you about this album. It will definitely hit you, “Like a Bolt of Lightning.” It’s not just for angry chick rockers; it’s for all who love good rock. It made a believer out of this skeptic. I highly recommend checking out this disc and I’m sure you’ll be shocked as well, about how good the band really is. Songs from the new album like Got Love to Kill, Comin’ Around, Shelter Your Needs, 20-Year Old Lover, and American Boy are worth a listen.
Juliette has had quite an accomplished acting career with amazing films credited to her resume, which started with, Any Which Way You Can (1980), My Stepmother is an Alien (1988), Christmas Vacation (1989), Cape Fear (1991), Kalifornia (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Strange Days (1995), From Dusk ‘Til Dawn (1996), Way of the Gun (2000) Enough (2002), Old School (2002), plus many more! If she puts the effort in and keeps doing her thing in the music business she will definitely have as much success, because this is one talented female on the big screen and on stage.
Let me say it’s about damn time a Hollywood actress or actor has actually come up with something that actually rocks for a change. Yeah, the pop-tarts like Mouseketeer singer/actress Britney Spears, Mindy Moore and younger tart Hillary Duff, AKA “Lizzie Maguire,” made it with their schoolyard bubblegum pop, as well as J-Lo with her R&B, Hip-Hop style, but not many actresses had the rocker in them. The only decent actress rocker chick has been Gina Gershon, who is quite amazing! Also, I have to give honorable mention to an awesome rocker chick by the name of Kay Hanley, formerly of the band, Letters to Cleo, who hasn’t had an acting career yet, but got called to Hollywood to create the chick rock sound for the movie, Josey and the Pussycats. Others have tried to rock and have mostly been men like Billy Bob Thornton, Keanu Reeves, and Russell Crow, who totally sucked! Even the Bacon Brothers have a better sound than the other actors ever had. Juliette Lewis has the punk, 80s style and modern progressive rock thing down pat and she truly is a Natural Born Killer. She rocks like music should rock!