By Austin Kaus
Jenny Lewis went from being a child actor appearing popular television shows (Golden Girls, Baywatch, Roseanne) and movies (The Wizard, Troop Beverly Hills) to an indie music sensation with her now-defunct band Rilo Kiley, guest appearances on songs from Cursive and The Postal Service and her current solo work. Lewis is coming to Sioux Falls in support of her 2014 album “The Voyager.” In preparation, she chatted with Austin Kaus about songwriting, art and wine.
How’s it goin’ today?
JL: Pretty good. How are you?
I’m good. I’ve got gardening fever.
JL: Oh, good. It’s spring.
Yes, and it feels like it in South Dakota, which is not always the case.
Are you a gardener?
JL: I am not. My boyfriend has the green thumb. And we live in the Canyon, and we’ve got some pretty big canyon rats. So unless your garden is screened in, the rats tend to, you know, make a feast of it. But I’m such a huge fan of gardening in general and people kind of getting back to the land and eating real, good food.
Canyon rats sound intimidating.
JL: You know, they’re actually cooler than New York City rats, ’cause they’re a little bit cleaner, but they’re very big. They’re Norwegian rats.
I know you made your own wine not long ago. Do you have plans to grow grapes, at some point?
JL: No. I haven’t thought about that. I mean, at some point, it would be amazing to have some sort of vineyard or hang out on a vineyard for a while. But with the Voyager II wine, I actually hooked up with a wine maker in Sacramento in the Sierra foothills– La Clarine Farm. And he grew all the grapes, and then we talked about the kinds of grapes that we would blend for the wine. And I went up there and visited him. So that’s more Hank’s gig at this point than mine.
Do you have plans to do more wine stuff?
JL: I would love to. I drink a lot of (laughs) natural wine. It’s very exciting to me. And it kind of goes back to, you know, gardening, in a way. And– giving people something that is pesticide-free and nearly sulfite-free. And encouraging people to consume things that aren’t processed and loaded with a bunch of chemicals.
Wineries are actually getting pretty popular in South Dakota. There’s a lot of ’em popping up on both sides of the state. Are you going to have some time to drink wine when you are around here?
JL: There’s always time to drink wine. (laughs)
I like your attitude very much. Well, tell me about this tour, so far. How was Coachella?
JL: Coachella was great. It was a lotta fun. I had a lotta friends on the bill. On the same day that I was playing, my friend Conor [Oberst of Bright Eyes] was playing with his band Desaparecidos. Festivals are a great opportunity to see your friends that you don’t get to see very often ’cause we’re always on the road, crisscrossing. So, it’s a nice moment to kind of reconnect with your gypsy friends.
Speaking about connection, I’ve been a fan of the music, but I didn’t realize your full acting career. (LAUGH) So a lotta things popped up that surprised me, including a Corn Pops commercial that I think I remember seeing about 200 times. So much of your life has been in show business. Is the song “See Fernando” connected to the bear in the Golden Girls?
JL: It’s not, actually. Someone made that connection later. “Fernando” is actually based on a waiter I met in Cologne, Germany. (laughs) But it’s so funny, because I can’t help but reference my past even, you know, subconsciously. So I think it was in there somewhere. And even with the Rilo Kiley song “The Frug,” that wasn’t intended to (LAUGH) reference Troop Beverly Hills but it does. I don’t even know when I’m doing it.
Do you consciously try to not include that stuff?
JL: No, I just write and, you know– but I’m not ever writing from a specific place. I just write. So I think it’s just almost like this stream-of-consciousness thing, you know? It’s sort of like a radio station.
Do you feel pressure from fans or others to specifically touch on all that stuff that was kind of touchstones for them growing up?
JL: What do you mean?
It’s almost like people see “See Fernando” and go, “Oh, that must be about the Golden Girls bear.” Do you have people that are like “I want you to write about The Wizard and all these things that I remember seeing you in as we– you know, as we grew up.”?
JL: (LAUGH) No one’s ever asked me that (laughs) about The Wizard or Corn Pops commercials. But, I think as an adult, I’ve been able to embrace my past. Where when I started playing music, I wanted to be, you know, a legitimate songwriter. And so when people would heckle us from the crowd, you know, and yell out, you know, Salute Your Shorts, or The Wizard— it was offensive, because, you know, we were there playing our music. But I think as I’ve grown up, I’ve learned to embrace my past. And it’s a very colorful part of my past that is really unique.
How does that embracing of the past kind of affect your writing?
JL: Hmm. Well, that could be a very deep question for anyone. For any writing. You know, I think when you look back, doors open in front of you. So I think self-reflection is really important. (laughs) You know, if you’re a writer.
Well, where’s your writing at now?
JL: I’ve got about five new songs. One of which I’ve been playing out a little bit. Hoping to play a couple more new ones in the next couple months on tour. We’ve started collecting songs for the next record.
Any specific theme that you’re noticing so far?
JL: Hmm. I haven’t really thought about that yet.
I’m just drillin’ you with all these existential matters.
JL: (laughs) I’m continuing to write in Keith Richards’ tuning that I learned from his book, “Life.” It is an open G tuning that I wrote, “She’s Not Me,” in from my current record. So whenever I feel kinda blocked musically– ’cause I’m somewhat l– limited, musically. I’m not a great guitar player. I don’t know theory. I don’t read music. So I’ve got five or six chords that I’ve been writing with forever. So to have this new tuning has been very inspiring for me. So I have a new song that I’m (laughs) working on called, “Dark Lord” and it’s in the Keith-y tuning. And I’m figuring out what it’s about.
Any theories on what it’s about so far?
JL: I think it’s a love song. (laughs)
Okay. Am I correct in saying you’ve never played South Dakota before?
JL: I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve definitely passed through on tour. But I don’t think I’ve played South Dakota. I have no idea, actually. I’m guessing no.
Any curiosity about it? I mean, it’s not a state that gets hit on a lotta tours, so– I didn’t know if it held any mystery for you or not.
JL: Well, tell me– tell me a little tidbit.
If you’re a wine fan, there are a lot of wineries popping up all over the place. A lotta people are growin’ their own grapes
JL: Well, is the climate changing? Is that why people are starting to grow grapes?
I think it’s just people are just embracing – they use the term, “agritourism,” which is like, “Hey, come check out our wineries.” They have live music usually on. You know, “Come drink some wine.” There’s a lot of German presence here, so the wines tend to be a lot sweeter. So I think people are just gettin’ more creative with the land and and having more fun. I mean, I personally find wine a lot more fun than wheat, but that’s just me.
JL: (LAUGH) Well, I’m gluten-free, so.
Well, then you’ll definitely enjoy the wine more than the wheat. (laughs) On the topic of wine, I read an interview where you talked about Bill Murray’s drinking advice. I wanted to ask about how that knowledge came to be.
JL: I’ll tell you about the advice, which is a very, very simple philosophy. It’s one for one. Glass of water for every alcoholic drink that you consume. And this is no secret. Jimmy Kimmel actually talked about it– during his South by Southwest– shows that he was doing down in Texas. So– it’s kind of– public knowledge, at this point. But I think it’s really good advice, don’t you?
I absolutely do. My wife tried to teach me that for a while, and I finally started picking up on it last year. I’m a bit stubborn.
JL: I’m a terrible water drinker. I am among the worst. And my sweet boyfriend, one of his missions in life is to get me to drink water. And the worst hangovers I’ve ever had, from wine, by the way, are typically because I don’t listen to him. And he’s like, “Babe, please drink this water before you go to sleep.” And then I just sorta go to sleep and then wake up with a terrible hangover the next day. So, one to one. Great advice.
I understand all too well. Well, how did this come to be? I mean, how did you come to be hangin’ out with Bill Murray, exchanging drinking advice?
JL: Oh, we’ve been friends for years.
Is the portrait that’s portrayed publicly of him is just kind of this friendly, slightly random dude. Is that an accurate one?
JL: (laughs) Well, we met at Austin City Limits music festival. He’s a big music fan.He watched my show there. And now, he’s a part of our extended band of gypsies, you know?
I put out kind of a shout-out to my friends, as I usually do for these, to have questions they ask. A lot of ’em were about The Wizard, so I’ll skip over all those.
JL: Thank you. (laughs)
I figure you’ve probably had your fill. But the– you know, the– the next– the only obvious one I’ll throw at you is Rilo Kiley: Will it ever happen again?
JL: Well, we did a couple songs at Coachella. I don’t know if you know this, but Blake joined me for “Portions for Foxes.” And that was the first time we had played together in a really long time.
What was it like to experience that?
JL: Great. Beautiful. Kinda wonderful.
Emotional?
JL: It was. It was. I mean, Rilo Kiley my first love. It will always be my first love.
So is there a chance for a future with– with them at all, in some capacity?
JL: I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see how it rolls out.
Spoken like somebody who’s had to answer that question a hundred times.
JL: Ah, you know. (LAUGH) You never know. I just feel like you never know, with relationships. You never know.
My friend who actually introduced me to Rilo Kiley and– and is a woman, said that some people might say you have a reputation for making “girl music.” Is there anything that you wish dudes would figure out about your music or your art in general?
JL: “Girl music.” Well, that’s a tough one. I mean, I don’t make music for any (laughs) specific gender. I am a woman in a male-dominated industry, trying to make my way. So, hopefully my music reaches all people of all sexes and genders and straight and gay and different races. I just write music from my heart. I’m always happy to connect with my female fans and also other female artists out there in the world. You know, it’s very important to me to work with women. But again, I would hope that I’m not pigeonholed as, you know, writing for one specific group.
I feel like some people can be pretty simple about that stuff. Do you encounter that?
JL: Sure. You know, I’m a female writer, singing songs about my experience. I could see how one would assume that.
And the best way to handle it is to just keep doin’ what you’re doin’ and have a glass of wine?
JL: (LAUGH) Yeah, just keep writing and keep reaching out to other women. And giving other women opportunities in, you know, my band and working with women as a director– you know, my D.P. is a woman. My producer is a woman. We’re kind of on this path together. Not to say that I don’t love playing music with dudes and collaborating with men. I do. But I also really get a lot out of working with other women. It’s kind of like a little gang against the world, you know?
See Jenny Lewis at The District in Sioux Falls on May 20. For more information, click here.
