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Vice Blog

LONDON - JENNY LEWIS

In The Vice Guide To Girls "J" is for Jenny Lewis. God put her here to sing real purdy and have nice hair and we girls are thankful. I went for a burger with the child actor turned musician, now touring her alt-country album Acid Tongue recorded whilst on sabbatical from Rilo Kiley. She was on great girly form, breaking the ice by empathizing with me about how shitty internships can be, and wrapping it up with a general pep talk about life and living in a new city. Here’s a bit of what she said in between‚Ķ

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Jenny Lews - "The Next Messiah"

Vice: What’s your favourite thing about London?
Jenny Lewis: I always stay at the K West Hostel because the bar stays open really late here and the hallways are really long and creepy. Something about the place strikes me as a little debauched.

What’s your favourite city to play in?
Homecoming shows in LA are always great, but Glasgow is also great. The people are so cool there. It's so beautiful there. It's breathtaking. Have you ever been on those haunted tours?

Nope.
I went with Pierre from Rilo Kiley and it’s really, really scary. I think I'd just seen Hostel. During this one part they blow out a candle while you're standing there in the dark in this ancient place where terrible things have supposedly happened. Well, I don't know if someone came up behind me and flicked my ear, if it was like a plant or what, but it was the most terrifying moment of my life.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on your travels around Europe?
I've actually seen myself dubbed over on the Golden Girls in Hungarian. That's my strange life!

I sometimes forget that you were this famous child actress and that you were in Roseanne, Baywatch and Golden Girls. Is it easy to separate the actor and the musician bits of your life?
I was embarrassed initially, but I think now I've come to terms with it a little bit. Acting was a unique part of my life and not many people have had the experiences I've had and met the people I've met. And I think in this strange way it informed my songwriting, which is really a unique perspective to have.

You must have started really young. What did you parents do?
They had a band together. My mother went into labour on stage. They were struggling musicians and really poor, and when you live in LA and your kid is a little weird it's a sure-fire meal ticket.

So what’s next?
So I've put out a record a year and I've written a tonne of songs, so right now I feel sort of creatively tired. I'm not writing a lot right now. I feel like I need to go on a trip. Not a psychedelic one. But you know, a lone journey where I go and figure some shit out.

Well, I need to take some pictures of you now.
Can we have the veggie burger in them?

ARIANNA