Entertainment Today : Rilo Kiley

With a sound more indie/Omaha than southern California, this poppy L.A. quartet makes good

by Adam McKibbin

October 18, 2002

Few writers could have scripted better symbolism of rock star opulence than Faith Hill’s September video shoot at the El Rey. At some overindulgent point, the country diva — or one of her cronies — decided, “Hey, y’all, let’s hang a car from the rafters!” They then proceeded to almost literally tear the roof off the joint.

“Basically, Faith Hill broke the El Rey,” Jenny Lewis says wryly. Lewis and her band, Rilo Kiley, were scheduled to play the historic venue shortly thereafter. Decimated by Faith Hill, the El Rey was forced to cancel its shows indefinitely, meaning Rilo Kiley needed to find a new spot for a triumphant record release. “That was, like, our big show that we’d been anticipating for two months,” Lewis says. “We scrambled to find another venue and there was nothing available in town.” They eventually found a “crazy warehouse,” but insurance issues kept them from performing there. Finally, they booked themselves into the Henry Fonda Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

What Faith Hill couldn’t interfere with, presumably, was the release of the album itself, a dazzling dozen of songs titled The Execution of All Things. The album is the band’s sophomore effort, following closely on the heels of last year’s Take Offs and Landings. Both albums have been received well by the press (especially locally, where both L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times can be counted amongst their supporters). The band plays a dreamy assortment of pop songs, ranging from gentle acoustic to dusty twang to, this time around, some full-on blasts of rock ’n’ roll.

“I think that we tried to create an album that reflected our lives’ sound a little more,” Lewis says of the new album. “With Take Offs and Landings — I think because we recorded it at home and we were learning how to record and also perform — it didn’t necessarily reflect how we play live. I think this one does a little better. If you come out to see us, we rock a little bit.”

The high-energy live show is present even at a recent in-store performance at Rhino Records, beneath the harsh glare of retail fluorescent. Having played on a bill with Elliott Smith just the night before (“Halfway through his set, tears were rolling down my cheek,” Lewis says of Smith), some bands would pay little attention to a free in-store the following evening. But Rilo Kiley gamely rocks away. The fair-sized crowd sways and nods awkwardly in the aisles, and a few diehards even sing along to some of the just-released songs.

Rilo Kiley is something of an anomaly in the L.A. music scene. In this land of Axl and American Idol, it seems like an earnest, intelligent indie band like Rilo Kiley would stay here just long enough to pack their bags for Portland or Omaha. Don’t think that the idea hasn’t crossed Lewis’ mind. “I grew up in the Valley,” Lewis says. “I think when you grow up somewhere, there comes a time when you want to leave for a little bit. I’m in my mid-20s and I definitely consider leaving Los Angeles, but it’s hard to move an entire band somewhere because we all have our families and stuff everywhere.

“People come from all over the country to get a big record deal in L.A.,” she continues. “And so it seems that a lot of the bands that we have played with in the past just randomly are sort of showcasing for Capitol or Epic. That’s never really been what we wanted, so it’s been sort of hard finding other warriors in L.A. to put on a few rock shows.”

They’ve had better luck finding fellow warriors on the road. Their touring mates have included Pedro the Lion, The Breeders and Superchunk, and the latter especially made a big impression. “It felt like summer camp, and they were the counselors,” Lewis says. “I think their overall demeanor and attitude and attitude toward music in general was really inspiring. They’ve been doing it for a really long time and they’re still fucking awesome and they still rock and they’re super smart and really nice to the fans and really kind to the sound people...so I think that overall that set a good example for us.”

Another band they encountered on the road was The Good Life, which led to Rilo Kiley singing on with Nebraska-based Saddle Creek for the release of Execution. Besides allowing Lewis & Co. to temporarily relocate, Saddle Creek provided an instantly warm new family. Several labelmates show up on the new album, including Cursive’s Tim Kasher and red-hot Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes fame).

“It’s a really warm environment and everyone is really kind and really, really into playing music in their own bands and their friends’ bands,” says Lewis of her new label.

While Lewis is Rilo Kiley’s primary songwriter, she shares credits with Blake Sennet on all of the band’s tracks. “I make music for myself, and I make music for Blake,” she says. “When I write something, the first person I play it for is Blake. He’s ultimately the one I want to win over.”

Sennet is typically underrated by the press for his contributions, which include myriad infectious guitar riffs and layer after layer of fragile vocal harmony. Lyrically (and tonally), he plays vulnerable romantic to Lewis’s arch, bruised-too-many-times cynic. She is the rare singer who can’t be summed up with “Kind of a cross between X and Y.”

In addition to the invaluable partnership with Sennet, Lewis also has her family to thank for introducing her to good music at an early age. “I remember my mom playing Lou Reed for me when I was 11,” she says. “And I think my sister has been a really big influence on me.” Her first concert was The Cure and the Pixies (mine: Styx).

And now she’s on the other side of the microphone as her band winds their way through a U.S. tour. When they return home, seek them out: Rilo Kiley may be L.A.’s brightest musical light.