Wiley Rilo Kiley

The Samohi (Santa Monica High School's Newspaper)
2/14/03

By Sina Grace

Rilo Kiley, a small Los Angeles band, is about to break out big. The quartet’s newest album, The Execution of all Things, hits fans with harsher melodies and more explicitly intimate lyrics from lead singer/bassist Jenny Lewis.

Rilo Kiley released two records and an EP from its independent label, Rilo Records, then re-released 2001’s Take Offs and Landings through Barsuk Records. One year and a new record label later, Kiley released Execution, which was recorded in Omaha, Nebraska through Saddle Creek Records. The studios in Omaha weren’t ideal. Lewis relates the Omaha recording studio to a “hobo house” or “temporary housing for wanderers.”

The atmosphere in Omaha changed the music recorded for Execution. Although the album was written in California, Lewis explains that being in Omaha “put us in a perpetual state of longing…. The performances were born out of a drunken, freezing experience.” Lewis also credits producer/mixer Mike Mogis for the album’s edgier tone. Mogis, says Lewis, “was taking some anger management classes at the time, so perhaps the music was affected by his breakdown.” She credits the band’s increased ability to focus on their music and content with the great work of the sound engineers.

If Lewis or guitarist Blake Sennett look familiar for members of a small L.A. rock band, it might be because they were childhood television stars! Many remember Lewis from her roles in such films like Troop Beverly Hills or The Wizard. Her notable appearances include a small roll on Baywatch and The Golden Girls. Sennett may seem familiar from his role as Pinsky on the Nickelodeon classic Salute Your Shorts and for spots on Boy Meets World and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sennett said that Rilo Kiley turned down an offer to make a musical appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lewis does not believe that her childhood experiences with Tinsel Town affect the band’s status. “I don’t know… I don’t play music to wait and see if people are going to be bullies or whatever…. Hopefully the words transcend that… but if not, [expletive] it!”

The Kiley experience does not end at the album. Recent concerts have had an extra burst of enthusiastic energy. Audiences feel Lewis’ soul when, in “Paint’s Peeling,” she sings, “And I feel nothing, not sane/it’s a hard day for dreaming, again.” Fans are invited up on the stage to sing along with the band for the uplifting “With Arms Outstretched.” Who’s to argue against going to a Rilo Kiley concert when the tickets cost less than $20?

Rilo Kiley’s been around for almost five years, and there is no sign of an end to the rock ‘n roll fun anytime soon. Lewis’ prospects on the band’s future are ultimately headed towards “playing for senior citizens and babies.” For more information concert dates, merchandise, or pretty pictures, visit www.rilokiley.com.