Entertainment chameleon to rock Hotel

Media Credit: INK TANK PR LICK IT UP - Actress-turned-rolicking songstress Juliette Lewis will be playing the Rock and Roll Hotel with her band The Licks tonight. Lewis, best known for her roles in films like "Natural Born Killers" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?," started the band in 2003 to express herself creatively through music. The band has a large fan base in the U.K.

Juliette Lewis might be the most versatile entertainer of her generation. The Academy, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated actress has worked with entertainment industry sages Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Oliver Stone and Lasse Hallström, yet still found time to pursue her passion for music with her garage/indie rock band, Juliette and The Licks.

"I've really been putting it off," Lewis said. "I had a wild need to explore myself and life through electric guitar, drum and bass and lyrical prose and a need to perform live and travel the world. Starting a career in music is the hardest and scariest thing I've ever done in my life, but I'm riding the train until the wheels come off."

After trying her hand at sitcoms in the 1980s, including "The Wonder Years" and "I Married Dora," Lewis finally made a name for herself in Scorsese's 1991 film "Cape Fear," for which she earned her first Oscar nomination. Afterward, Lewis appeared in several dramatic independent films, including "Natural Born Killers," "The Basketball Diaries" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"

Consistency has not been always Lewis' forte, and her filmography serves as testament. In 1999, Lewis scored a worst supporting actress Golden Raspberry Award nomination for performance as a mentally handicapped woman in "The Other Sister" opposite Giovanni Ribisi, and in 2002, she played Jennifer Lopez's right-hand pal in the universally loathed "Enough." Seeking a remedy, Lewis turned to music.

"Mentally, film is draining, and at the same time, I felt like my film career was becoming complacent," Lewis said. "I am always seeking honesty and purity with my work, not a fucking cliché - an aura of richness. But film is only a temporary challenge, whereas with music, it's ongoing, especially juggling the roles of being a leader of the band, an artist, a live performer, a lyricist and a businesswoman."

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