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During a sweaty daytime set by her hard-rocking band Juliette & The Licks at Chicago's Grant Park in August, Lewis dived into the crowd, where she bodysurfed to ecstatic cheers.

Then she totally seized the day, standing straight up, with helpful hands supporting her bare feet, as she raised her little fist in triumph.

Iggy Pop may have pulled off that move first and most memorably at the Cincinnati Pop Festival in 1970. But for Lewis, who starred in "Natural Born Killers" and "Strange Days" among many other films, it seemed like a statement that, hey, this rock star thing is for real.

"That was awesome!" Lewis says of that crowd stand, which was doubly sweet because it happened during the Licks' first big U.S. festival (they've played plenty in Europe, with headliners including Foo Fighters and Motorhead).

"That was a big moment," she continues. "You can't manufacture those things. You could, but they'd be stale. So it has to happen from the people."

Touring is the main sustenance for the Licks (Lewis, guitarist Todd Morse and bassist Jason Womack, plus new drummer Ed Davis and temporary guitarist Emilio Ceuto, filling in for the recently departed Kemble Walters.)

The band is touring the U.S. through Dec. 8 (with a stop in Rio de Janeiro along the way), in support of their second album "Four on the Floor." Juliette & The Licks play Chapel Hill's Local 506 on Saturday night.

"Four on the Floor," which features Foo Fighter Dave Grohl on drums, is full of grinding guitars, catchy riffs and catchy melodies -- the latter sung in Lewis' always guttural, raspy voice.

Her lyrics typically speak of blood, fire and feral sex: "I always knew you were a killer/ I could tell by your bloody guitar/ You like to stab it into everything/ Then pull it out when it gets too hard," she sings on "Killer." Oh my.

On the day Lewis speaks by phone, she's enjoying a day off in Austin, sort of.

"I have a cold," she says. That doesn't stop her from talking really loud -- this is a person whose sentences nearly always end with an exclamation point.

Q: How pleased are you with the new album?

A: I'm really happy. I feel it's a deliberate rock record. It's really full-on, full-flavored, full-bodied (laughs). It's different shades of the same color, I should say. This record feels like a real complete thing. You have 'Sticky Honey,' which is a very poppy summer song. 'Smash and Grab,' which is like, pretty ferocious. And then, like, 'Get Up,' which is more classic rock-driven. And then I like 'Inside the Cage,' which is more meditative.

Q: How do you write songs?

A: Usually songs -- they're there. You start connecting the dots. They're right there in the cosmos. And I get very inspired by the guitars, and something I feel is being spoken to me through the music. 'Death of a Whore' is a track that Todd had showed me the riff in a dressing room in Sweden. And the change that went to the chorus was haunting. The way I was singing, to me, I pictured a ghost in a cabin. So later, when we were just finishing the record, I found this story on truck-stop hookers. So then I connected a prostitute that gets murdered, and is filled with regret, seeking relief.

Q: 'Are You Happy,' a ballad addressed to a former lover, is one of the most personal songs on the record. Is it about anybody in particular?

A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (Pause.) Well, it's nobody you know, so it's OK (laughs).

Q: Can you ever pick out the people in the audience who've come to see the Licks because a movie star is fronting the band?

A: No. I just see curious faces. No matter what brought them into the room, if it's a pretty girl, or the band is hot, or they like electric guitars, or they saw a movie, or they're bored, or they like that venue -- you know, there are so many different reasons that people come into a room to hear some live music. My motto is I never care what brings you into the room, as long as you're there, and we'll do the rest.

Q: What's next for 2008?

A: Another record! First of all, it's holiday time, and time with the family, doing laundry, sleeping, all that good stuff. And then I'll probably work out how to make the next record, and make it so it's not so stressful, 'cause we never have the luxury of time. And then I'll have a movie eventually, but I don't know what yet.

Q: Are we ever going to see the return of your character Jesse the Bounty Hunter on NBC's 'My Name is Earl?'

A: I hope so! I think they left that open, so that would be a blast.


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