Sean and Juliette Beavan were married for seven years before they discovered a hidden dimension to their marriage, the ability to make phenomenal music together. Sean, a music producer known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, was finishing up a project for Kill Hannah when he came across the need for a female singer. In a pinch, he had his wife throw some vocals on a track. “Sean threw me in the booth, not knowing if I could sing but figuring he could make it work. I figured the same thing, but after it was over, I’d been bitten,” says Juliette who explains that she fell in love with the experience. “Sean came home that night and asked if I wanted to try writing music together and we’ve been doing it since.”
8MM is bringing their unique trip-hop meets Noir pop sound to ChinaShop Presents: Rock on 11/18 at the Viper Room. In a conversation with Juliette and Sean, they discuss their love for working together and how fans confessing to having sex to one of their tracks is a regular occurrence.
8MM is labeled as a trip-hop influenced band. Tell us more about your musical style.
We fit closest to that genre because our songs are slow and moody usually with dark atmospheres but we add a touch of Americana instrumentally and almost all the beats and loops are made by real drums and a real drummer but looped in interesting ways. Our stuff sounds like electronica because it is very hook and part oriented but almost all of it is played with physical instruments instead of found and looped. We also are very song oriented with verses, choruses and refrains, and Juliette’s stories of obsession and desire make the lyrics a very important part of the emotional ride. We always think of ourselves as if PJ Harvey and Portishead formed a Led Zeppelin cover band in a David Lynch film.
Are you big Carly Simon fans? What made you decide to remake “Nobody Does it Better?
Yes, we are Carly fans. We were asked by our friend, Christina Wise, who was working on “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” at the time, to cover “Nobody Does It Better” for the film’s soundtrack. We’re also huge James Bond fans so our answer was an immediate “Hell yes.” People often tell us that they have sex to that song. We take full credit for all 900 of Brad and Angie’s children. It’s our fault Jen.
Did you receive any feedback from Carly or Carly fans on your version? Were they into it?
We don’t know if Carly heard it or, if she did, if she had any thoughts on it. However, if she does have comments, if she could do so in the “Playing Possum” cover out fit, that would be perfect…a dream, really.
Sean how has your work with producing bands like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson influenced 8MM?
Working with those great artists informs you to follow your heart and not worry about what the world wants. You can only make your music to please yourself and just hope that it will move others. If a song that we were writing didn’t make me cry at some point I put it aside until I can find some magic for it.
Who does most of the writing in the band?
Juliette: It’s a split with music and lyrics. Usually Sean composes a track or plays something on guitar or piano that I write lyrics to. Once the outline is done it’s a volley of editing each other on lyrics & music amidst: “I like that”, “I hate that”, and “what if it went…”s. Then the control-freak producer in Sean composes and plays all the instruments on the song.
Sean: Well, I let Jon play the drums because he is way better than me and now that Ibo Rodriguez is playing bass live I want to incorporate him into the recordings as well.
Juliette, have you always been a singer? What were you doing before you were doing this full time?
No. Growing up in Louisiana I new lots of singers and I found them insufferable. I had always been a closet writer, stories, poems and the like but it didn’t occur to me to write songs until we formed 8mm. Just one of those paths that appears without knowing it was even on the horizon. Before that, I was in restaurant management in New Orleans. In LA, I found the restaurant culture, well, let’s just say, not New Orleans. So, I was a bit of a renaissance girl professionally and personally spent a lot of the time raising our daughter.
What can we expect from 8MM in the years to come?
Global domination.
What’s the best and worst thing about working with your significant other in a band?
Best thing: being together. We hate being apart.
Worst thing: There is no worst part. We love working together. We are perfect partners.
Strangest place that music has ever taken you?
To an abandoned factory out in the middle of nowhere outside Oklahoma City during a NIN tour. The “Children of the Corn” location was scary enough but the animal sacrifices and the alters with the pentagrams etc. put it a little over the top. Felt like I was in Oklahoma chain saw massacre… Kids, never get into a car with strangers after a show when they say, “You guys have got to see this!”
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in this band?
Sean: Politician
Juliette: Acting or hospice care.
What inspires your lyrics?
Juliette: A mix of movies, books, overheard conversations, TV, friends in bad relationships and life in general. It’s all so wonderful and just terrible at the same time.
Sean: Fundamental problems with God.
What would be your ideal show to perform at – venue, location, audience, bands to share the stage with….
The Greek Theater in Los Angeles playing with Massive Attack or Sigur Ros or PJ Harvey or Portishead or Tricky…
Anything else we should know about 8MM?
We don’t always drink beer, but when we do, it’s usually tequila!
Words and interview by Nicole Pajer (@NicolePajer)
