Jenny And Johnny On World Cafe

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courtesy of the artist

courtesy of the artist

Jenny Lewis, the childhood actress turned frontwoman for the indie-rock band Rilo Kiley, has teamed up with folk musician and boyfriend Jonathan Rice to create the warm-hearted duo Jenny and Johnny. Rice, who has two solo albums under his name, has been working with Lewis for years, either contributing to recordings or performing live, but this is the first time that they've put their heads and voices together to create an album.

The two began writing songs during Lewis' Acid Tongue tour, which they brought to a studio in Los Angeles with Pierre De Reeder and Jason Boesel. Together, they managed to piece together a series of demo recordings, playing each and every instrument, in only nine days. Liking what they heard, the duo then packed up for Nebraska to record a set of 11 tracks with Mike Mogis in ARC studios. I'm Having Fun Now is the result, and it's strange to think that the string of sunny pop tunes were recorded during the worst Midwestern snowstorm since the 1860s.

Lewis and Rice join World Cafe host David Dye to discuss the new album and perform live in the studio.