8mm sizzles with noir-tinged rock: Friday at the Roxy

With a haunting voice, retro-glam sexiness, and material both subtle and raw, Juliette Beavan of 8mm melds a femme fatale’s sophistication with flinty rock energy. From the first searing notes, often punctuated by smoke and shadow, the songs draw you in like a Hitchcock thriller; lyrics linger in your head well beyond the show’s end. This part of “Crawl,” for instance, is hard to forget: “or maybe there’s another/ trick, another spell/ and I could change you/ and I’d draw you to me/ pull you to me, crawl to me./ draw you to me/ pull you to me/ call you to me/crawl to me.”

Her bandmates include her husband Sean Beavan (guitar, vocals) and Jon Nicholson (drums). They describe their sound as “trip-hop influenced pop-rock.” First-rate musicians, the guys are the perfect complement to Juliette’s vocals and keyboard.

“That’s right, blame it on the girl,” she might tease them between songs, before adjusting her mic or straightening a cord. A New Orleans native, she’s fond of bringing beads, candy and banter to toss to the eager crowd, many of whom clutch cameras the way people used to flick lighters as preface to an encore.

Together since 2004, 8mm has an impressive resume that includes four albums and several tours (the US, Canada, the UK and Chile). Sean Beavan, who hails from Cleveland, formerly worked with bands such as Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and God Lives Underwater. He and Juliette write the songs; their work has been featured in the 2005 film “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” as well as in a number of TV shows, including “One Tree Hill,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Moonlight,” “Dirt,” Road Rules,” and “The Real World: Sydney.”

You can see 8mm for yourself Friday, June 3, at the Roxy Theatre, with the Kidney Thieves, Cage 9, The Shakers and DJ High Voltage. The show starts at 8 p.m. and 8mm goes on at 9 p.m.

I caught up with Juliette recently to chat about the band’s penchant for noir.

Juliette Beavan: Yes, a reference to the film stock, because for us, 8mm film brings to mind smoky back rooms of 1930s Berlin, the first stag films, the early home movies … in other words, secrets, memories, longings (secret and professed) and decadence … all the things we try to bring to our music. They also happen to be things that are part and parcel to any good film noir. In addition, the look, the sleek styling, elegant and dangerous players, well, that sounds like a band to us!

FNB: Any femmes fatales that stand out for you?
JB: Hahaha, are you gonna ask any questions with short answers? Where to start … Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, Anne Baxter, Nora Zehetner in “Brick” does a wonderful job, not to mention (I know they’re not femmes fatales, but I would be remiss to leave the men out) Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives Bogey a run for his money in that film. And for the men, of course, there is the one and only Humphrey Bogart.

FNB: Of ’40s and ’50s singers or bands, who are your top favorites?
JB: Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, Bing Crosby, to name a few.

FNB: Do you essentially get into character when you perform, especially Juliette as the frontwoman?
JB: In a sense, yes, and it varies from song to song, because each one is a different story, character, sort of mini movie for us. I’m a storyteller not a character (like a GaGa or Madonna), so the approach is a little different. It only takes a note or two for me “see it” in my head again, to step into “her” shoes … from there it’s just natural.

You kind of have to use your whole body to tell the story, and the story becomes my own for that time.

FNB: Raymond Chandler said a good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled. Do you think that’s true for writing songs and music?
JB: Certainly at times … what Sean plays makes me see stories, so I suppose you could say that is a bit of a distilling process to bring the story down into its key emotional components for a 3 minute song. However, there are other times when you get a “cosmic FedEx” (a term we’re stealing from Scott Russo of Unwritten Law). That’s where the song comes to you almost writing itself and you have to grab and get it down before it moves on. You know, the muse will find another host if you aren’t paying attention.

FNB: On your latest EP “Love and the Apocalypse” there is a song called “Los Angeles.” Not being natives, what surprised you most about this stalwart of noir cities and what do you think is the biggest misconception about the city?
JB: The biggest misconception is that everyone is shallow and back-stabbing here. It’s simply not true. Sure, there are jackasses here, but they are everywhere. Every place has ’em. The population is so large in LA that one could think there are more of the bad guys here, but that’s a ratio thing.

There are incredible people here. We’ve made some of our best friends in Los Angeles. Of course, if you come here expecting ugliness, well, you’ve certainly increased your chances of having an awful time in this town. Negativity is a magnet for more negativity.

The other thing is, LA is strangely homogenized, in a good way. It’s extremely multicultural, but not incredibly diverse. It’s hard to explain, it’s like everyone is just … an Angelino. We love that.

FNB: You were both living in New Orleans when you got together. How did you meet?
JB: We were in Jimmy’s in New Orleans. Sean was mixing front of house for Nine Inch Nails. It was a surprise show in a small club so it was packed to the rafters and complete chaos. We actually just saw each other that night. We didn’t exchange anything more than looks, really. We tried, but between the show and the crowd, we kept getting pushed apart. At the end of the night we saw each other across the room and kind of shrugged, an “oh well” and that was it. Not a word.

Two nights later, I was walking down Decatur Street with my friend, Linda (who tends to just chatter away … something against quiet, I think) and suddenly her voice was gone … I turn to see where she’s gone to and she’s stopped in front of Molly’s at the Market talking to Sean. He gives a sideways glance, and I get an idea of why he stopped her. I walk up and he says, “Hey, my friends and I were gonna head over to the R Bar. Wanna come with us?” Linda and I say, yes. Sean runs back into Molly’s and informs his friends that they’re all going to R Bar (on Royal).

They grab their drinks (because in New Orleans, we’re civilized enough to let you keep the drink you paid for, just put it in a Dixie cup and walk). Sean and I talked the whole way (he says he picked the R Bar because it was far enough for us to talk before going into somewhere noisy) … well, that was it. I dropped everyone off at about 8 a.m., and Sean and I have spoken every day since.

FNB: What is the hardest part of a live performance?
JB: Load in and load out. The rest is fun!

FNB: Any favorite places to shop for retro/vintage looks?
JB: Definitely. Stop Staring! clothing line by Alicia Estrada. The line is all inspired by golden-era Hollywood, subtly blending elements of ’40s, ’50s and early ’60s. Most of what I wear on stage is Stop Staring!