Lisa Loeb is a busy woman.
She is widely known for her stylish tortoiseshell glasses and the Grammy-nominated song “(Stay) I Missed You,” from the iconic 90s film, Reality Bites. Due to the success of that song, she is still the only artist to ever have a number-one Billboard pop single while not signed to a recording contract.
But that solid worldwide pop triumph doesn’t begin to describe all of the artistic and philanthropic projects she is involved in.
“I started recording kids’ music about ten years ago. Barnes and Noble came to me and asked me to make a record for them, and a kids’ record was what I really wanted to do. There are a couple of records that I really loved, Free to Be You and Me and also Really Rosie by Carol King . . . It’s challenging to come up with music that grownups want to listen to that is meant for kids. So I called my friend Liz Mitchell, who had created this huge kids’ music recording career . . . and we made the record together.”
Later, she wanted to evoke the positive experiences she had with music as a kid at camp, through her own kids’ camp songs.
“So then I went from there and decided to do a summer camp kids’ record and I made a record called Camp Lisa. Then I realized I should actually send kids to camp.”
Loeb started a foundation called Camp Lisa, which sends kids—who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to go—to camp. She also sells a brand of organic fair trade coffee called Wake Up! Brew (referencing her song, “Everybody Wake Up”). All proceeds go to Camp Lisa.
The artist has also worked in both film and television. She is most noted for her appearances in Legally Blonde, Twister, and the horror films House on Haunted Hill and Fright Night.
She has starred in the TV shows Dweezil & Lisa (with Dweezil Zappa), a weekly culinary adventure for the Food Network, as well as Number 1 Single, a reality show following her dating life that ran on the E! Network. She made a surprise appearance on the finale of network hit Gossip Girl, and has appeared on numerous comedy shows. She has done voice-over work as well.
“I like telling stories and being part of creative collaborations,” Loeb stated.
In addition, she created the Lisa Loeb Eyewear Collection, which is based on her own designs.“I grew up with a lot of interests and as time goes by, I am able to reconnect with some things . . . there are a lot of things I want to do and I try to do them.”
However, Loeb’s main focus is still music. Her 2013 album, No Fairy Tale, references her early indie-pop sound, but with a more contemporary twist. When asked if she plans on releasing a new album similar to this soon, she stated she will be “putting out songs that show where I am at in this moment” over the coming months.
When asked what she will play at her upcoming December 4 show in Ferndale, MI, Loeb replied, “It’s everything. I play from an audience standpoint. I play all that songs that people want to hear. Songs that have been on the radio, other fan favorites that I hear about through Twitter, or that always seem to be requests . . . then for about a third of the show, I play new songs. And I’ll play a couple of kids’ songs too. I like having a lot of variety during a set.”
In the song “The 90’s" (No Fairy Tale), Loeb sings, “You say you loved me then / But I don’t want to go back.”
She doesn’t have to. Lisa Loeb is a one-woman show, moving full-steam ahead.
See Lisa Loeb on Thursday, December 4 at The Magic Bag in Ferndale, MI. Doors open at 8 pm. $20 adv. 22920 Woodward Ave, Ferndale, MI. 248-544-3030.
