Lisa Loeb

Pop guitarist, singer, songwriter

For the Record…

Music for the Masses

Changes in the Band

Selected discography

Sources

Lisa Loeb’s talent as a folk/pop rock musician was brought into the mainstream with her “discovery” in 1994. Loeb’s neighbor and friend, actor Ethan Hawke, admired her songs and brought a tape of her song “Stay” to movie producer Ben Stiller. At the time, Stiller was producing the movie Reality Bites, in which Hawke starred. Stiller added the song to the movie soundtrack, and Loeb made history. She became the first unsigned artist to reach number one on the Billboard pop chart with the single “Stay.”

Even though her trademark tortoise-shell, horn-rimmed glasses look like a signature fashion statement, Loeb insists they are necessary. Contact lenses cannot correct her vision. She told Seventeen, “My glasses are a normal and real part of me. They aren’t an act. I’d be selling out if I didn’t wear them.” She believes the glasses, her college education, and wordy lyrics contribute to her “nerdy” image, but that’s fine with her. She thinks nerds are the most interesting people.

Lisa Loeb was born in 1968 and grew up in Dallas. Her father is a doctor; her mother a homemaker. Loeb started playing the piano at a young age, but then took guitar lessons in junior high so she could imitate Andy Summers of The Police. When she switched to guitar, she also began writing her own songs. For 12 years, Loeb attended The Hockaday School in Dallas, a very discipline-oriented prep school. She excelled there, finding the academic challenge rewarding. She was an honor student and student council president while acting in school plays, performing music, and disc jockeying at a local school FM station. She then attended Brown University, studying comparative literature and Spanish literature. At Brown, her roommate Liz was also a singer. They formed a duo, Lisa and Liz, and performed around campus with acoustic guitars and their own folk songs. In 1990, she graduated from Brown and moved to New York.

After college, Loeb briefly took voice lessons and studied for a summer at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. She was eager to perform, though, and began touring with Liz. They eventually formed a band, called Nine Stories, but after a year of lineup changes, Liz ultimately parted with the band. Loeb’s first studio recording came in December of 1992. It did not include her band because they were taking a break while their drummer toured with the band They Might Be Giants” During this hiatus she met Juan Patiño, a record engineer and producer, and they recorded The Purple Acoustic Tape, available for sale only at her shows. Loeb continued to play the smoky coffeehouse scene in New York solo and with her band.

With the band Nine Stories, “Stay” was released in 1994 on the Reality Bite. soundtrack, produced and

For the Record…

Born in 1968 in Bethesda, MD (some sources list Dallas, TX); raised in Dallas, TX; education: Brown University, B.A. comparative literature, 1990.

Sang and played guitar since junior high; began writing songs in high school; performed college coffee-house scene as a member of Lisa and Liz; formed Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories, 1991; original band included Lisa Loeb, guitar and lead vocals; Tim Bright, electric guitars; Jonathan Feinberg, drums; and Joe Quigley, bass. Later members include Mark Spencer, lead guitar; and Ronny Crawford, drums. Recorded solo cassette called Purple Acoustic Tape, December 1992; with Nine Stories recorded single “Stay” for the Reality Bite. soundtrack, February 1994; appeared at South by Southwest Convention, March 1994; with Nine Stories, released Talls, in September 1995; contributed to Twiste. soundtrack, 1996.

Addresses: Home —New York, NY. Office —Geffen Records, 9130 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069-6179. Fan club —Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories P.O. Box 910 Village Station, New York, NY 10014-0486. Website —http://www.geffen.com.

engineered by Juan Patiño, Loeb’s boyfriend at the time. “Stay” was inspired by an argument between her and Patino. She told Seventeen, “I think that’s what art is all about-taking a little truth and turning it into a good story.” Loeb managed to shrewd ly own the master tape of “Stay,” so RCA paid to lease the song for the soundtrack. When the sing le hit the top of the charts, the major record companies came calling. Loeb earned a Grammy nomination for best new artist. The single eventually went gold, selling nearly a million copies. Six of the biggest labels wanted to sign her to a contract. After being wined and dined by all six, Loeb finally choseGeffen, an alternative music label (representing Hole among others), and they gave her an advance to record an album.

One of the surprising aspects of Loeb’s career is the fact that her album Tail. was not released until September 1995—an entire year after the success of “Stay.” That fact did not surprise or trouble the executives at Geffen, though. The album started from scratch, and the collaborating team of Loeb and Patino is meticulous, if not perfectionist, in their record-making effort. What Loeb thought would take a month in the studio took much longer because they were so detailed in their approach. Geffen understood that Loeb also had to fulfill promotional obligations for “Stay.”

Music for the Masses

When Geffen released her album in September 1995, they had the task of promoting an artist who was not proven in her ability to sell an entire album, but whose single had sold nearly a million copies. Loeb told Billboard magazine that she hoped “success at top 40 won’t preclude airplay at college radio.” Loeb feels that her music is right for a college audience—her lyrics have often been labeled “dormitory.” Her image remained bookish—especially with the acknowledgment that her band was named after a J. D. Salinger collection of short stories.

The critics gave mixed reviews to Tails. Andrew Abrams in People wrote, “She tries to meld a kind of soft-grunge electric sound and her more comfortable coffee house-on-campus folk guitar style with varying effect.” Rolf Rykken of Critics’ Choice remarked, “While she lacks the edge of Alanis Morissette, she is eminently listenable.” Gina Arnold of Metr. wrote that the album “is not a striking effort in any way.” She added, “Loeb is the queen of the undamaged psyche, the princess of bedroom poetry.” Arnold described Loeb’s style, saying she “has a high, pretty soprano voice and a sure way with a melody.” Parke Puterbaugh of Stereo Review wrote, “Loeb braids folk and pop into a fetching union, singing in a breathy, insistent voice that has a lovely, limpid timbre.”

Changes in the Band

Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories toured to promote their album. However, Loeb and Patino replaced two of the original three bandmembers. The band that appeared on the album included Tim Bright on electric guitars, Jonathan Feinberg on drums/percussion, and Joe Quigley on bass. Only Quigley remained on tour—joined by Mark Spencer on lead guitar, and Ronny Crawford on drums. Juan Patino told Entertainment Weekly, “Nine Stories is a revolving door.” Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Su. rated one of their concerts a four out of five and commented that Loeb has a number of assets, including: a powerful voice, accomplished guitar playing, and a composed intelligence and sense of humor.

In 1996, Loeb wrote a new song for the Twiste. movie soundtrack and she appeared very briefly—for about ten seconds—in a film starring Donnie Wahlberg titled Black Circle Boys. With Loeb’s varied background and talent, her future looks bright.

Selected discography

Albums

Purple Acoustic Tape, produced by Juan Patiño, December, 1992.

Naked Rhyth. (compilation), Steam Records, August, 1993.

SXSW Live Vol. Tw. (compilation), March, 1994.

Mud on the Whee. (compilation), Earth Music/Cargo Records, July, 1994.

Reality Bite. (soundtrack), RCA, 1994.

Tails, Geffen Records, September, 1995.

Sources

Billboard, August 5, 1995.

Critics’ Choice, November 13, 1995.

Entertainment Weekly, October 6, 1995.

Madamoiselle, September, 1995.

New York, September, 1995.

People, October 2, 1995.

Seventeen, April, 1995.

Stereo Review, February, 1996.

Toronto Sun, December 20, 1995.

Additional information provided by the Lisa Loeb website at http://www.geffen.com.

—Christine Morrison