1. When is Lisa coming to <insert city or country name here>?
Whenever possible, Lisa tries to perform in as many places as she can.
The best way to be kept aware of when Lisa may be coming to your area is to register for our e-mail list at www.lisaloeb.com . As soon as a show is confirmed, we put it up on the website and mail it out to the e-mail list. There is no better way to be kept up to date on where Lisa will be performing: as soon as an event is official, it'll be on lisaloeb.com.
2. I love Lisa's glasses! Where can I buy them?
Lisa's current glasses are an Italian brand called "Nouveau Vague",which she bought at a stylists' showroom (see below). The glasses thatLisa is wearing on the cover of Cake and Pie are vintage frames thatshe found at a flea market in New York City. Normally she finds cateyed glasses and other frames at stores around the U.S. She has greenoctagonal glasses, Square wire glasses with red lenses, and black heavyframes from a vintage store in Austin. She used to wear tortoise shellglasses made by Moda. This model is now discontinued. Just recently shebought three pairs of glasses at Oliver Peoples in Los Angeles. Yourbest bet is just to look around. Maybe you'll run into Lisa at a storein your town.
From Lisa:
The glasses I'm wearing now are some that I bought at a showroom where stylists go to find glasses for their clients appearing in movies. They had such an incredible variety to choose from. Usually I go to glasses stores wherever I'm traveling, just like everyone else. I used to bring a polaroid camera to take pictures of myself in the frames- I can't see my face when the frames have no perscription, but now I just use a camera phone. Then, unless I really fall in love with a pair of
glasses on the spot, I take a look at the photos later in the day, and show friends, and decide whether or not to get the frames. It's a real investment, so I like making a good decision.
3. What are the Liz & Lisa tapes? Where can I find them?
The Liz and Lisa tapes, "Liz and Lisa" and "Days were Different" were two cassette-only releases Lisa recorded with Liz Mitchell while in college. While a few songs from the tapes have been re-recorded and re-released on other Lisa Loeb albums (check out the discography section on lisaloeb.com for details) these tapes are out of print and are no longer available commercially. Unless you get really lucky or someone puts one up on Ebay you're probably not going to find one. Liz Mitchell now plays in a very cool band called Ida, you can check them out at www.idamusic.com.
Lisa also recorded "Catch the Moon" with Liz in 2004. You can buy the album, as well as Catch the Moon merchandise here
4. What about the Purple Tape? Isn't that coming out on CD?
The "Purple Tape" was Lisa's first solo release, it was also cassette only and many of the tracks have found their way onto other Lisa releases. The "Purple Tape" is also all gone and out of print. We found a last hidden stash a while ago and sold them off at a few shows but now they're really gone. Yes, there are plans to release "The Purple Tape" on CD (would it be called "The Purple CD" then?), but there is no specific timetable. Lisa plans to put that music out on CD during some down time between her new albums.
5. I just got Hello Lisa and I noticed that the album is very similiar toCake & Pie, whats the deal?
From Lisa:
I released the album Cake and Pie on Interscope records, and it wasn't getting the attention it needed. A new, independent spirited boutique label, Artemis Records, run at the time by Danny Goldberg and Daniel Glass, two major music industry players decided that they wanted a try at promoting the songs on the record. They asked me to change the artwork and a few of the songs on the album so that they could re-release it as a different "product."
I released an EP for the fans who didn't want to buy the new, similarHello Lisa album along with an original version of the song"Underdog". That way, people didn't have to buy the almost same recordtwice if they didn't want to.
The album cover for "Hello Lisa" is similar to Cake and Pie, but has a funny twist, Hello Kitty wearing my glasses. That's something I worked out with Sanrio, the company who makes Hello Kitty- they agreed to let me use the image and even had their art department design the record cover with me. So, that's the deal, Artemis wanted to give the record a better chance, and I took a chance and left Interscope records.
6. I want a Lisa Loeb autograph! How can I get one?
Unfortunately due to the number of requests we get we cannot fulfill individual requests for autographs. Lisa tries to visit as much of the world as possible and make as many appearances as she can. She is usually more than happy to accommodate autograph requests at in-person appearances whenever possible. To see where Lisa may be appearing in your area check out the tour page for all the latest updates.
7. What music gear does Lisa use?
From Lisa:
I use a lot of gear. My main live guitars are the Taylor acoustic 512-C guitars, one which is a custom built guitar with a thinner neck and gold tuning pegs that I bought at Matt Umanov guitars in 1990, and the other one is also a non-custom version that I got directly from Taylor guitars. I use a Fishman blender box, which blends a mic in the soundhole of my guitar with a bridge pickup. I use Boss Tuners, Ernie Ball strings, and usually an SM-58 mic on stage. I also use Fender medium picks and Ernie Ball custom printed medium picks.
At home I have a Peavey wiggy amp in light pink, designed by Dweezil Zappa, a smaller body Gretsch guitar, a light pink semi hollow telecaster, a Les
paul junior from 1958, Daisy rock Classical acoustic guitar, twelve string electric, acoustic bass, and various acoustic electric guitars.
I use an old Martin acoustic, a ukelele guitar with nylon strings, which was a gift from a fan in Japan, as well as a custom made twelve string electric guitar from another guitar maker/fan in Japan. The
list goes on and on.
8. Who is Lisa's greatest musical influence?
From Lisa:
I have so many musical influences. Tchaichovsky's "the Nutcracker Suite," Queen, "Night at the Opera," earlier Elton John, Bowie, especially "Hunky Dory" and "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," All albums by the Police- one of the main reasons I play guitar- Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, Thomas Dolby, "the Flat Earth" album, my guitar teachers who taught me how to read and encouraged me to write, who taught me interesting chords, and also made me feel confident that I could write a song with only a couple of chords, Pink Floyd, The Go Go's, the list goes on and on.
Myfolks sent me to music lessons when I was a little girl, piano lessonsas well as piano theory. We listened to music all the time in thehouse, from the standards my father played on the piano every nightand Sunday mornings, to classical music on records or live- my olderbrother was a
classical pianist from a young age. My little sister and I took ballet and dance lessons at a young age, and we listened to a variety of music in class.
9. How does Lisa go about writing her songs?
From Lisa:
There are many differentways I write songs. The three main categories are songs I've written bybeing spontaneously inspired (which might sound a little redundant),songs I've been asked to write, and co-written songs. For the "inspiredsongs," I write down or record little ideas I have all the time, whenI'm walking to my car, making a cake, sleeping, driving, just sittingaround playing guitar. Sometimes I write on scraps of paper, sometimesmusic notation, as well as I can..., sometimes recorded on a taperecorder or an answering machine.
I try to write everyday. I like to use the writing exercises in NatalieGoldberg's books like Wild Mind or Writing Down the Bones to get myselfgoing and out of the typical daily journal type of writing that I alsodo. This gets me connected to a part of my brain and heart that I amnot always in touch with throughout the day, but a place that still isme. I keep all of these ideas handy, and sometimes in my computer, sothat I can use them if neccessary. Sometimes the melody comes first,sometimes a lyric, sometimes both together, sometimes a chordprogression. I usually write music on guitar, but sometimes I go topiano, or even 6 string bass or ukelele. Different instruments make mefeel and think in different ways. When I find a lyric or a concept thatI really like, I sit down and make myself write the song.
Sometimes this can take an afternoon, sometimes years.
Other times I'm asked to write for a movie or special project. In thesecases, I look at the assignment, and think about the tone, content,context, and point of view of the music or song I'm being asked towrite, and just sit down and start playing with music and lyrics to seeif I can come up with something that might work. The process is similarto the spontaneous song, except there's usually a deadline, whichforces me to work more quickly, and often these songs have a moredirect message than my other songs. I sometimes use some of the ideasthat I've saved up.
When I co-write a song, it's also a faster process than writing bymyself. It's very satisfying to throw ideas around with other writersthat I trust, like Gary Burr, Maia Sharp, Dave Bassett, to name a few.
It's as if the brain is working faster, like three people sewing aquilt instead of one. The co-written songs are also great, since theyhave a message that, I think, is easier for an audience to understand.
When you co-write, all of the writers have to know what the song isabout, so in order for us to discuss, the song message is clear. When Iwrite by myself, it can get a little more abstract and not so easy tounderstand. It's always one of my goals for the listener to be able tounderstand what I'm writing- either through the mood, the lyric, themusic, or some combination of all of those elements.
So, there's the discipline of writing all the time, the capturing ofideas as they come up, the development of the ideas into a largerconcept, and drinking coffee, sitting myself down, and doing thehomework of finishing the song.
10. Are Lisa's songs autobiographical?
From Lisa:
Some of the songs, like "Stay (I missed you)" and "Lucky Me" areautobiographical, but others are not as much about myself directly. Iwrote them, so my point of view and experience plays a part in thesongs, but often in a fictional way.
11. Are the Nine Stories boys(Spencer/Quigley/Crawford) still part of your band? Do you think youwill work with them in the future?
From Lisa:
I still love playing with the Nine Stories boys as wellas Matt Beck! They are working on a number of different projects, butwe play whenever we can.
I also have started playing withsome other musicians on the West Coast- Joe Travers, Mark Meadows, DaveGibbs, Michael Eisenstein, Phil Hurley and a few others. Since I don'tconstantly tour on the road with a band, sometimes the guys play withother people and are in the middle of someone else's tour, so it'swonderful to have a selection of great musicians!
12. Does Lisa mind people taking photographs during her shows?
From Lisa:
I don't prefer people taking photos at the show, especially flashphotos. It's really distracting to see the flash going off while I'mplaying songs- I forget lyrics and it takes me out of the moment of thesong performance. I must also point out that the angle under my facewith my mouth open is not the most flattering, to say the least, and asI'm a little self- conscious, like most people. I don't mind takingphotos after the show with folks when we set it up after the show.
13. How does Lisa feel about people recording her shows?
From Lisa:
I don't like people videotaping the shows. Iunderstand the concept of someone bootlegging the show, but I don'tlike for people to sell them on-line. I wouldn't say I support peoplerecording the shows- it doesn't represent the show very well, but I'mnot going to come out to see if you have a recorder in your pocket...
14. What is Lisa's phone number/address/email address?
For obvious reasons we cannot give those details, but you can contact the Lisa Loeb Fan Club:
Lisa Loeb Fan Club
11054 Ventura Blvd, #381
Studio City, CA 91604
15. I want to book Lisa to play a show, who do I talk to?
Lisa is represented by the Elizabeth Rush Agency. Contact Elizabeth Rush Marsden on 973 239 1353 or and we'll be your new best friend.
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7:29PM