Lisa Loeb
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lisa Loeb | |
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 Lisa Loeb in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lisa Anne Loeb |
| Born | March 11, 1968 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. |
| Origin | Dallas, Texas. U.S.A. |
| Genre(s) | Contemporary Folk / Rock / Indie |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter,solo singer, guitarist, composer, actress |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1989 - present |
| Label(s) | Geffen (1995-1999) A&M (2000-2002) Artemis (2002-2004) Zoe (2004-present) |
| Associated acts | Liz and Lisa |
| Website | Lisa Loeb Official Site |
Lisa Anne Loeb (born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In 1994, she had her first hit with the song "Stay (I Missed You)". The song today still remains her biggest hit and most well-known song. Recently, she has moved into other endeavors, such as television. In 2006, she had her own reality TV show on the E! channel.
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[edit] Early years
Loeb was born to Jewish parents in Bethesda, Maryland, and raised in Dallas, Texas where she attended The Hockaday School, an all-girls private school. Her parents still live in Dallas, where mother is a homemaker and her father, Peter Loeb, is a gastroenterologist. She has three siblings -- Benjamin Loeb, Debbie Loeb, and Philip Loeb. After graduating from high school in 1986, she went to Brown University, where she graduated in 1990 with a degree in comparative literature. At Brown, she and Elizabeth Mitchell formed a band named Liz and Lisa, featuring future singer/songwriter and Brown classmate Duncan Sheik as a guitarist as well as the upcoming influential jazz/rock bassist Rick Lassiter while contemplating band names such as Nine Stories and Soto Voce'. The duo released the albums Liz and Lisa and Liz and Lisa - Days Were Different independently. Loeb had also developed a following from her solo acoustic performances on the New York City coffeehouse circuit, where she sold a collection of her songs referred to as The Purple Tape.
Loeb's big break came when she was discovered by actor and friend Ethan Hawke, who lived in an apartment across the street from her in New York City. She met Hawke through mutual friends in the NYC theater community. Hawke gave a tape of Loeb's song "Stay (I Missed You)" to director Ben Stiller during the making of the 1994 film Reality Bites. Stiller subsequently agreed to use the song in the film and on the film's soundtrack. "Stay" ultimately went on to become a number one hit on the American charts. When her song hit number one, Loeb earned the distinction of being the only artist to top the Hot 100 before being signed to any record label.
[edit] Recording career
In September 1995, Loeb's debut album, Tails, was released. The album was co-produced by Juan Patiño, her longtime, then-boyfriend. Although none of the singles from Tails could quite match the breakthrough appeal of "Stay" (which was also included on this album), Loeb still managed a top 20 hit with "Do You Sleep?" and two moderately successful radio hits with "Taffy," and "Waiting for Wednesday". Tails went on to achieve Gold status.
In 1997, a second major-label album, Firecracker, was released. At this point, Loeb dropped the name of her support band, Nine Stories, which was named after the J. D. Salinger collection, and performed under her own name. Though critically praised, Firecracker did not have the commercial success of Tails, but the single "I Do" was popular on radio (it peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100) and music television. The song "How" was featured on the soundtracks for the films Twister and Jack Frost, and was featured in the Buffy episode "Homecoming".
In 2000, she participated on the Ozzy Osbourne tribute album Bat Head Soup performing Goodbye to Romance with Dweezil Zappa on guitar.
Loeb's next project was Cake and Pie the release of which was delayed until 2002. The album was a commercial failure (despite excellent reviews) and did not receive any major backing or promotion from her record label. She was eventually dropped, and she bought the rights to the masters of the songs from that album. It was re-released by Artemis Records in late 2002, with the songs rearranged and some deletions/additions. Featuring new packaging, it was retitled Hello Lisa. A children's album called Catch the Moon was independently released in 2003. Videos from this album have been featured on the Noggin TV network for children, alongside those of Laurie Berkner and Dan Zanes, rockers who have crossed over much further into the children's music field.
In May 2004, Loeb announced that her longtime relationship with Dweezil Zappa was over. In 2004, Loeb changed record labels once again, due to a lack of promotion from her former label, Artemis Records. She was signed to the independent label Zoe/Rounder, and The Way It Really Is was released August 2004. The album was Loeb's fifth studio-recorded album.
Her greatest hits album, The Very Best of Lisa Loeb, was released in January 2006.
More recently, Loeb has contributed vocals to New Found Glory's cover of "Stay", which was featured on their 2007 LP From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II, as well as performing the song live with the band. Loeb also guest performed on the song "Anti-Hero" on all-female Japanese musical group Rin''s album Inland Sea.
When not touring, or doing other promotional work, she resides in Los Angeles.
Loeb is an avid collector of Hello Kitty items, including a Hello Kitty Stratocaster, manufactured by Squier. She was featured on the American Sanrio website.
According to Loeb's official website, her next release will be 'Camp Lisa', a set of 21 new children's songs featuring an array of guest stars. A new studio album will also follow in 2008.[1]
Her song "Fools like Me" was played in an episode of ABC's hit show Grey's Anatomy
[edit] Acting and reality television
Loeb has had several guest appearances on television shows, such as The Nanny in 1997. In 1998, she played the voice of a newborn baby in The Rugrats Movie and played a musician in an episode of Cupid. In 1999, Loeb was featured as a news reporter in the horror film House on Haunted Hill. In 2004, she was featured in Serial Killing 101.
On January 16, 2004, her reality show Dweezil & Lisa first aired on Food Network, in which she shared title billing with her now ex-boyfriend Dweezil Zappa. The show featured the two musicians touring the country together, stopping at different restaurants and sampling unique and diverse dishes. In the opening for each episode of Dweezil & Lisa, she claimed to be a vegetarian who enjoyed eating the occasional serving of bacon. In 2005, she appeared on The Colbert Report as herself as part of a small gag in which the eponymous host could not remember all the lyrics of "Stay," and asked Loeb, who was standing by a camera with her guitar, how it went. She sang and strummed a little to jog Colbert's memory.
She has been the voice of Mary Jane Watson in the animated show Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, broadcast on MTV. She also did voice acting for the character of Lutina in the video game Grandia Xtreme. On Friday, May 18, 2007 she did the voice of a character on the Disney Channel's Shorty McShorts' Shorts.
In the fall and winter of 2005, Loeb taped a reality show, #1 Single, for the E! Channel, in New York City. The show focused on her quest for love, success, career and family. It premiered on the E! Channel in January 2006 in an eight-part series, coinciding with the release of Loeb's new album, The Very Best of Lisa Loeb.
On August 2, 2006, Lisa Loeb co-hosted The View. In the episode, she defended a "woman's right to choose, a right to control her body, and have an alternative... something that's safe", clashing with regular co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on more than one exchange.
On Monday, May 12, 2008, Lisa Loeb made a guest appearance on Gossip Girl, performing Stay (I Missed You).
[edit] Style
Loeb is known for wearing distinctive cat-eye shaped tortoiseshell glasses. She says she is allergic to contact lenses. She has stated in numerous interviews she is very nearsighted with a prescription near -6.00D.[citation needed]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
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| US Hot 100 | US Adult | US Top 40 Main. |
US AC | US Rock | |||
| 1994 | "Stay (I Missed You)" | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | Tails |
| 1995 | "Do You Sleep" | 18 | 26 | 16 | 30 | 20 | |
| "Taffy" | 92 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1996 | "Waiting for Wednesday" | 83 | 36 | 33 | – | – | |
| 1997 | "I Do" | 17 | 3 | 11 | – | 22 | Firecracker |
| "Let's Forget About It" | 71 | 38 | 39 | – | – | ||
| 2002 | "Underdog" | – | 39 | – | – | – | Cake and Pie |
| 2004 | "Fools Like Me" | – | – | – | – | – | The Way It Really Is |
| 2006 | "Anti-Hero" (w/ Rin') | – | – | – | – | 36 | Inland Sea |
| 2007 | "Jenny Jenkins" | – | – | – | – | – | single only |
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Position[2] |
| 1989 | Liz and Lisa |
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| 1990 | Liz and Lisa - Days Were Different |
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| 1992 | Purple Tape |
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| 1995 | Tails |
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| 1997 | Firecracker |
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| 2002 | Cake and Pie |
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| 2002 | Hello Lisa |
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| 2003 | Catch the Moon |
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| 2004 | The Way It Really Is |
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| 2006 | The Very Best of Lisa Loeb |
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| 2007 | Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (EP) |
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| 2007 | Cherries (EP) |
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| 2008 | Lisa Loeb: The Purple Tape (2-discs: CD re-issue plus interview disc) |
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| 2008 | Camp Lisa |
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| 2008 | TBC |
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[edit] References
- ^ Press Release (October 9, 2007). The Purple Acoustic Tape CD. LisaLoeb.com. Accessed 2008-05-22.
- ^ Lisa Loeb Albums Charts. AllMusic.com. Accessed 2008-05-22.
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Discography
- Lisa Loeb at MySpace
- Lisa Loeb at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with UnRatedMagazine.com
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