Somehow Lisa Loeb managed to make nerdy cat glasses look sexy and took over the radio in the '90s with "Stay (I Missed You)" before even being signed to a record contract.
Gold-selling albums Tails and Firecracker led to television reality shows and children's music. The Grammy nominated singer, who is married and currently raising a son and daughter, now returns to the music world with a new seventh CD entitled No Fairy Tale.
Loeb hits the road bringing the tour for two nights to the City Winery. We tracked down the snappy songstress the week before her arrival.
Windy City Times: Hi, Lisa. So you are calling from L.A.?
Lisa Loeb: Yes, I have been living here for a long time here, actually. I can't believe it. Being a New Yorker and a Texan, I have probably been living here longer than anywhere. Well, not as long as Texas but I have been living here a long time.
WCT: There is a great music scene on the West Coast.
LL: Oh yeah. We have a lot of studios out here and it is a good place to raise a family.
WCT: How has having a family influenced your new record No Fairy Tale?
LL: It is more about the timing of the new album than the music. I was working on the music leading up to making the record for years.
Finally Chad Gilbert from the band New Found Glory contacted me to make a poppy, punky record together. I thought that sounded fun and I had been working on songs for years leading up to a new album. I had tried a very acoustic direction. I wasn't finishing some of the songs then he came in and was very passionate and energetic. He wanted to get it done as soon a possible. We recorded it when my daughter was a one year old. Now she is three and a half.
We were looking for the right mix engineer and by the time we found him I was actually pregnant with my son. Then things took longer because I wanted to wait for my son to be four months old before I started to tour.
WCT: Is your family coming with you to Chicago?
LL: No because I will be there for only two and a half days. I am out for a 12-day tour. I don't like to tour longer than that because I don't like to leave my kids at home. It is not good to tour with them because it breaks up their routine and they like their own bed. It's not very glamorous to wake them up at four in the morning to put on eyelashes and do TV and radio promotions all day.
WCT: Do you think your children will ever want to be in the music business?
LL: I think they can do whatever they want to do as long as they are passionate about it and can make a living at it. If they have some success at it then it is really rewarding. For me I have had so much freedom and met so many people. I get to travel and see people from all walks of life, so many different countries. I think that is important as a human being. It develops empathy and makes every day different.
So if they wanted to be a musician I could be their career counselor. They could be in a band or an orchestra. They could be a producer or just do it on the side while making a better living doing something else. You don't have to be a professional musician to play music.
WCT: You came from a musical family, I read.
LL: Yeah, my older brother is a classical conductor and musician. My younger sister does dance pop music. My younger brother runs a recording studio and mixes TV commercials.
WCT: You eyewear line is booming right now.
LL: It is awesome. I just did a trunk show in Chicago with this really cool eye doctor. I connected with a wonderful eyewear designer. We have been developing the line centered around my brand and they look that I like, which is not necessarily a cat eye look but more of a sexy librarian.
We are leaning towards bolder frames that lift your face. That being said it ranges in the boldness of the frames. Some of them are wire frames, some are classic tortoise shell, but they are fashionable, flattery, cute and comfortable. It has been really fun and a dream come true to have my own eyewear line.
WCT: I love a good pair of frames!
LL: We are working on the mensline but that is still in the works. That will be at least another year. It takes so long from when you come up with an idea to when we can actually do it.
WCT: Are you interested in more acting such as when you appeared on Gossip Girl or reality shows like your Number 1 Single series on E?
LL: I am interested in more acting and I audition a lot. I am not sure about a reality show per say. Someone came to me recently with an opportunity but I think I am more interested in producing a reality show. I like telling a story and I think it is really important when people share their own experiences to other people.
Being in a reality show is really time consuming and there are cameras around all the time. Especially as a woman it means having more clothes and wearing more makeup. I am one of the producers when I do reality to make sure the story is told properly. I end up spending a lot of time in editing and production.
WCT: On this tour do you have a whole band coming?
LL: Since City Winery is an intimate space I will be playing with a guitar player called Jonny Polonsky. He is actually from Chicago and the opener as well. He's a really cool singer/songwriter. He played electric guitar in my band recently. We will playing as a duo during my set. The record is rock so I have been doing a lot of touring with my band but with the space it makes more sense for a duo in Chicago.
WCT: What kind of set list are you planning?
LL: I like a lot of the new stuff but I mostly play old songs because I know as a music listener I really want to hear the songs that I am familiar with. I do a collection of old and new songs. I usually talk about the new songs a little bit so it is not just a barrage of new songs. I think it is hard for a listener to take in all that new music in at once.
WCT: That makes sense.
LL: You know how when you go to see a band you want to see maybe a third new and 2/3 old?
WCT: Yes, well being a longtime listener one of my favorites is "Alone" but I am sure you are not going to play it.
LL: I have playing that song a lot lately! It is very rock and the new album is very rock. I have to play my fun rock songs when I play.
WCT: You really stretched vocally on that one.
LL: It is funny, when I made my new record for people who don't know my music very well they think it is very rock and different. But if you know my old songs like "Alone" then this record will not be as shocking to you.
WCT: I agree with that. I was listening to No Fairy Tale today. Have you noticed a lot of gay fans like me at your shows?
LL: Yes, I have. It's great.
WCT: After doing Lilith Fair I am sure you have a lot of lesbian fans also.
LL: Yes and I loved doing Lilith Fair. At first I wasn't sure about doing a festival with all women because I don't like to separate myself as a woman musician but then I was a big fan of people on the bill like Patti Smith, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole and Emmylou Harris. So I thought it was a really cool lineup and wanted to be a part of it. It ended up putting a lot more focus on women and musicians. There was a lot more camaraderie with women musicians after that because you don't usually get to spend a lot of time with people who do what you do.
I really thought it was great for the listeners and they had a really nice community at that festival.
WCT: Well, I look forward to seeing you play live at City Winery.
LL: Let me know what show you wind up going to and I will look for you!
Loeb rocks City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St., on May 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. with information at www.citywinery.com .
