Lisa Loeb - Friend of the DFC
 You probably know GRAMMY™ Award-winning singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb from her platinum-selling hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film Reality Bites. But she's also a touring musician, SiriusXM daily radio host and philanthropist and Lisa's had several hit singles and six albums, two of which were certified gold. Her most recent album, A Simple Trick to Happiness, received rave reviews. And she debuted her new musical Together Apart, which she co-wrote and co-produced with over one hundred of her fellow Brown University alums to raise money for The Actors Fund. The musical received attention from prestigious outlets like The New York Times, Vanity Fair, People and Playbill.Lisa sat down with us for a chat about performing, writing songs and what she's doing these days. Lisa was musical from the beginning: We always had music playing in the house on the radio, on records and in the car. It was always just part of my life. My piano teacher in first grade or so asked me to write something original and that’s when I really started writing music. Her musical heroes: My musical influences range from David Bowie to Olivia Newton John to “The Nutcracker”. I love Jimi Hendrix, the bands Queen, The Who, The Beatles, Rickie Lee Jones, The Cure, Thomas Dolby and The Go-Go’s. The list really goes on and on. Lisa's still taking music lessons: I always took music lessons and continue to learn from teachers when I can. I had two piano lessons a week - one for theory with a group and one private lesson. Then around age fifteen, I started playing guitar instead of focusing on piano. I’ve taken lessons as recently as last year during COVID with an old friend from college who’s a piano teacher. What she's listening to right now: I listen to what my kids listen to mostly, or new artists who want me to check out their music. I also listen to a lot of podcasts including Smartless, NPR news and This American Life. I love hearing stories and people connecting. Performing in front of an audience: I love the connection between myself and the audience. I love playing a serious song that brings people in close and then telling a silly story. There’s magic in the fact that even if you record the concert, that moment in the moment will only happen once and it’s truly unique. On Songwriting: I write daily, and when someone has asked me to write something specific, and when I plan a collaboration. I write when an idea comes to me or plan a session with myself if I have something specific to finish. Sometimes the best ideas come when I’m not planning to write, like during a soundcheck. I’m open to ideas all the time and practice purposefully writing as well as mining my random ideas for great ideas as well as practicing sitting down to write when I don’t think I have any ideas. You always have to be ready! |
Who she wants to work with: