You probably know Lisa Loeb best for her record topping, number one 1995 track “Stay (I Missed You).” But she has been very busy since then. Last time TheCelebrityCafe.com spoke to her, Lisa was excelling in the children's books and eye-wear markets.
Lisa's most recent endeavor as the founder of Camp Lisa, a non-profit organization helping children attend summer camp, lead to her co-writing the hit musical Camp Kappawanna, which debuted in April at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City and is set to hit them road. She was also honored by the American Camp Association this past November. And then there is her work with Amazon.com, including her album of nursery rhymes. But these are only some of the great accomplishments in her constantly blooming career.
In an exclusive telephone interview, Lisa talks about her favorite camp experiences as a child, her favorite campfire songs, collaborating with her children musically for the first time, working on the Amazon series If You Give a Mouse a Cookie…, exploring her acting career and more.
Check it out below.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Alright, so when you heard that you were going to be honored with this award, what were some of the thoughts that were running in your head in that moment?
Lisa Loeb: I was just really excited to be with a group of people that really focus on kids, and I kinda believe that something that was so important to me growing up is still so important to me now.
TCC: Awesome. And are you currently in Boston at the moment?
LL: No, I’m not. I’ll be heading there tomorrow.
TCC: How does it feel to be going back to Boston?
LL: Oh, I always love going to Boston. I spent a lot of time there; especially when I got a little older, like college age, my brother went to school in Boston. I went to summer school in Boston, and college in Rhode Island. So I spent a lot of time in Boston. I spent a lot of time there, so I love going there. I guess some things are going to be completely different there with the weather than it is here. Definitely when it’s 77 and sunny, like it is today (laughs).
TCC: Yeah, so I know you’ve already talked about this before, but I was curious to hear it in your own words: How did summer camp become such an important part of your life?
LL: Well, I went to day camp growing up in Texas, and eventually I ended up going to sleep-a-way camp. And when I started sleep-a-way … the year before, we took our brother to sleep-a-way camp. And they just left him at the bus. We had to take a bus to summer camp, which was just outside Austin, TX in Dallas. Anyway, so we took him to the bus, and it just seemed so daunting. The idea of going away on a bus by yourself, to a summer camp, seemed really, like, a little bit scary to me.
But the next year, I ended up going, and it kinda set the tone for what summer camp means to me. All about learning something new, what I might not naturally do right-off. But once I do it, I love it so much. I loved it so much. I had so much fun, and it was just my very first year. I ended up trying out all the different challenges, and trying new things, all of those things were really going to bring me joy, and bring me strength, and courage and self-confidence. And it just meant so much to me.
TCC: Was there any moment in particular, looking back, that stood out to you to continue going on this path?
LL: Gosh, there were just so many different things that I loved about camp. I think … there was this lake that we used to swim a mile. It was something that I never thought I would do in my life. It’s definitely not like a clean swimming pool. But anyway, we had to swim a mile, in the lake, from shore to this deck out in the middle of the lake, and then back again and I never thought I could do that. And to be able to swim to the shore at the end of the lake and back again … I might have come in last place, or close to last place, but I did it. You know? I made it.
TCC: And kinda switching gears, but is there a favorite campfire song or rhyme that you like to perform?
LL: Oh my gosh. Well, I made a whole CD of summer camp songs, followed it up with some sing-along songs. It’s available on Amazon. I wrote a couple of books of sing-a-long songs, and now I’m back to nursery rhythms, which aren’t really summer camp songs for, you know, older kids. But I love “Peanut Butter and Jelly,” the old-school “Peanut Butter and Jelly” song. There’s also one called “Grandma’s In the Cellar,” which is a kinda gross-out song.
TCC: And since you brought it up, how did Nursery Rhyme Parade come along?
LL: Well, I’ve been making summer camp records. I’ve been making summer camp records, and children records, and sing-along records for the past couple years. And finally, I had my own kid, and I started realizing that I love doing all those songs, but as a mom with young children, I realized there weren’t a lot of simple nursery rhyme records and recordings out there. There were a lot of books, which I have a lot of illustrated nursery rhyme books that I couldn’t remember how the songs went. So I started to do some research to see if I could find some recordings to remind myself the songs, and I realized there weren’t a whole lot of recordings that I was looking for.
I realized that I needed to make them, and Amazon was really interested in that project. They reach so many families and different people through their website, obviously. They have a tremendous amount of reach, for people like me: moms looking for things in the middle of the night. And so it felt like a great partnership. I was able to make a record of really classic songs, and I partnered with Amazon to get it out there.
TCC: And with this CD, you’ve gotten the chance to combine both your personality as an artist and your personality as a mom by having your daughter perform alongside (you). So what’s it like to have those two worlds combined?
LL: It was fun. You know, my son was a part of the CD as well. We also made a bunch of videos —which will be coming out soon — and my kids were involved with them. And it was the first time, you know … as an independent artist, we spend a lot of time in the studio and working. I mean, my life is pretty much compartmentalized. I play music, I go away on tour and come home, and I don’t bring my kids along with me on tour. Just because of the logistics too: when I tour, it would take the kids off their schedule in short spurts, so I don’t bring them along with me. I leave them at home with my husband so that they can stay in their routine. So, for the first time, they were really involved more in the totally process: they were in the studio for a little bit, they were in the videos. They came to visit me in the studio. So they got to be a part of it.
And so, it was really cool. I didn’t know that I would be able to get to a place like that, where they would be more involved. And it wasn’t like me saying, “Have a good day,” and dropping them off at the pre-school and leaving them for the day to work in the studio and coming home, with them having little-to-no idea what actually goes on during the day. It was really fun to have them in the studio and visiting. Not all-the-time, but just to be a part of it, and to be really excited about it.
TCC: Definitely. Now that you got to have that experience with them, have they expressed interest in pursuing music more seriously?
LL: Well I think, because they were so interested in music before — their entire lives — that made me interested in bringing them to the studio. Because my youngest has a little drum kit, he’s three-years-old, he’s got a drum kit. They play on our pianos and guitars, and all the different instruments in the house. And my daughter loves music so much as well. So since they showed so much interest in music and watching videos and live performances, that’s also why I invited them into the studio. Just because I knew they would be so excited to see the instruments, and play the instruments, and to see the microphones and the mic stands. And my daughter loved seeing everything come together. So it was just natural for them to be in the studio.
TCC: Naturally, yeah.
LL: Because for me, growing up, I would have never been in a recording studio. That would have been a really big deal. And it took me a minute to realize that kids coming in to the listen to the record, that it’s kind of a big deal to be in there in the studio. You know, it’s not an everyday occurrence. When you’re younger, if you don’t have a way to be in the music studio, it’s kind of a big deal. And I forgot that, you know?
TCC: Right.
LL: There are so many people now in my world who are parents who, you know, work in the music industry.
TCC: And to switch gears again, I was curious to figure out how you got involved with the pilot for If You Give a Mouse a Cookie….?
LL: I’m not sure if they came to me because of my work with Amazon, or if they wanted to work with me because they know I’m a musician, but they came to me to see if I’d write the theme song for it. And it’s a favorite over here — the book is a favorite over here at our house. And so even though I was trying to get my nursery rhymes album together, we took a break to put together this theme song.
Theme songs are so much fun; it’s so much fun to do theme songs because it’s very specific. It’s like a puzzle, putting together exactly what the people need for their TV show. Exactly what they’re trying to (get). The tone of the song is very specific. The lyrics are also very specific. It’s really fun to work, to do that puzzle of creating something that fits exactly what a director needs.
TCC: Definitely, and because it’s so new, I’ve been hearing a very warm response to the show….
LL: Yeah!
TCC: …. so to be involved, how does it feel to get such a great response so far?
LL: I mean, it’s always great to have a good response from people when trying to make something. As an artist, that’s my job: to make things. Just making the thing is a first step, to make something that we’re all happy about. But it definitely, it feels good when people like what you make.
TCC: Definitely. And you’ve also had a great response with Camp Kappawanna. But I was curious how that came together, both from a writing standpoint and getting it to the stage?
LL: Well, a theater company in Miami, a big theater company, wanted to … they heard my summer camp record, and there was one song on there that made them think it would be a good musical, based in summer camp. So we were commissioned to do a musical down in Miami, and that developed into an even bigger show that opened in New York City this year, at the Atlantic Theater. We did a lot of revisions and re-writes; we were really able to hone in and develop the script more, and write new songs. And it’s a work-in-progress. We’re excited at some point soon to get it on-the-road, so that it could travel all over the place.
There are so many parents out there who have great memories from summer camp, and through Camp Lisa, the foundation I started, I’ve started to spread the word and put kids into camp. We hope that it makes kids enthusiastic; it puts them on that journey you have when you’re starting off at camp and you don’t know anybody, but at that camp, you’ve made friends and you’ve learned a lot about yourself.
TCC: And since you’ve already had such a great year, can you tease anything about what you’re planning to do for the next one?
LL: I will continue to go out and play concerts centered on my nursery rhyme record, and also I’ve have another kids record coming up for next year that I’m finishing up with some original songs on my kids record, and soon I’ll have a grown-up record. Also at the end of the year, I’ll have a new song coming out on Amazon that people can check out. It’s a holiday song, a New Years song.
TCC: Cool. And for my final question: I’ve noticed recently that you’ve been getting more into acting. Even though you’ve done it a lot before, I feel that you’ve been doing more acting recently in the past couple years. Is that something you also wanted to continue exploring more in the future?
LL: Oh yeah, for sure. There’s a couple… I’m always auditioning for things, both for voiceover jobs in animation and stage commercials. There’s always some acting, and I also get to make the occasional cameo as myself in different projects, which is something I always like doing. So that’s always fun.
Follow Lisa on Twitter at @LisaLoeb, and on Facebook. For more information on upcoming projects and concerts, keep up with her website, lisaloeb.com.