Best known for her folky, introspective smash hit “Stay (I Missed You)” from 1994’s “Reality Bites” soundtrack, Lisa Loeb defies categorization. At any given time, the Bethesda-born, Dallas-raised singer/songwriter and mom of two may be recording an album, filming a TV show, designing a new eyeglasses collection, writing a children’s book or raising funds for Camp Lisa, a nonprofit that sends needy kids to summer camp. On Dec. 8, Loeb, 50, will perform at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts in Owings Mills. Jmore recently caught up with her.
Any Bethesda memories at all?
I don’t have any memories of my own, just photos of memories. I moved when I was very young!
Your glasses are iconic. Wear contacts?
I wear contacts here and there for auditions or IMAX movies when I have to wear glasses over glasses.
Ever get sick of playing “Stay (I Missed You)”?
Sometimes it’s hard to sing early in the morning. There are some vocal acrobatics. Also, when it’s super humid, sometimes the action on my guitar is off and the strings get really high off of the guitar neck, which makes the complicated picking parts hard to do.
What was it like playing yourself on “Gossip Girl”? Was it a parody?
It was another dimension of myself. It was fun to hang out with the entire cast in the final episode. We all hung out for hours and hours, catching up in an old-school Upper East Side apartment.
How’d you get started in kids’ music?
I have such nostalgia for my childhood and what I was watching and listening to when I was young. I wanted to make something like those things – [Marlo Thomas’] “Free to Be … You and Me,” soft pop from 1970s radio, variety shows like “Carol Burnett.”
For information about Lisa Loeb at the Gordon Center, visit jcc.org.
—Simone Ellin
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