Grabbing a beer with Lisa Loeb

Yup, I had a beer with this girl

(And by grabbing a beer, I mean Skyping from our respective homes)

Lisa Loeb is going to camp. Her ninth album is Camp Lisa, a collection of original and classic camp songs inspired by Lisa's days at St. Mark's Day Camp, Camp Chai and the sleep-away Camp Champions. She was also driven by the hope of creating a foundation to send underprivileged kids to camp-a hope she realized with The Camp Lisa Foundation. After careful selection, The Camp Lisa Foundation donated this year's proceeds to S.C.O.P.E. (see info below) a not for profit kids' camp foundation.

Lisa, who hit #1 with "Stay (I Missed You)", and enjoyed Billboard chart success with "Do You Sleep" and "I Do", among others, subsequently appeared on The Food Network show, Dweezil and Lisa. Soon after, she released a children's album in 2004 titled Catch The Moon. Not only was it a Parent's Choice award winner, Kids and parents alike repeatedly requested that she release a second one, and the idea was planted. After appearing on E!'s #1 Single, a documentary style show that followed her life as a single singer/songwriter, she felt the time was right to return to kids' music. The following is an excerpt of my Skype conversation with Lisa about Camp Lisa, Texas shaped tortilla chips and Sarah Palin among other things. (Please note that Lisa and I have known each other since the second grade.)

LA Entertianment Examiner: I'm at my house in LA, where are you? 

Lisa Loeb: I'm at my apartment in NY that I share with my boyfriend, but as you know, my house in West LA is my primary residence. 

LAEE: I sure do. Your fridge is spectacular for midnight raids. Who knew almond butter was so awesome! 

LL: Right?!

LAEE: Since LA is your primary residence, play tour guide for a minute, and tell me where you like to go, on, say, Abbot Kinney?

LL: Ok, my first stop would be the Japanese restaurant SHIMA, then, because you should never shop hungry, the Market Gourmet where I would first peruse the ice cream section and maybe get a carton of their Vanilla Snowflake Laloo Goat Milk ice cream, then their olive oil collection and then over to  their mini travel peanut butter packets. Look, I have one here! It's almond butter!  

LAEE: It's a theme, apparently. So why camp?

LL: Well, music and camp are intertwined. There are campfire songs, silly songs, serious songs, old traditionals, sing-alongs, songs about the camp itself, but also, camp is the first place I think I really started to play guitar. 

LAEE: I used to get so jealous when you would go to Camp Champions. I remember coming over and watching you pack your trunk. Everything was labeled. I thought you would forget me. But you wrote!

LL: Of course I wrote, and you sent me those purple Donny Osmond socks- the ones with his photo on them.  I still have them.  I told Donny about it!

LAEE: What else about camp?

LL: Think about it, school is important-I mean you and I were lucky to have gone to the private girls' school that we did-but at camp, you aren't graded so you are valued for just you, the person; you are part of a community, but you learn to be a leader; you try things for the first time, you are independent AND I just learned that kids who go to camp retain more of what they learn in the school year. Apparently participating in activities, specifically camp, keeps your brain from erasing what it has learned. And Camp Lisa covers themes specific to the camp experience, like friendship and waking up and going away, and saying "so long, but not goodbye forever" that can also be applied to real life. 

LAEE: Do you think it's bad that I spent my Summers walking barefooted around Laredo, Texas and buying sno-cones with my cousins? What happens to your brain then? 

LL: Brain freeze.  No, actually, I think if you're involved in summer activities instead of sitting around, you're probably doing pretty well.  Just look at you now.

LAEE: Do you remember when you got a tick on your neck, I think, in 3rd grade? Was it at Margaret's house? (Aside to the reader-Margaret was our other best friend.) Do you think that the tick experience somehow connected you to camp more? I know that would require a huge leap, but I like the tick story.

LL:  think it prepared me for the possibilities of ticks at camp, although I don't think I ever got one.  I did get sunburns though. 

LAEE: Do you want to say anything about the occasional unsupervised socializing between boys and girls at camp?

LL: I wish I could, but at Camp Champions, it was pretty much all planned out for boys and girls to do activities separately until we were senior campers, when we water skied, roller skated to "I Can't Get No Satisfaction."  Up to then, the Saturday night dances were pretty much it.  Even now I feel this uncomfortable anticipation when I use a curling iron hair,  lip gloss,  or wear jeans with satin patches. 

LAEE: So aside from the songs on Camp Lisa, I saw additional camp songs on Amazon.com. When my sister and I found them, we sang the chewing gum song together. 

LL: Yes, there is a digital sing along album there, an extension of the Camp Lisa record with cute peanut butter and jelly photos...the theme continues. I noticed that your Amazon wish list had lot of different types of cheeses. Is that a typo?

LAEE: You know I love cheese! Do you not remember that at my request, you gave me a cheese platter for my birthday in 8th grade? What 8th grader wants a cheese platter?

LL: Was it a request, or did I just know it would be  a perfect gift- meats and cheeses, and for me something cute and pink with cats or Hello Kitty. 

LAEE: I know you are doing selected tour dates for Camp Lisa. I've spoken to some of the kids in attendance, and not only were they PSYCHED to be there, but their parents, many of whom are our age, get transported back to their days as campers. Just like when I burn my feet, I get transported back to Laredo, Texas. Aaaah memories.

LL: We have lots of them at this point. 

LAEE: You know what I've found though? Even though I didn't go to camp, these songs just capture Summer and that feeling of running around outside with the sprinkler on, or setting up a Lemonade stand. I think you and I also sold pinch pots. Anyway. So what's next? 

LL: I'm writing songs for a grownup record. Now that I've made kids' records, I call regular records grownup records. You can't call them "adult" records-it just doesn't sound right. 

LAEE: Are you writing a song about me? Will you finally come clean about not liking me in 2nd grade?

LL: Well when I've been performing these selected dates, I play this song, "Best Friend" and I've been telling the story that maybe it was that we were in different homerooms, but that, um, no, I didn't like you then. But then I tell them that the Summer between 2nd and 3rd, we hung out at the arts and crafts mall where your Mom was teaching drawing, and we snuck away during a break. We went in to some store over and over to taste those Texas shaped tortilla chips samples. I think our Moms called the cops. It may have been the closest I've been to getting arrested. 

LAEE: Remember when we did that at Northpark Mall, and they just left us there? They came and got us later. You could do that back then!

LL: I know.  Now I don't think our parents would even leave us at the mall.  Probably for different reasons now. 

LAEE: So as they do in these articles, I'd like to describe what you are wearing.

LL: Can you write about what I was just wearing, it was so cute. Right now, I'm in comfy clothes. 

LAEE: Perfect! (Aside to reader-see description after the interview.) Ok, I'm so sorry, but I have to ask...since you are one of America's glasses sweethearts, you and Tina Fey, how do you feel now that Sarah Palin has joined this club?

LL: Well, like I told Fox's Boston affiliate, I'm surprised to find that we have something in common, but it seems that in the way that people sometimes focus more on my glasses than other things about me, I think they are doing the same with Sarah Palin. Too much focus on the superficial, and not enough on the core issues like sex education.

LAEE: Well done! If I were going to walk down the aisle to my upcoming wedding to any pop song, what do you think it should be? My sister and I had thought "Big Pimpin" or perhaps, "Love In An Elevator".

LL: "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins. Or maybe "For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite". What about, "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin? No, maybe, "We Got The Beat". 

LAEE: Wow! Thank you! What are you showing me here on Skype? I'm going to photograph you with it for my column.

LL: I'ts a jar of sequins. I love arts and crafts-another great thing about camp! I've decorated the top with sequins to make it look more decorative. Look at this detail, I even made little leaves around the edges. And here is my glue, it's called tacky glue.

LAEE: Did you know that your sister Debbie taught me the word tacky? That moment was WAY more seminal than Joanie's brother first teaching me, um, let's just say it was a bad word. 

LL: We really took not saying bad words really seriously.  And not taking drugs because we might jump off a building thinking we could fly.  

LAEE: Anything to add?

LL: Like you said earlier, whether you've been to Summer camp or not, buy Camp Lisa.  

Lisa Loeb was wearing: A super cute white shirt by Elizabeth and James, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's clothing line with ruching inside the sleeve, and buttons on the back, which makes it more fitted. It is also longer in the front and back and shorter on the sides; Dark navy blue, slightly low-cut, skinny jeans by Genetic; Alice and Olivia sweater with 3/4 length bell sleeves. The white shirt was peeking out from the sweater. On her feet: Brown zippered boots with medium high heels by Dries Van Noten. Accessories: Cupcake with wings necklace made by Pnut and a red messenger bag from Kid Robot. 

Critics said this about Camp Lisa: "...enjoyable as a freshly made s'more." – LA Parent; "Loeb lends her gentle wit to this camp-themed album, which features familiar sing-alongs like "Peanut Butter & Jelly" and original tunes like "Best Friend," with its reassuring lyrics about making new pals." – People Magazine; “…the clear-, sweet-voiced Loeb reinvents the camp song genre with ditties about fireflies, rainy days, and…pancakes.” – Entertainment Weekly; “Camp Lisa is definitely a Lisa Loeb CD, and the campfire sing-alongs and playground chants mesh well with her indie sound. Good Humor abounds.” – Cookie Magazine. For more information on http://www.scope-ny.org/.