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Web Exclusive Interview
Lisa Loeb Talks Drums
by Billy Amendola
(photo by Terry Gabis)
The very beautiful and talented singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb talks drums on MD Online.
Lisa
was raised in Dallas, Texas, where she studied piano/music theory and
wrote her first songs while still in her early teens. She’s earned a
degree in comparative literature from Brown University, where she
experienced her first taste of musical success with the duo Liz &
Lisa. In the early ’90s, Loeb moved to New York City and became friends
and neighbors with actor Ethan Hawke, who recommended her to Reality Bites
director Ben Stiller. Her song “Stay” was featured on the film’s
soundtrack and became a platinum-selling hit that earned Lisa a Grammy
nomination—which resulted in a record deal with Geffen Records. (Lisa
is the only artist to have a Number-1 record before being signed to a
label.)
Lisa proved her talent over the years,
showing she was a lot more than just a cute, one-hit wonder. She
released her debut, Tails, in 1995 and its follow-up, the Grammy-nominated, gold-certified Firecracker in ’97. In 2002, Lisa released Cake And Pie and Hello Lisa. The Very Best Of Lisa Loeb is her latest release and features the new track “Single Me Out,” which is also the theme song of her reality TV series, #1 Single, on E! Entertainment Television.
Over the years Lisa has recorded and toured with a number of
drummers, and she’s very knowledgeable and hands-on about what she
looks for in her music. Her current drummer, Ronny Crawford, weighs in:
“Playing and recording with Lisa has always been a great experience
because her songs are so descriptive and beautiful. The drum parts are
created through jamming with her and the band. A great thing is, she
will always suggest a drum idea that she hears in her head that veers
or stops or changes the beat around, making it unique to her music.
We’ve toured extensively, and playing live is always fun because she
encourages the band to stretch and create new ideas.”
MD Online caught up with Lisa while she was on a break from recording her next record.
MD:
Let’s talk about how you approach the drums, from the moment you start
writing a song through the process of bringing it to the studio.
Lisa:
In some cases when I’m writing music, I think of the drumbeat and the
feel of the song, depending on the song. Sometimes that plays a major
part. I’m co-writing a song right now called “Fallback Guy,” and as we
were writing it I realized the drums needed to feel like a very
tom-heavy, sort of Elvis Costello–sounding drum beat. So sometimes once
you get the drum beat or the feel stuck in your head, that will guide
you…
MD: Dictate the direction of the song…
Lisa:
Exactly. I play guitar percussively on certain songs, so that can
sometimes influence the direction too. Other times, it’s not until I
get into the studio and we start experimenting. Sometimes a song isn’t
quite working in the studio, and when we start trying something
completely different from what I would have even thought of, the song
takes on a new life and we’re able to develop it from there.
Right now my primary drummer is Ronny Crawford, who’s great. I
had a drummer for a long time named Jon Feinberg, who I’m still friends
with. Jon was a very technical drummer who plays really well, but I
turned a corner and I really wanted more of a rock drummer, and Ronny
was the perfect guy. He’s very feel-oriented, and his time is great,
and he’s not held-back technically. He’s more like John Bonham or Keith
Moon, more wild. That’s great, because the drummers who play with us
singer/songwriters, especially in the early ’90s, were a little more
technical and less emotional, and Ronny’s more spirited. So I really
enjoy playing with him. And I also play with a drummer named Joe
Travers. Joe is a great drummer too. Depending on where I’m playing,
I’ll use him if he’s available.
MD: Is Ronny in your touring band?
Lisa:
Ronny’s in my touring band—when he’s available. Especially now with the
state of things, you can’t really afford to keep musicians on. So it’s
important to have a number of different musicians who know each other
and get together and play. That gives everybody more freedom, so if the
drummer’s got another great gig offer, he’ll be able to do it. And as a
singer/songwriter, I’m playing with different musicians more now than I
ever thought I would growing up. And it really opens up your mind.
MD: It can push you in a different direction sometimes.
Lisa: Yeah, it does, and different combinations of people create a different chemistry.
MD: Will you give direction to the drummer in the studio?
Lisa:
I’ll have an idea of what I want. But I play with musicians I trust, so
when I show them a new song and we start playing through it, then I’ll
start getting really particular with how it’s played and what the drum
feel is and how complex it needs to be. And as a singer/songwriter, the
drums are really important because it’s part of the thing that creates
the variety from song to song. It’s really important to me when I make
an album that there’s some songs that are way more rock and some songs
that are more acoustic and some songs that are more orchestrated in
some way. I need a drummer who can do all those things. So, yes, I
suggest drum parts.
Over the years I’ve learned
that instead of trying to force musicians to play things that I’m
hearing in my head, I try to start off with a little bit more of the
raw materials that are close to what I need. I’ve always had great
musicians, and now I have musicians who I feel a little bit more
confident with right from the get-go. We start playing and what they
initially come up with is usually close to what I’m looking for, so I
feel less bossy. [laughs] That’s good because I tend to be very
specific with what I’m looking for and what I need.
When it comes to live playing, I used to be very married to the
idea of playing things the way they were on the recordings, because as
an audience member that’s what I wanted when I went to see a band play.
But now as a musician, I feel like when we play live, part of our goal
is to play the right feel of the song. It’s not going to sound exactly
like the recording, but not drastically different either. I don’t like
it when people completely change it up and turn a rock song into a
reggae song, or something like that. That drives me crazy.
MD: So you let the band stretch a bit.
Lisa:
Yes. But if there are signature parts of a song, I like to play
those close to the recording. And when we play a single on TV, I do
like to play it as closely as possible to the recording, because at
that point it’s a commercial for that one song.
MD: Is there anything you don’t like drummers to do?
Lisa:
I do have certain drum quirks, like I don’t like Blastix and Rods. I
know a lot of people start trying to revert to Blastixs when they are
trying to support the singer. I like drumsticks! I like the sound of a
drumstick hitting the snare drum squarely. Those kinds of sticks just
don’t have the impact of a drumstick hitting the drum. And it’s funny,
because I’m a singer/songwriter and a lot of people are like, “Oh, does
your drummer use Blastix?” [laughs]
MD: Yeah, one would think you don’t want the drummer overpowering you.
Lisa:
It’s often a challenge to be a singer/songwriter who prefers rock
music. In a large venue drummers can play louder, and the mix engineer
in the house can balance out the instruments. Whereas in a place where
we’re more likely to play, like a House Of Blues or a place that’s a
bit smaller, you get into that weird situation where you don’t want the
drummer to hold back, but you also don’t want them to have Blastixs.
You know what I’m saying?
MD: So the drummer has to have control.
Lisa: Yes. And luckily I have great drummers who have a lot of control. But that’s always something that has to be contended with.
MD: Do you have certain drums in mind for particular tracks?
Lisa:
Oh, yeah, I’ll work with the drummer and engineers together on that.
Sometimes you need a tighter or deeper-sounding snare drum, or you need
certain toms or cymbals or percussion elements. Obviously the tuning of
the drums and the depth of the material and what the drums are made out
of—and the rooms that we are recording in—all play a part. But again, I
can keep honing down my team to the point where we are all on the same
page at the get-go, so it doesn’t become a four-hour discussion about
which drumsticks or snare drum to use.
We’ve also
gone through phases where we were so specific about the drums and gear
and looking for special rooms, and it gets to the point where that gets
too complex. And I think a lot
of us have gone back to saying, “Let’s just play it,” and you do the
least amount of that kind of over-thinking. I remember when we worked
in Electric Lady in NYC for some tracks on my first album. We had a
great room sound and it was awesome, but when we got to mixing we ended
up using mainly the close mic’s, because the drums were taking up too
much space in the track. And all of a sudden it was like, “Wait.” So I
started recording at people’s home studios and small spaces and that
worked just as well. The drummer felt comfortable, and the drums were
set up well, and the studio was set up well. Sometimes you don’t need a
big expensive studio with a big room. With some great playing and some
engineering, you don’t necessarily need expensive rented drums and a
bunch of nonsense.
MD: Do you have certain drummers in mind for certain tracks?
Lisa:
In most cases I love to work with my own band just because I love them
so much. Ronny and Joe are both fun to work with and hang out with,
besides being great drummers.
MD: You’ve also used studio players on your records at times, such as John Robinson on “I Do.”
Lisa:
Yes, J.R. played on that song. That was a situation where the record
company wanted a single, and we invited J.R. to come in and play. He
played well on that song; it had that more commercial feel to it. I
just have a tremendous loyalty to my band, so it’s always hard for me
to work with…not hard…but I always feel strange working with other
musicians who aren’t in my band. And yet, I’ve learned from those
experiences that it’s okay, you still can be loyal to your band, and
you can learn so much and be introduced to different playing styles.
Like, I love Matt Chamberlain. He’s a fantastic drummer. I remember
being so disappointed when I heard that The New Bohemians, who are from
Dallas, where I grew up, replaced their drummer. After playing with
Matt I realized how incredible a drummer he is. He’s artistic but still
really strong.
MD: And his feel is great.
Lisa:
Yes, exactly. So we may pull in a different drummer for different
projects. Honestly a lot of it has to do with whether Ronny is on tour
in Europe or somewhere and we can’t get him to come to the studio.
MD: I read that you did two tracks for CD tributes to Shania Twain and Cher. Who was the drummer on those tracks?
Lisa:
Brett Chasson played on those recordings. He’s a really nice guy who
works with Bob Kulick a lot on those tribute records. So Bob brought
Brett in to play on them. Brett is a really sweet guy. He loaned me
some drums that I have in my living room; I try to play them every once
in a while.
MD: So you get behind the kit and play?
Lisa:
I’m not very good, but I do. [laughs] I’m always learning things. Matt
Chamberlain taught me a few fills. But Brett’s drums are custom
Innovations with gold hardware. They’re black with multi-colored
sparkles, and they’re really beautiful.
MD: Who played drums on the new track, “Single Me Out”?
Lisa: Adam Marcello. He’s someone that producer/songwriter Jimmy Harry works with a lot. Adam’s another great drummer.
MD: That song is rocking.
Lisa: It totally rocks! We wanted to get a drummer in there who could play that kind of feel. It’s basically old-school rock/pop.
MD: One last question: When you hire a drummer, what are the requirements?
Lisa:
He has to be able to communicate well in musical terms. We have to be
able to communicate with each other, and he has to be flexible and be
able to take constructive criticism. He also has to have his own
creative ideas about things. I don’t want a follower who does only what
he’s told, though he has to respect that I’m the leader of the band. He
has to be familiar with basic drum beats, feels, and references. And he
has to be fun and easy to work with, and have a good attitude. That’s really important. Musicians hang out a lot, and you want to have a good time. And no drugs.
For more on Lisa, visit her Web site, www.lisaloeb.com.
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