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GRAMMY Nominated Artist
March 21, 2005
Interview by Dan Kimpel
Produced by Denise Bradley
Cinegrill at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd
8pm Lisa Loeb
9:30pm Jeffrey Steele, Bob Bennett, Michael Lord, Eddie Cunningham, Monty Byrom
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Lisa Loeb was raised in Dallas, Texas, and deeply immersed in the arts from an early age. She studied piano and music theory and wrote her first original songs with lyrics while still in her early teens. She earned her degree in Comparative Literature and Spanish Literature from Brown University, where she experienced her first taste of musical success with the duo Liz and Lisa. Her breakout song "Stay (I Miss You)" became part of the soundtrack to the hit motion picture Reality Bites starring Ethan Hawke and directed by Ben Stiller. The Platinum-selling song put Loeb, then an unsigned artist, on the top of the charts earning both a Grammy nomination and a "Best New Artist" Brit Award resulting in a record contract with Geffen Records. Loeb, to this day, is still the only unsigned artist with a #1 single!
Loeb followed with four acclaimed CDs, including her Gold-certified debut Tails (1995) and the Grammy-nominated, Gold-certified Firecracker (1997). In 2002, Loeb issued Cake And Pie and Hello Lisa. Most recently, in 2004, Loeb reunited with her college music partner, Elizabeth Mitchell on the children?s CD and companion book Catch The Moon, which earned the prestigious Parent's Choice Award and released her newest CD The Way It Really Is.
Loeb's television credits include her own series for Food Network, Dweezil and Lisa. Other TV appearances include The Chris Isaak Show and The Drew Carey Show. Loeb starred in her first feature film role, opposite Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush in the movie House On Haunted Hill in 1999. In 2003 Loeb gave voice to Spiderman's gal pal Mary Jane in MTV's animated series Spider-Man.
www.lisaloeb.com
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Returning to the Songwriters Studio is Jeffrey Steele, BMI and NSAI's '03 Songwriter of the year, and BMI recently awarded Jeffrey for over 20 million airplays. Born in Burbank, CA, Jeffrey adopted his dynamic last name to pay tribute to his father, an aspiring songwriter who made his living cutting and processing steel, after his death in 1987. It was at the family steel shop where Jeffrey spent most of his time as a kid, working and playing guitars, listening to Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson into the late hours. The family shop was around the corner from the famous Palomino Club where Jeffrey and his father would listen to the music of Ray Price, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.
By 17, Jeffrey was on the road playing with different groups, and began writing songs. He played back-up for local acts such as Cliffie Stone, Red Simpson, Hank Thompson and Rose Maddox and became a sought after session singer in Los Angeles, the highlight of which was singing a demo in a bathroom with Smokey Robinson.
His recent hits include "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry, Rascal Flatts' "These Days", Faith Hill's "When the Lights Go Down", Tim McGraw's "The Cowboy In Me", "Chrome" by Trace Adkins, "My Town" and "Speed" also by Montgomery Gentry.
Other hits include "Big Deal', Leanne Rimes and "Unbelievable" by Diamond Rio. Former lead singer of LA based "Boy Howdy", ACM band of the year '90, Jeffrey co-wrote most of the band's hits including "She'd Give Anything" and "A Cowboy's Born With A Broken Heart". As an artist, his song "Something In the Water" hit the Top 10 and he recently opened some shows on Tim McGraw's tour.
www.jeffreysteele.com
ability to write songs about other than typical "spiritual" topics has always made him stand out a bit from his peers. To Bob, spiritual themes are everywhere, even in the least holy of circumstances. If you tell Bob his songs don't sound much like Christian music, you're likely to invoke a smile. After all, he has always lurked outside the fringes of contemporary Christian music, crafting songs that detail not only his joys and victories, but also his disappointments, struggles and failures.
Bob's acoustic folk-style recordings have honestly confronted the messy side of human existence over the years. But those who have discovered his depth, wit, honesty and musicianship consider him to be one of Christian music's foremost songwriters. His career was launched with the release of his 1979 folk-style debut recording First Things First. Three years later came Matters of the Heart, a recording Contemporary Christian Music Magazine voted 1982's "Album of the Year," ranking it among the top 20 contemporary Christian albums of all time. Soon after the release of his next recording, Non-Fiction, he served as opening act on Amy Grant's Unguarded tour. Lord of the Past: A Compilation followed, with its title song reaching #1 on the Christian radio charts in early 1990, followed by his second #1 song, "Yours Alone." Later that year Bob joined Michael Card's The Way of Wisdom tour, performing in front of sold-out audiences across the country. Songs From Bright Avenue was released in 1991, a collection of songs he wrote while struggling with the dissolution of his marriage. The years that followed were a time of emotional healing, regrouping and moving forward with his life. Recently, Bob has found acceptance in the mainstream folk music scene, while performing in music clubs near his home in Southern California.
www.bob-bennett.com
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a remarkable singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who draws quiet strength and inspiration from volatile relationships, intimate moments, and invisible scars, "a melodic modern rocker with a deft singer-songwriter touch. He's a Coldplay without the over-the-top anthems, a Michael Penn for a younger generation." (Playlist Magazine). For the week beginning Tuesday February 22nd, "Smile" from Michael Lord's "SWAY" is the iTunes Music Store - SINGLE OF THE WEEK. With his debut CD "SWAY" newcomer Indie Recording Artist Michael Lord has found an audience and the industry has taken note. Tracks from his self-produced effort have not only found their way into MTV programs such as the teen oriented "Laguna Beach," but also into ABC's sophisticated "ALIAS." Apple's iTunes Music Store exclaims, "Sway, cradles sumptuous arrangements in a fragile but rocking sonic embrace." Michael is also currently gearing up to work on pilots for ABC and FOX. His first video for SWAY's lead track "Come To Me," features Terminator 3's Kristanna Loken.
www.michaellord.com
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