Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories began to gig around the Midwest, playing at Austin's South by Southwest seminar. Loeb then hooked up with producer Juan Patiņo, and in early 1992 released the cassette-only Purple Acoustic Tape, which she sold at live shows. Several major labels showed interest in her, but Loeb remained unsigned by late 1993, when her friend Ethan Hawke asked her to contribute a song for his next picture. Director Ben Stiller decided that he liked one of Loeb's other songs even better, so "Stay" was inserted on the soundtrack. Released as a single in May 1994, it reached number one two months later and eventually sold over 750, 000 copies worldwide. Loeb & Nine Stories received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Group, and won a Brit Award for Best International Newcomer. Geffen Records, which had shown interest in Loeb before "Stay," signed her later in 1994 and re-teamed her with Juan Patiņo. Her debut album Tails was released just over a year after her signing, and proved successful with commercial radio as well. Firecracker appeared in 1997, scoring a hit with "I Do."