A Chat with Brian Lambert (04.03.24)
Already a favourite in our team, singer-songwriter Brian Lambert walks the line between rock, pop and punk…then blurs it all stomping about with eager, hard-hitting rock intent. Come with us and stomp about as we speak with the US-based musician about his new singles, creative process, future plans and surviving a zombie invasion.
OSR: Brian, it’s great to be talking with you. We spoke last year in October about your album Wild, so what has been going on with you since then?
Lambert: Thank you for having me again. It’s been very busy. Family is really important right now. Like so many people, the last few years were a challenge that affected my physical health so I’ve paid a lot of attention to it. I’m feeling more energetic than I have in years.
Musically, I’ve been focused on live performance again which is its own whole thing. I was so thrilled to be a part of helping bring As Particles Collide’s latest album, Within Cells Interlinked Pt. 1 to life. We’re working on the next one where we have a collaboration going. He also brought some great guitar fuzz to ‘Never Back Down’. I’m currently demoing new tracks to do another album which I have the songs for and I’m listening to see what direction it may go. So I’m keeping a very full schedule these days.
OSR: You just released two new singles, ‘Never Back Down’ and ‘Face Master’, what can you tell us about each? Is there a connection, perhaps a theme or backstory?
Lambert: Well, ‘Face Master’ originally came out during my 52 Week Music Production challenge. I recorded the guitar parts while watching Return of The Living Dead. I had decided I wanted to do something a bit more old-school punk and felt like it could use a new life. I asked my friend Harmoni Kelley if she could lay down some bass and sing for that track. ‘Never Back Down’ was written more recently and it fit the same dirty punk vibe and she had the time to do that one too. Since I was working with Kyle from APC on his album I wanted to see what that would sound like. It turned out quite nicely.
Thematically, there really isn’t much to interpret. These are both middle fingers in the air in the direction of bullies telling you to stay down and in your place. Which is pretty much what punk is about, is it not?
OSR: If you could change one thing about each single, what would it be?
Lambert: I wouldn’t change a thing. They are both a little bit more lo-fi and dirty-sounding. That’s intentional. My desire was to create a similar feeling, while not the sound of old cassette tapes I would get from bands who didn’t have any budgets and the excitement is all in the performance. Sometimes challenging the status quo means challenging the production standards of what is “good”. To that end, I am curious what it might sound like if someone else mixed the songs with a different, maybe more pop-punk aesthetic to see if it translated to a different audience. That may be in the works as we speak.
OSR: What is your creative process?
Lambert: It’s ABC. Always be creating. I’m constantly singing, writing, learning new songs, and experimenting with recording techniques. When you’re always playing with something it stays fun and fresh. When it’s time to put together an album or a single I can gather up what I’ve got and curate it to whatever my intention is at the time. Logic and processes describe something in hindsight, so I abandon logic to see what is possible. Most of the time it might be described as a fugue state where I don’t really remember what or how I did it. It’s important to trust and get lost in the work. Afterwards, you can come back up for air, so to speak, and evaluate what was fun.
OSR: As compared to your previous singles, including the album Wild, ‘Never Back Down’ and ‘Face Master’ seem to lean further toward rock and roll. Is this an evolution in your sound; are you entering 2024 with a new style?
Lambert: In one sense, no it’s not any more of an evolution than any of my previous works that jump stylistically from place to place. In another sense yes, it would seem that I’ll most likely keep heading down this path because hard-rocking tunes energise me. When I need a pick me up, rock and roll does it and puts me in the right headspace. I’m having so much fun playing my electric guitar and turning up the distortion that naturally this seems like the direction I’ll be going for a little while. Of course, until I’m not having fun and release an experimental noise folk album infused with 3rd coast hip hop or something off the wall like that. I’ve also always wanted to do an album of 00’s era Latin American pop/rock. It’s good to keep people guessing.
OSR: What do you hope people take from these singles?
Lambert: Always, always, always, I want people to feel good when they listen to the tunes. With these tunes in particular being pumped up and ready to take a bite out of life. Standing up to your bullies is a thing we have to do so if these songs help someone find that courage, then I’ve done a good job.
OSR: Random questions: if you had the world’s attention for one moment, what would you say?
Lambert: Get therapy and work on your own mental and physical health issues. From my point of view, so much of the chaos that has been created is designed to dysregulate people. When you’re constantly triggered by everything, you feel powerless. The only place you have influence is over yourself. Learning how to recognize how your body reacts in certain situations creates a gap where you can input a new response and avoid playing out the same situation over and over again. Learning to more patiently deal with the stresses you find yourself in is one of the most powerful things any person can do, especially right now.
OSR: What’s your plan for surviving a zombie invasion?
Lambert: Geeze, you could write a book on this topic. Fortunately, someone already has and I own a copy of Max Brooks, The Zombie Survival Guide. He’s Mel Brooks’ son, so you think it’s comedy but really it’s a pretty decent survival guide and breaks down the advantages and disadvantages of certain tools, weapons and situations as such.
Rule number one is of course cardio, then you’ve got to decide how and when to get out of the city. Long-term you have to make sure you take care of the basics, like finding a secure location and reliable food and water. Of course, that’s why the answer to the question above is so important. In all the zombie movies, zombies are often the secondary problem and dealing with scared humans is the biggest obstacle to surviving. Taking care of your mind grapes can prevent you from making a horrible mistake that will land you as one of the ranks of the undead.
OSR: What was the last big mistake you made?
Lambert: Well nothing so bad that I ended up as a zombie. It took a long time to reprogram myself to withhold judgment and mostly view things as an opportunity for growth. You know these ideas about what should or shouldn’t be are all just made up. Who decides what’s a mistake for you and your life? With that, if I could go back to 30, when I was in amazing shape physically and tell myself to maintain that athletic lifestyle. I’ve found when I feel healthy and fit I can handle anything that comes my way. For a long time, I let that part slip and I think a lot of the challenges I’ve faced could have been handled differently had I been in better shape physically.
OSR: What can we expect from Brian Lambert in 2024?
Lambert: Definitely more live shows. Just before this interview, I was booked to perform at the Deep Ellum Music and Arts Fair in April with more dates already on the calendar. Playing more festivals and intimate house party shows are what I’m working on all the time right now. It’s the season to “bring the music to the people”. Artistically, let’s leave that a bit of mystery. I like people guessing and being surprised. Thank you again for the opportunity to talk about listening to my new releases.
Many thanks to Brian Lambert for speaking with us. Find out more about Brain Lambert on his official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
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