Brian Lambert On the Making Of ‘Wild’
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in ‘Wild?’
I think the way in which it was spread out over the course of a few years. Every song was produced differently than the rest. Some of the songs I poured over for a week at a time and by the end of the process it was as fast I could do it. Not because I had a deadline or sense of getting it done but more as a way to make sure and stay out of my own way. I do think my skills in recording have become very refined after doing the 52 Week Music Production Challenge and working on the 2 Star Crumbles records as well as producing a couple of other artists. I also love that so many of the songs became collaborations by the end of everything. That really brings a certain magic to the process.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for ‘Wild?’
Many songs were released during my 52-week music production challenge where I had a strict deadline of releasing a song a week for a year. So honestly those songs are a bit of a blur. I had to program all the drum parts, play bass, guitar, and synths as well as singing, oftentimes writing the song. Then I had to mix and master them as well. For those songs, some I just remixed and remastered to fit the feeling of this album. Some of them I went back and resang a part I didn't feel conveyed what I had intended with the song. The new stuff such as the song “Wild” was easier mostly because I didn't have to play all the parts. I'd program some drums and then send them to my good friend and bandmate Marc Schuster and he'd send back way better live parts. It was awesome to reconnect with my old bandmate Harmoni Kelley who laid down the bass and backing vocals. Same for “Breed,” with Marc on the drum and my boy Quizboy laying down that awesome electric. By that time I really did a little to mix as I possibly could so that the performances would come through.
What did you enjoy most about making ‘Wild?’
I'd say first it was the process of learning how to collaborate online with other musicians. It's great to have your own vision but I love what the collective talents of people can really bring to a work. I tend to like things to be very unstructured because I want to see what could happen. Sure I might have an idea but yours might be even more or take my idea to a place I didn't imagine which is magical.
Second, I love mixing and playing with sound. There are so many things to love about music and right now it might be my favorite thing. Hearing how each move you make alters the sonic landscape never ceases to fascinate me.
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
It's a long one for sure. I started playing on a couch in my dorm common area making up songs about people walking by then went to be in a weird coffee shop trio akin to the Violent Femmes which morphed into a weird little art rock noise band. Afterwards, I played in a band Workhorse, with Harmoni, which played a really weird mix of grunge and Texas country kind of like Slobberbone. I got married and stopped doing music actively for about 5 years and ended up as a stockbroker, gag, going door to door. During that time I was still writing and I ended up knocking on the door of a producer. We ended up making a record that it's hard for me to describe stylistically but I wasn't particularly thrilled with, but it got me back doing music. All of this took place in Austin over a decade ago.
I moved to North Texas and started an indie rock band which ended up morphing into a Texas country band for "career" reasons and location. That band never released an album and there was a rotating cast of members. I decided I was done with bands for a while and did the solo circuit. I would play 4-5 nights at wine bars, dive bars, and the airport to name a few places. All of them were 3 hour sets just playing and playing and playing. I recorded the tracks for the album Before This which was my attempt to fit into the Americana genre. Then COVID hit and I lost my mind trying to figure out what to do next which led to the 52 Week Music Production challenge where I decided there were no one's rules that I was going to play by anymore. When that ended my friend Marc asked if I could sing and write lyrics for some music he had written and that became the Star Crumbles who have released 2 albums and have a single on the way. That pretty leads us to hear. I feel like I covered a whole lot of ground in two paragraphs and I didn't even mention my album Country Music Jesus, but then I guess I just did.
Are there any specific venues or festivals that you dream of performing at?
You know, I went to the first 3 Austin City Limits Music Festivals so that would be a big one. Riot Fest up in Chicago always has a great lineup and I'd love to be a part of that. A bucket list thing is to tour Europe. And I'd love to be on a late-night show, SNL is probably my dream one.