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Interview | Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

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LadyLambTheBeekeeper_byShervinLainez7Aly Spaltro a.k.a. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper has seen her music career go from the movie store basement to the main stage…literally.  What once was a passionate hobby during breaks from her part-time movie store gig is now a fully fledged career where Aly’s intimate, homegrown music is out there for the world to hear. No longer is she giving away anonymous CDs for free – she’s now trotting the globe with Ripely Pine (her 1st studio album) in tow.

In the midst of a busy tour schedule that sees Lady Lamb the Beekeeper land at Toronto’s Drake Hotel this Monday (May 13), Ms. Spaltro found time to tell us about how her movie store days, her small town upbringing and moving to Brooklyn influenced her career. She also talks about how music is emotional therapy for her, and what her plans are for the future.

Read the full interview below and check Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s full tour schedule here.


Audioasis:
Back in Maine during your anonymous days, you left your email address on your records.  Did you ever get any feedback from listeners back then?  If so, did any comments stick out? Can you elaborate on any of them?
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper: I did!!! I got one response over myspace (because we were in the myspace days back then), from a guy named TJ Metcalfe who lived about 30 minutes south of my town. He had never been to Brunswick (where the cds were) before that day, and stopped into the record store on a long drive with a friend. We ended up meeting in person in Portland at an open mic a few weeks later, and he became my very best friend and also bandmate for a year and a half. Needless to say, this question is super exciting to me because TJ himself is rejoining Lady Lamb for this very tour that hits Toronto, playing bass!

AO: How did growing up in Maine shape your music? Did you see the move to Brooklyn as a necessary step to advance your career? What were some of the immediate shocks/adjustments of moving to Brooklyn and trying to emerge from one of the largest music markets in the world? Do you see Brooklyn as a home now?

LL: Starting to make music in Maine definitely shaped my early songs and career and served as the perfect venue for me to take my time and progress on my own terms. I moved to Brooklyn because I had a strong support group of old friends there and felt it was the next step for sharing my music on a broader scale. Moving to New York truly wasn’t much a struggle for me professionally because I waited to move to Brooklyn till I felt entirely ready and confident in my abilities. I definitely see Brooklyn as home now. I’m a Mainer at heart and will be forever, but I love living in Brooklyn and have no plans of moving away in near future.

AO: Ripely Pine is an emotional album. In what ways did recording with a full band change the songs you wrote 5 years prior as a solo artist? Did any of the songs take on new meaning for you? Did you find it tough to let other artists into such a personal and emotional space?

LL: The songs for me didn’t change their emotion in recording with a full band, but they were certainly opened up to their full musical potential. A handful of the songs were under a year old when they were re-arranged for a band, but some were a few years old as you mentioned, so arranging them into larger songs helped to refresh them for me and helped me see them through new eyes. I found it tough to let other musicians in in terms of trusting they knew what I wanted and knew how to respect the material, and not overplay, let the lyrics and the vocal remain the focal point, things like that..But I ended up getting people involved who were sensitive to that and worked with the songs without overworking them.

AO: You really seemed to come full circle on Ripely Pine in an emotional sense. In that way, would you say that music is therapy for you? How did writing Ripely Pine help you (if at all) in that particular period of your life?

LL: Music in general, and especially the record are certainly therapeutic for me. The spontaneity of writing each song is healing for me, and definitely the year in the studio- while it had it’s challenges-was completely fulfilling.

AO: I read somewhere (multiple places) that the name Lady Lamb came to you in a dream. Do you place importance on regularly documenting your dreams? How often do your dreams directly influence a song?

LL: I do place a lot importance on very vivid dreams I remember. Sometimes I write them down, or speak of them which helps me to remember, and parts of my dreams find their way into a lot of songs. There are a couple on Ripely Pine that were influenced by dreams, namely the song “Little Brother.”

AO: What are your plans after the EU tour is over?  Taking a break? More touring?  Writing/ Recording?

LL: After the EU tour, I have about two days to head home to Maine to see my little brother graduate from high school. Then I fly to Dallas for a 13-date co-headline tour with Torres. I have a couple scattered stints over the summer, but other than that I will be home in Brooklyn resetting and hopefully writing more material. Lots of touring on the horizon, but I’ll find the space to make new songs!


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