Aly Spaltro, who performs and records as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, has a lot to be thankful for these days. She’s currently on a national tour with guitarist/singer-songwriter Kaki King, and it was announced just days ago that she was signed to Ba Da Bing Records, which will be releasing her album “Ripely Pine” in February.
Originally from Brunswick, Lady Lamb grew up all over the place and settled back in Maine when she was 14. She spent time in Portland, where she was a constant on the local music scene for three years. She’s been a Brooklynite for the past two years, and her show with King at Portland’s Space Gallery on Dec. 4 will be her first one in these parts in well over a year.
Additional Photos
GO recently caught up with Lady Lamb, who was kind enough to take a few moments out of her hectic tour schedule to oblige us with answers to a whole mess of questions.
How has the tour with Kaki King been for you?
The tour has been nothing but wonderful for me. It has been incredibly humbling to have met Lady Lamb fans across the country and Canada; people in every single city who have been waiting all these years to see me in their area. There are really no words for how exciting it has been for me to meet my fans along the way and make new ones, singing these songs that I love to sing. I’m so grateful to have now seen the country and played to such kind and attentive crowds every night.
What are some of your biggest sources of inspiration?
My biggest inspirations tend to be found in fragments of conversations I pass by on the street or hear pieces of in a crowd. I also do a lot of daydreaming as the passenger in a car or while driving, and find myself writing lyrics in my head and committing them to memory before writing them down.
When and how did you come up with the name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper?
The moniker “Lady Lamb the Beekeeper” came to me about five years ago before I had released any recordings, roughly two weeks after I began making songs. I was having trouble sleeping through the night because I was so inspired and excited to begin the next day of recording. I was training myself to write down lyrics in a notebook while half asleep.
“Lady Lamb the Beekeeper” was written in my notebook one morning when I woke up, and I have no recollection of writing it down. It was around the time I was trying to come up with a moniker for the project, and it seemed to fit right in. I couldn’t really argue with something so strange and intriguing, and it stuck.
What’s next for you?
After this tour, I have about two months to prepare for my record release. I am hoping to get a big band together to re-create songs from the record in their full recorded form. I’d like to be back on the road by spring, and it’s my hope that I’ll be able to go over to Europe to tour the record as well.
What’s one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned about the music biz in the past couple of years?
I have mostly just learned a lot about myself and what makes me happy. Since moving to New York, I have learned that people are no different in any one place than the last with regards to music and the way that it moves us all, and we all seek that connection. I have found that being a part of that connection makes me happy; singing for and meeting passionate and ambitious people; people who believe in art and music and love and each other.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that I make my own rules and boundaries and am responsible for my own success and happiness within the music industry, and that it is possible to carve out that space for myself and feel at peace with my career decisions without feeling that I have to conform to any standard.
How did you get signed to the Ba Da Bing label?
I would say that Ba Da Bing and I have been silently courting each other since around the time I toured with Beirut two springs ago. My wants in a label were very simple: A small team of people who care about each other and get along, who are trustworthy and passionate, and have the time, energy and excitement to really take care of my debut release and nurture it the right way during its send-out.
To me, that is exactly describing Ba Da Bing Records. When “Ripely Pine” was finished and it came time to figure out how I wanted it released, I knew I wanted Ba Da Bing without even handing it to anyone else.
Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:
aponti@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.