In an era where the music industry has been flipped on its head, it’s more important now than ever that fans and artists alike pay attention to their mental health, as well as what encourages them to stay creative.
Earlier this month, Lexi had the opportunity to talk with Dan Lambton about how streaming and songwriting have kept his creativity flowing during the pandemic, as well as how Twitch has become a resource for interacting with fans.
— Caitlyn McGonigal
Head and Founder of Ascribe
How are you?
“I’m doing alright! Just chillin’, hanging in there. How about yourself?”
Doing pretty well! So, let’s just dive right into it. You guys just released “Incentive” — that’s your latest single. Can you tell me about the process and how it came about?
“Well, that song was actually one of the first songs that we ever wrote together. It was something that Joe (Taylor) had, like, one or two parts for the song — it wasn’t a complete song. We worked out a little bit here and there, and never got around to being able to finish it, because originally it was supposed to go on our first EP, Confines. And then, we kind of got distracted and felt like maybe less is more in this instance. So, we only stuck with the four songs we had then. And then like, oh, next release, we’ll put it on there. Then, we had demoed a couple of songs for our next release, You Are Flawed. Where then, the song had been fleshed out a little more, you know? I had lyrics and vocal melodies for it and stuff. But then, for whatever reason — I can’t remember exactly why — but it didn’t go on You Are Flawed. I think maybe there was like, a couple little tiny, crucial pieces missing from it. So we were just like, okay, wait on it a little longer. And then now, almost like seven years later, the song has seen the light of day.”
Does the song have a new meaning now? Or do you think it’s still pretty true to its original form?
“I think it’s still pretty true to the original form. Some people are getting the idea that it’s more so about the music industry; I can see how certain things would be applied to it. But it’s more so about my experience working a retail job before full-time touring had started for Real Friends, and just kind of like dealings with some not necessarily the nicest interactions in that job setting.”
I hear that! That’s the beauty of music — it’s so universal, that it can be applied to anything.
“Yeah, for sure, for sure.”
So what does your songwriting process typically look like?
“Well, it takes forever — I’ll tell you that much right now. It’s not necessarily something I can sit down and force, personally, which I’m grateful for in one aspect. And on the other hand, it does take quite a bit of time sometimes. But with rationale., it’s usually where it’ll be either Joe or myself bringing the song to the table, and then the other person taking it and tinkering with it, messing around with it a little bit. And then kind of like here, here’s what I think on this; this is my idea for this part, or to add this little tiny flair to what you originally provided. And then sometimes there are songs where Joe and I are working on stuff together and get the whole concept together, and then one of us takes it and runs. We even had one song on this next release written by Ryan (Rumchaks), at least instrumentally. Just brought us a song like, here you go, guys. We’re just like, alright, hell yeah. But if one person is the catalyst for making this, then it’s not like everybody else doesn’t have a hand in making it what it eventually becomes, you know? Does that make sense?”
Yeah, so it’s really a group effort.
“100%. 100%, yeah.”
Do you prefer writing alone or writing in that group setting?
“I mean, I just kind of think it depends where the energy is. Because sometimes some of the songs are best worked on solo and then brought in, you know, whether it’s me or Joe starting it. Then some just click a lot easier and a lot quicker when it’s the two of us working together on it at the same time in the same room. So it’s really a case-by-case basis. I can’t necessarily prefer one or over the other, you know?”
How have you been taking care of yourself during the pandemic? I know it’s been probably a really big change for you, from going from touring to being stuck.”
“Yeah. Well, I went back on medication. I think that was something I never should have gotten off of. But medication has been a lot that’s been keeping me grounded. And, you know, trying to be a little bit easier on myself for not necessarily being able to be as productive as I was prior to the pandemic. I feel like I get down on myself a lot for like my productivity sometimes in a creative aspect, when it’s just like — hey, almost everybody’s in the same boat, not really being able to do much because there’s not really too much to do. But I’ve also been streaming a lot and playing games with friends. That’s been really getting me a lot of my social interaction over the past like, year plus. So it’s just trying to try to take things like one day at a time, and not try to get too hard on myself.”
Mental health, I feel, has been a really big topic of focus during the pandemic. Do you have certain skills that you’ve acquired during the pandemic that you’re like, “Oh, I didn’t really do this beforehand, but now I realize this is super important?”
“I mean, not really, to be honest. I feel like sometimes I try to meditate — however that will look — and I feel like I don’t necessarily meditate in the traditional sense that a lot of people do. But sometimes listening to, like — Deepak Chopra has an album. I want to get the exact name for it because it’s somehting that might help some people that are reading the interview now. It’s called Soul of Healing Affirmations.”
Yeah — I started doing some meditation, and I think I did listen to that.
“Yeah, but sometimes, if I feel a little too overwhelmed, sometimes I’ll just lay down, close my eyes, and just try to concentrate on my breathing. And kind of do stuff that I would think would be, I guess, more so along the lines of traditional meditation. Like more so just paying attention to my surroundings, but listening to this Deepak Chopra album really does help tune out and then get a different perspective, almost, you know?”
How have you been staying creative during quarantine?
“Definitely by working on the songs with Joe and Ryan. That’s been kind of keeping me on my toes and having a little kick in the ass. Everyone’s like, yeah, let’s get this done — let’s get this done. Yeah, I would say getting to work on these songs, getting to go record them, and just getting to go through the process of like mixing and mastering. That’s a little bit of the normalcy that I had during the pandemic, you know? Like the recording and mixing process, and the writing process as well.”
You mentioned streaming earlier; how did you get into that landscape?
“Well, I started doing it back in 2015 or 2016 as a way to try to figure out how to talk to Real Friends fans, because I felt like I was in this weird kind of like — I don’t know. I was just in this weird space where I couldn’t necessarily come to terms with the fact that people looked up to me to an extent, or appreciate the music, or saw me as anything other than who I actually am, you know? Because sometimes people think of me more as a picture on their phone, than an actual, living, breathing human. So sometimes, I’m trying to think of the word for it —”
it’s just like, the humanization kind of aspect.
“Yes. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Just being like, hey, look, I’m a natural, living, breathing person trying to — like you said — humanize myself, and break down these barriers to try to find some common ground. Because when I started streaming, Twitch was very much video games, video games, video games, which I was just like, ‘yes, yes, yes, I love playing games.’ I’ve been playing games since I was a kid, this is my forte, this is where I would know how to talk to people and stuff. And then from there, we were able to get into more, I guess intimate and candid interactions with it. From there, I felt like it helped me be able to comfortably talk on stage, and then talk to people at meet and greets, and get a better idea of how to perform and how to interact with our fans without seeming super awkward.”
That’s wonderful. Is there a best part about streaming to you? Like your favorite part?
“I mean, I guess I would say the sociability, you know? Because, especially after the last year, it’s been hard to keep in contact with a lot of people. So to be able to have it — even if they are technically strangers — I feel like I have really gotten to know some of these people and they’ve gotten to know me. And there’s a mutual respect involved, for lack of a better term.”
Do you find it to be a creative outlet for you?
“To an extent, yeah. ‘Cause it is content creation; it’s deciding what to do every day. Since I’ve started streaming, Twitch has definitely broadened its categories as far as what they allow to be streamed. Like I said, when I started it was all video games, and now they’ve opened it up. Maybe like a year or two after I started, they introduced IRL to incorporate more video blogging and chatting, and more casual stuff on the platform. And now they have music category. There’s a bunch of — especially with the pandemic — musicians coming into it. It’s been able to give me an opportunity to broaden what I could do on the platform as well. And I’ve been doing some art, some drawing, getting back into that after however many years of not doing it. I’ve also gotten a chance to play some rationale. songs, along with some other songs that I love and stuff on guitar. You know, just play along to them and kind of have like, some semblance of live music, and sharing that with people. It definitely does keep me on my toes to have a weekly routine and have some sort of schedule or structure that I desperately need, and to be creative in that aspect.”
It’s great to get back that bit of normalcy.
“Yes, yes. 100%.”
Where do you plan to go from here? You know, once things start to kind of open up, do you have things planned? Would you think you’re going to continue streaming as often?
“I mean, it really depends. I know that I’m probably not going to be personally returning to a full-time touring schedule. It just doesn’t seem too feasible for me. I would like to play some shows with rationale.; we did have some stuff scheduled. Right before the pandemic started and quarantine kicked in, we had a couple of shows. We were going to play Snowed In in Cleveland along with a show in Chicago and stuff. And unfortunately, you know, the recording for Knuckle Puck’s 2020 kind of took a few twists and turns and went longer than originally intended, so we didn’t get to play the shows. But I think in the end, it was for the best. I think once Knuckle Puck and Homesafe get to go out there, make their money, go on tour, and get their you know, living back, then maybe we’ll be able to go out and play some shows and do little, smaller runs.”
Well, here’s to the return of music.
You can check out “Incentive” below, as well as Dan’s Twitch channel by clicking here.
