Interview with Brittany McLamb

Following on from our recent article introducing you to Nashville’s Brittany McLamb, a Nashville based singer/songwriter I’m sure we are going to hear a lot more of, I wanted to delve a bit deeper into her musical journey and I’m grateful that she took the time to answer my questions!
We have already featured her recent single “ Lose It” on the site, too, and since then the song’s official video has been released and is currently airing on The Country Network all this week! Those of you who have visited Nashville will no doubt recognise the attractions of Broadway in some of the frames……

1. LH I’ve got a bit of an insight into your upbringing from your website, you grew up in a tiny town in North Carolina surrounded by bluegrass, gospel and country music I understand ……a pretty good place by the sounds of it! What else can you tell me about your time there and which country artists in particular grabbed your attention as a child?
BM Yes, Salemburg, NC was a great place to grow up! It’s a sleepy, rural town, so there was a lot of outdoor play time which was almost always accompanied by my cassette player and headphones. I loved listening to the female power house vocalists such as Martina McBride and LeAnn Rimes, as well as, classic country artists such as Patsy Cline.

2. LH And like so many great country artists from the Southern States it was the church choir that was your first introduction to singing I gather? You have an amazing voice, did you have any formal lessons?
BM Singing in my church choir was the first place I started singing early on, but I don’t think I realized at this point that I could actually sing. I just knew I loved doing so with my choir members and I always got excited when the choir director gave me small solos.
Thank you very much! I took lessons from a voice coach for about 2 months and decided it wasn’t for me. She was trying to get me to sing opera in different languages and told me “anyone can sing country music”. That was my cue to exit the building! haha!

3. LH Performing in some shape or form seems to have been an inevitability for you as a career, with a local talent agency signing you up when you were in high school …..was it hard to combine your performing with your academic work?
BM Throughout middle school and high school I would perform at every local, regional and state talent competition and pageant that I could find just to be able to sing. It did become quite a challenge in high school when trying to balance school work, cheerleading, clogging lessons and a part-time job!

4. LH A move to Nashville followed your graduation from NC university, how did you initially find living in a sizeable city after your small-town upbringing? Is the songwriting community there as supportive as everyone says it is?
BM When I first moved to Nashville the city seemed so large compared to where I grew up, but I loved it! The songwriting community is pretty supportive of it’s members. There are plenty of opportunities to network with other songwriters at the numerous writer’s rounds around town each night.

5.LH Can you tell me a bit about your songwriting please, when did that start, was it back home or was it your move that inspired you and give you the time to concentrate on writing and ultimately recording your 2013 debut EP?
BM I had always wanted to write my own songs, but I think for the longest while I felt a little intimidated by the idea. I believe it was my move to Nashville and living in Music City that inspired me to “go for it” with songwriting. The first song I wrote was here in Nashville in 2011 was entitled “Mr. Right”, which is on my 2013 EP. I started writing with my keyboard and guitar players at the time and from there it led to more co-writes with new folks.

6. LH And how do you think you have developed as a writer/artist since your move to music city? Has collaborating with others been an interesting and helpful experience?
BM I think my songwriting has definitely grown over the past several years. I’ve become more comfortable sharing my ideas whether I think they are silly or not. I do feel that finding the right co-writers to collaborate with has definitely helped! When you find folks that you groove well with it makes the writing process a lot quicker, smoother, and more fun!

7. LH In our recent “ Introducing” article you told how your new single “ Lose It” started off life as a title and concept about not losing a feeling you have for someone. Is that generally how you get inspired to write, or do you sometimes start with a melody or a hook, or is each song different?
BM Each song is different! I do find, however, that I tend to have a song title, lyrics or idea and then once we start brainstorming those the melodies will start coming to me.

8. LH And does the new single point to an EP or album in the pipeline anytime soon?
BM That is to be determined. 🙂

9.LH Which contemporary country artists are you listening to and liking at the moment?
BM I really love Dan + Shay! Their harmonies are killer and they always have great songs!

10. LH Do you have a career highlight to date, and what is top of your bucket list for the future?
BM My career highlight to date is the first time I was driving through NC for a show and heard one of my singles on the local country radio station that I grew up listening to! It was definitely an exciting and proud moment! Performing on the Grand Ole Opry is definitely at the top of my bucket list for the future!

11,LH And what does the rest of 2018 have in store for you?
BM To finish out the rest of 2018 I hope to release at least one more song, a music video for my latest single and get a few more show dates on my schedule!

Well with the video for “Lose It “out this week that’s one thing ticked off the list, I’ll look forwards Brittany’s next single and if you get the chance to catch her live I highly recommend you do so, she certainly shone on stage when I saw her perform in Nashville! Maybe a trip to the UK will be on the cards sometime? Fingers crossed!
Keep up to date at http://www.brittanymclamb.com and through her social media pages!

Interview conducted by Lesley Hastings (twitter.com/lesleyhastings)