Skip Happens Podcast - Every Boot Has a Story!
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Skip Happens Podcast - Every Boot Has a Story!
Bella Lam: “Boot First,” Dolly Parton & Chasing Her Country Music Dream | Skip Happens
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Meet rising country artist Bella Lam as she joins Skip Clark on the Skip Happens Podcast for a fun, honest and revealing conversation about her new single “Boot First,” her journey into country music, songwriting, performing and the determination it takes to chase a dream.
Bella opens up about overcoming challenges early in life, finding confidence through music and turning her own experiences into songs. She shares the story behind “Boot First,” what she learned from her very first co-write, performing at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe, and why songwriting can sometimes be easier than saying exactly how she feels.
Bella also reflects on the influence of Dolly Parton, calling Dolly a blueprint for the way she approaches her music and career. She talks about her experience as an Asian American artist in country music, her rock influences, her love of artists ranging from Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert to Taylor Swift, and the country career she's building one show at a time.
Plus — approximately 30 pairs of boots, a “Hannah Montana closet,” horror video games, the “Bella Fellas,” an upcoming driving test and plenty of moments that prove you never quite know what's going to happen on Skip Happens.
🎵 Check out Bella Lam – “Boot First” wherever you stream music and follow Bella for new music, shows and what's coming next.
🎙️ Skip Happens Podcast
Hosted by Skip Clark
On air. Online. Every boot tells a story.
#BellaLam #BootFirst #CountryMusic #NewCountryMusic #RisingCountryArtist #SkipHappensPodcast #CountryArtist #Nashville #Songwriter #DollyParton
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Meet Bella Lamb
SPEAKER_00Hello, everybody, and welcome to another edition of Skip Happens, the Skip Happens podcast. Y'all know I'm my name is Skip Clark. I'm the host of Skip Happens. And uh tonight I am very excited to welcome a rising country artist. Her name is Bella Lamb. Uh Bella has already played hundreds of shows, I'm told, built a huge, I mean a big time social following. Uh, she has one heck of a story to tell. Uh, and overcoming the challenges, I guess, early on in life, finding her voice through music, and now chasing her country music dreams, shall I say, boot first? So I love that. Her latest single is called Boot First, and uh, we've got a lot to talk about. Bella Lamb, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_03Hey, Skip, how you doing?
SPEAKER_00I am great. Uh question right off the top, young lady. Where are you right now?
SPEAKER_03I'm in my parents' house in the bedroom. Fun fact my band is practicing downstairs in the basement right now. My bedroom is right next to where they're practicing. So I was like, I gotta I gotta find somewhere else to do this right now.
SPEAKER_00Wait, whoa, whoa, let me let you get the band is is downstairs.
SPEAKER_03I came straight upstairs from from band practice. I skipped out early for this.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god, do they allow you to do that?
SPEAKER_03You know, it's funny. Um, I was asked, are you have like an acoustic kid tonight? Why are you all dressed up? Usually I'm in like an oversized t-shirt in Nike Bros at band practice. I was all dressed up, um, and they're like, What are you doing today? I got an interview.
SPEAKER_00I got I'm on with that skip guy from upstate New York. Yeah, and we call it Skip Happens because it's bound to happen. Skip will happen before the night is over. I'm just telling you. Um, but uh yeah, skip happens. So uh Bella, before we get into the music, so to speak, for somebody that's discovering you, let's say for the very first time, who is Bella Lamb?
SPEAKER_03Oh, well, I'm a country artist, born and raised in Tennessee, and I really like making music about my life, about my friends' life, and about uh how I see the world.
SPEAKER_00I love it. And uh, you're born and raised there, but you were telling me your dad is from downstate New York in Binghamton.
SPEAKER_03Binghamton, he is. I grew up visiting my grandparents there. My grandpa, um, I don't remember if he immigrated from China. I know he went from China to Malaysia and then did college in Australia, and then he came to the US when he graduated. I don't remember if he immigrated straight to Binghamton, but that's where my dad was raised.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that is so cool.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's such a small world.
SPEAKER_03Oh, absolutely. Um, I'm always meeting people. Um, just last night I was uh coming back from a radio interview in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and my publicist was like, Hey, you gotta stop at the BMI office. We got a meeting. And after our meeting, the the lady we were meeting with, she was like, Hey, do you want to come to a number one party tonight? And it just happened to be a rock band from my side of Tennessee, West Tennessee, and it was just really cool because it's collided a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know what? That that's so awesome though. There's not, I mean, that's pretty much rule of thumb. Now, I mean, everybody collides. I mean, you're putting rock with country and country with RB and and and all that, so yeah, and to have those relationships, and why not? I mean, the more the better.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I love country music, but I was my dad's from upstate New York, and he was raised on that rock music, so I also love it.
SPEAKER_00I love it too. I love it
Remembering Dolly Parton’s Blueprint
SPEAKER_00too. Uh right off the bat, too, today's been a pretty tough day. Yeah, I um had to hit, I was on the air, I'm on the air from two to seven um here in the Qs. And as I was walking into the studio, the bullshit came across that we lost Dolly. And I'm going, Wow. I mean, I was speechless, and my heart fell to the floor. And it I I don't know, you as an artist, I'm sure you feel it, but also somebody like myself who works the other side of things in radio, it didn't feel the same today. I was like speechless, didn't know what to say when I opened my mouth. Usually you can't shut me up. But uh, it was like one of those days. So I just want to draw attention to the fact that uh we're all kind of with with do you have any um what about Dolly in your mind? Tell me something.
SPEAKER_03I she was just a big inspiration to me. I was actually in the car coming from Alabama back home to to do this interview when I found out one of my friends texted me and she was like, Bella, how you how do you feel about the news? I was like, What news? What's happening? And she just she just said it and I remember my heart dropped, and I was like, You have to be like that's not that's not true. And um, she really was she inspiration for so many artists, and also being from Tennessee and being based in East Tennessee now, it's just I see her in everything and everywhere. Um and it it's just she was an inspiration to artists because she was like, keep your music, keep the rights to your music and write with your heart and do everything you do with your heart. Um, and she was just a lover of everyone and a helper of everyone, and um, she really did do it for the love of the game.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, were you ever um anything ever pass go through your mind? Like um, let's say you have a certain scenario, something's going on, whether it's you're singing or you're with the band or whatever, which did you ever think like what would Dolly do?
SPEAKER_03All of the time. Um when I'm writing, when I'm recording, when I'm like making decisions about putting music out, it's always because she really is the the blueprint. She is I look up to her so much, and yeah, um, it's everything I do is just would Dolly be proud of me if she knew about this.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Don't stop. She's always gonna be there, especially for you know, the young up-and-coming female artist, uh such an inspiration. And I I shouldn't even say just for females because I hear that a lot from the guys too. That you know that's cool.
SPEAKER_03And I've heard nothing about from like people I know who've met her. I've heard nothing but like amazing things.
SPEAKER_00Yep. Exactly right, exactly right. Well, long live Dolly. You know what I mean? Absolutely, exactly. I will always love you. All right, so so your story,
Early Challenges And Finding Music
SPEAKER_00Bella. Your story starts uh with some pretty significant challenges. You were born early, premature, uh, later dealt with a speech impediment and motor skill issues. Uh but when you look back now and realize that you became a singer and performer, uh, does that ever hit you?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, all the time. And I always say on the bad days where I feel like I'm not doing enough or I'm not progressing in the way that I feel I should be, if I look back at that little girl who didn't think she'd be doing it at all, um, I'm like, I gotta keep going for her. I get to keep going for her. Um, because I know that she would just be so in awe. Like I said, I grew up like so in love with music of all genres. And um, I my parents could not shut me up, even though I sang with my little list. Um, and right just I I'm in since today was a hard day too. So today I was thinking about that a lot too.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, yeah, exactly. And but um, you know, music is a source of happiness for you. And uh as you were growing up, what did music give you during those early years?
SPEAKER_03Well, um, in early middle school and high school, I didn't have a lot of friends, I wasn't invited out a lot because I was the weird kid whose hands wouldn't shop shaking in class and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00That was me too. I just want you to know I was the weird guy. I don't know. That's probably you know, I was just one of those. And and I didn't mind being myself. I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I didn't either.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, I'm doing this, you're doing that. That's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03Who wants to be normal? That's weird.
SPEAKER_00Now that you're Bella, you are 100% correct. That is weird. Don't be normal.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, I would I would stay at home and I would be honing my craft. I I um I started on the piano. My grandpa was very out of it that I started on the piano. He was like, You can learn anything if you know how to play the piano. And then I switched to the drums because I was a jittery kid. And my dad was like, we gotta get that energy out somehow, put me a drum lesson. Then um, I switched to guitar when I started songwriting and um always learning my favorite songs, always wanting to be playing the guitar, always like just I I walked around high school with like drumsticks in my backpack and a few guitar picks in my back pocket because I always wanted to be like messing with it. Um, and yeah, I was always like doing something.
SPEAKER_00Now it was your grandpa that uh he played that huge role introducing you to music, right? It was your grandpa. Yeah, and uh what do you remember about making music with your family?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, well, I remember visiting my grandparents' house. Um they had like a uh an upright piano in their their basement area, and they were in a house that was kind of like their the the kitchen and stuff was like a a level up, and then they had like a little basement area with like a a common room and stuff, and there is an upright piano there. And I remember my grandpa would be sitting there and his violin was sitting right above it, and he would either play the entertainer on the piano or he'd just like start plucking on his violin, and there's always music around, and um, my cousins all play. I I play my sister loves classical music. My dad was always playing something. So um, at my grandparents' house, that's where it started. And then, of course, at home, my dad and I, my dad, my sister, and I had a band that was just like kind of a jam band, and I played the drums and sang. My sister played my my dad played guitar, and we called ourselves MPEG, or my dad called us MPEG. My sister and I didn't really agree on the name, but my dad was like, Wait, wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.
SPEAKER_00What is it? M MPEG.
SPEAKER_03Well, here's the thing. He he never remembered my favorite animal. He only remembered that when I was a really little girl, I liked puppy dogs. So he took all three of our favorite animals. Mine was no longer puppy dogs. I will I will stand on that. And he was like monkey, which is his puppy dog, elephant, which my sister's group. So he was like, That's the name of the band. I was like, Great, Dad.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god. I learned yeah, exactly. That's good, Dad. Yeah, whatever you want to do, whatever you say. Exactly. So is it safe to say that you grew up uh listening uh to everything from Memphis Soul? Uh, you got Nashville country, get to blueglass grass, rather, classic rock, metal, classical, as you just mentioned. Um, how do all those influences uh find their way into music that you make today?
SPEAKER_03I really think that first off, it shows in my writing. Um, I think it's the way I string my words together. And also, I think you just the instrumentation of it, the way I like talk to my studio musicians, I'm like, hey, let's try this and let's try this. Um, I was actually in the studio the other day and my my producer was like, let's try something like the cure-ish. And I was like, oh my god, yes, it'll be awesome. So um I they're they're very they're very like malleable to it too. So um it really I I it's kind of subconscious. I don't like realize it's happening until it's happening. But um, I feel my most inspired when I'm listening to a playlist where it's like going from Dolly Parton to all-time low to ACDC to one direction to like it's just all these different artists that have nothing to do to with each other, but like kind of string itself because it's who I am.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. Wow, that's crazy. Yeah, and tell me about Will J. Let's go back a little bit. So and a little birdie told me about this conversation. Maybe it was a birthday conversation, yeah. Uh, and it it got down to writing.
SPEAKER_03It did.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay. Tell us about that.
Learning To Write By Feeling
SPEAKER_03He was like, he was in a band that I loved growing up, and he was always like writing for like all these cool artists, and even now he's like writing so many cool songs. But um, I remember I got a Zoom call with him for my birthday, and I was just so excited to talk to Will J. I grew up like seeing him on a screen and stuff, so I was like, oh my gosh, he's a real person, first of all. That's what I thought in my head. And I remember I said to him, I was like, hey, so you wrote written all these cool songs that I love. I remember we were talking about um a few of them specifically, and then I was like, but I I don't think I can write. And I've always wanted to do it, but you inspire me so much. Like, do you do you have any advice? And he was like, You don't think you can write? Literally just sit down and write about what you're feeling right now. And I remember it was just like so simple, but it kind of just like it's like he took his finger and like shoved my forehead with it. I was like, Oh, it really is just that easy. I was I was just overthinking it, is what I was doing. So yeah, and then that night I wrote my first song. It was awful, but I wrote my first song.
SPEAKER_00Well, do you remember what that was?
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, I think it was a song called Away.
SPEAKER_00And what was it about?
SPEAKER_03Um, okay, you ready for this?
SPEAKER_00This is really because I love these stories when an artist tells me about their very first song. Number one, either that they performed or they wrote, and they'll go, it sucked. You don't even want to hear it. It was terrible, but I want to hear it. Tell me something.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so I did theater growing up, right? Okay, and I was in this production of um The Wizard of Oz. And I don't remember who this guy played, but I remember I had a big crush on him. Mind you, I was in middle school, he was in high school, and I was just like, oh my gosh, I have such a big crush on him. And then I found out he had a girlfriend, and I was like, What? My little middle school heart was broken, so I wrote away about him. Um, and I don't even remember how it goes, but I just remember now I we played it at one of my first gigs, like my freshman year of college, and I was like, I can't, I can't, I can't sing this. Let's we're gonna crack it forever.
SPEAKER_00Done.
SPEAKER_02Done, no more, no more.
SPEAKER_00That's always the case, though. I mean, something similar when, like I said a moment ago, uh, an artist, you know, the first song you wrote or the first song you performed, and nine times out of ten, you don't ever want to do it again.
SPEAKER_03Well, here's the thing. Thankfully, Will never heard that song, but I did get to meet him last year in December. All right. He was opening for Spencer Sutherland. Um writers too. And his wife was also opening, and I he stayed afterwards to come out and meet me because he knew I was gonna be there. And he was like, Oh my gosh, all these songs you written just because of that phone call. And it was just like such a fun conversation to have with him after all of this that's happened in my career.
SPEAKER_00So he's pretty much the guy that got your writing.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um, would you say now that you've been writing, that your songs are pretty much like your diary?
SPEAKER_03I would.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So if we listen to your music, we're gonna know what your life is about.
SPEAKER_04For to a point.
unknownTo a point.
SPEAKER_03Um, I will say there are some songs where I'm writing about like a friend situation, or I'll Chris Christofferson it and I'll be like, that guy. I'm gonna try to imagine what his life is like.
SPEAKER_00So would you say that songwriting uh it's easier for you than actually telling somebody how you feel?
SPEAKER_03I see where you're going with this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm getting there. You're right. I'm good. See, I told you, I told you stuff was gonna happen. It's just what I do. It's uh I told you, did I or did I not say I may turn down a road and we might go, you know, take a little side streak.
SPEAKER_02I remember I seem to remember that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. Well, so okay, so your diary pretty much, and and I think that's so many songwriters. I mean, it's about life, it's about, you know, I'm sure you've had relationships, I'm sure you've had different things, and I'm sure you've had your heart broke. Uh, haven't we all? But they make for great songs. And when you, as a country artist, put something out like that along those lines, somebody like me be driving down the road going, Holy crap, that song's about me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, and now you now you've touched my heart or you've touched somebody's heart, and now you got a fan for life.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, that's that really is my goal. Because, like I said, I grew up like involved in music, and all these artists are really looked at. That was my dream to be one of those artists for somebody else, and that still is my dream. I want to it's happening. Yeah, well, that you funny you say that actually one of my gigs this past weekend. A fan came to my show, like like a big fan from my TikToks. I recognized her from my TikTok live. She came to my show, and I remember like just like smiling because she was just shaking and she was like singing all the words to my songs, and I was like, and I'm I'm not to a point in my career where that happens like super extremely regularly, but it happens and I'm like happens, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Consider it a skip happened moment because I mean I know, I know, I gotta stop that.
SPEAKER_03I think it I like it. Hey, but don't tell a lack out, I love it.
SPEAKER_00But but you know what? When somebody does that, you've touched them in a way like no other. You have created that bond, your music, that fan, and that'll never go away. And as long as you take the time to to talk to them, to maybe sign an autograph for them or whatever it may be, they're gonna love you for life. And that that you know, don't ever change. You just gotta keep doing that. That's cool.
Boot First Gets Its Meaning
SPEAKER_00Uh, you know what? I want to play a little game. It's called Name That Tune. So I'm gonna I'm gonna hit a button, I'm gonna play a song. You need to tell me what it is, and here's the deal if you guess it right, you will win a skip happens podcast mug.
SPEAKER_02Whoa, these are pretty cool. I'm gonna get that mug.
SPEAKER_00I'm telling you, these these are pretty cool.
SPEAKER_02They are that looks awesome.
SPEAKER_00It looks hefty too. It is, it's it's a biggie. It's it's a good one. I don't know. Do you drink coffee?
SPEAKER_03I I don't drink coffee, but I eat soup out of my mugs.
SPEAKER_00Oh, oh yeah, oh yeah. Perfect. Perfect. It's like uh I think it's a 16 ouncer. So, anyways, all right, here we go. Ready? Listen, listen. You need it again. Wait a minute, I'll do it again. I'll do it again. Hang on.
SPEAKER_03Does that happen to be Boot First by Bella Lamb?
SPEAKER_00Is it?
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes!
SPEAKER_00Ding ding ding ding ding. Here we go. Here we go. I'll play just a little bit of it.
SPEAKER_01Full throttle, full stop, no in twain. Don't run, stumble up and tumble be the holes in my old blue jean. I'm the queen of all the thinking fees and has to take leave. I don't always land it perfectly, but I get back up on my feet. You best believe when I saw uh Oh my god!
SPEAKER_00That is uh that is so good. I I listened to it before we went on. Uh Bella, I mean, wow. And anybody that's watching this now or later on, maybe you rewatch it, you definitely gotta get that. You need to support this young lady. But uh let's talk about that boot first. What does the title mean to you?
SPEAKER_03Well, here's the thing. I I was before I went into this co-write um to write boot first, it was my first ever co-write, and I was literally thinking of 10 song titles a day. And that's something that I've continued doing after my first co-write. But um, I remember I was I was kind of just thinking, sitting there listening to music and thinking about these song titles. And I remember thinking about like how my entire career is just literally jumping off cliff and doing things foot first um or head first or whatever. And then the song switched to Heart First by Kelsey Ballerini. And I was like, Okay. Are you listening to that? Um and so I was like really just thinking, and then I remembered that my mom had come down in my room, because I was in my room. I was, you know, my mom had come down to my room. She was like, hey, you got all these boots that you need to put away. And I was like, Bazinga. I've thought I've genius. And first is written down in my little book. And then my first co-write ever, I went in with Kaylee Ann Lowe and Jessica Kane, and then they're like, ooh, what does boot first mean? I was like, Well, let me tell you. So that's that's really where it came. Funny story, it's where it came from.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Uh and you know, at what point did you realize, you know, maybe we've got something here?
SPEAKER_03I I think it was like when we were like about to finish the song. Um, we we were almost we were gonna end the last chorus the exact same way we had end ended the past few choruses. I remember thinking, well, hey, let's make it a little longer and surprise the people. Um, and then when we finished writing that section, I was I had just completely fallen in love with the song. I was like, this is it. Um, and I cannot wait to hear it recorded, produced, whatever. And it was just, I yeah.
SPEAKER_00Do you remember the first time you performed uh Boot First Live and you saw an audience that react to it?
SPEAKER_03I we tested it a little bit before my single Tears of My Tequila came out, right? Just to see how audiences reacted. I think it was at a show at a place in Chattanooga, Tennessee called Whiskey Cowgirl. Okay, and people really liked it. And of course, the song was so different. It was still like really upbeat, heavy electric guitar, but it was a little lot more like noisy, I would say. There was a lot more happening in it, and I really like how he just tightened it up into a nice little rock and roll country bow. Um, the way we did.
SPEAKER_00You know, I gotta say, that's what we need. I mean, the way you know, everything in the world right now is bringing us down. We need music like that. We need something upbeat, feel good, make smile and go, yeah, that's my girl Bella Lamb.
SPEAKER_03That's I mean, my my goal is when somebody comes into my show, I want them to leave with a massive smile on their face. Um, bigger one than they had if they came in with one.
SPEAKER_00So, how many boots do you have? How many pairs?
SPEAKER_03I just got rid of some. Um, but then my my stylist gave me even more. So I think I have a good 30.
SPEAKER_00Where do you put them all? Do you have like a closet that the whole wall is like?
SPEAKER_03My mama turned the spare bedroom right next to my room into a Hannah Montana closet, is what we call it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, a Hannah Montana closet. Look at you. I love it. And do you uh are they from sponsors or do you go to play? I know boot barn is there and other places. And I love the barn. Um you know, by the way, they're building one very close to to where I am.
SPEAKER_03So perfect. I mean, my stylist gave me some from um the the music video. Um and there's just I've collected them over the years. Um and yeah, I just every time I see a pair of boots I want, I'm like, hey mom, add to the Christmas list. Well, I'm like, I have enough money to buy. I'm a musician. Y'all know that I don't make much money. But whenever I get a see a good pair of boots, I will save up for that boots.
SPEAKER_00Yep, yep. Put them. I got them right here on my Christmas list. I got a birthday coming up. I got the whatever.
SPEAKER_03So most of to be fair, as a musician who has very supportive parents, most of my Christmas list is stuff for my career.
SPEAKER_00So wow. Good for you.
SPEAKER_03Oh, thank you. Good for you.
SPEAKER_00No, no, that's that there's passion and dedication for what you're doing. And by the way, if I may ask, what do you think the guys are doing downstairs while you're roughly?
SPEAKER_03I think they've come up already. I hear I hear my guitarist talking in the the living room, I think.
SPEAKER_00Ah, okay.
SPEAKER_03I think they're getting ready to leave. See ya. Bye.
SPEAKER_00How many guys in the band?
Building A Live Band Life
SPEAKER_03Who? Okay. So we have a six-piecer, I think, right now. Okay. If I'm remembering correctly. So two electric guitars, a bass, um, utility acoustic, me, and then drums.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Thought about a steel?
SPEAKER_03Not yeah. No, no, no. We're I'm wanting to add fiddle, steel, and keys to our band.
SPEAKER_00But are these the same guys that you'll take into the studio with you?
SPEAKER_03No. So they're my live band. And then my lovely producer Lol brings in his favorite studio musicians for for um for my studio. So yeah, most of the guys in my band also have day jobs. So they they stay at home and do the day job.
SPEAKER_00Don't we all? I'm just saying. Don't we all? Yeah. And uh, you know, if you could be doing do you have a day job?
SPEAKER_04Uh school.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, I was gonna ask a question about this. But what if you all right? So you're going to school, but what let's say you weren't going to school and you weren't doing music, what do you think you'd be doing?
SPEAKER_03Oh my goodness. Well, that's a hard question. Luke Holmes said if I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing this. But I feel like I'd be doing it in different ways. Probably. Um, yeah. So I I mean, if I wasn't, I I'm getting my VA in music right now. Yeah. Um, and if I if I it was uh absolutely not in the cards for me to perform music, I think I would want to be a teacher. I would want to go back and add education on top of that and teach how to do it.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. You know, how in the world do you balance classes, songwriting, traveling, and performing? How do you do that?
SPEAKER_03Um, well, a planner, lots of tears, lots of arguments, and um just pure will.
SPEAKER_05Pure.
SPEAKER_03I mean, my professors are really cool about it, they're very supportive. Um, and where are you going to school? UTC, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Gomax. Um and yeah, my professor is very supportive. Um, I've switched to one class a semester, and thankfully my class this semester is online. Um, I do have a quiz due tomorrow, so I will be taking so many notes on radio.
SPEAKER_00Tomorrow. Well, don't blame me if I'll just say I was on late with Skip.
SPEAKER_03I mean, so I can't I can't email my professor a link to this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know what? It's uh I just I have an shoot, shoot, but no, I have uh Ella's fella shirt on because you know Ella Langley, but I'm thinking it could be Bella's fellas.
SPEAKER_03Every time I do a cover of an Ella Langley song at one of my shows, I'm like, hey, who who here's an Ella Fella? Let's turn it all into Bella Fellas.
unknownBam.
SPEAKER_00Do something with that girl.
SPEAKER_03I mean, hey, I mean, you gotta be careful. I get it. I get it. Are you ready for this? Here's my pitch.
SPEAKER_00I'm listening.
SPEAKER_03My name is Bella Lamb. B L. Her name is Ella Langley. E L. Ella Langley with opener Bella Lamb.
SPEAKER_00B L. E. L with B L.
SPEAKER_03E L B L tour.
SPEAKER_00Somebody get her on the phone. I'm on it, girl. I let me say I can dial through my board over here. I'll definitely get her on the line. Oh, how cool is that? No, I know. I get you. Wow. So very cool. So um tell me about the the bluebird.
Bluebird Cafe And Dear Future Me
SPEAKER_00You've had a chance to uh perform at the Bluebird Cafe. Such an iconic songwriter uh room. Man, I'll tell you. And and I've been there, I've seen it. Uh, what was it like hearing people connect with, for example, Dear Future Me? I wrote down in that setting.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um, I think, well, Dear Future Me is an unreleased song, but my fans who who have seen me live have heard it, and um, there are a lot of fans who really love that song and want it out. Um, and I'm working on it, I promise it's coming. I promise. Um, but it's uh it's really just a song about my life. Um, if you think Boo First is a song about my life, listen to Dear Future Me. It really is just who I am. All my friends, they've they've graduated college, they're they're doing their jobs, they're getting married, they're buying houses, um, they're getting on with their lives. And I am a 24-year-old girl living in my parents' basement, pursuing music full time, still in college part-time. And um, sometimes you feel a little bit behind and like you you've made the wrong decision. So Dear Future Me really is just a song like asking my future self, hey, what's happening? Is everything at least getting am I like a little bit closer to my dream? Um, which I think um even if you're not in music, you you felt at some point in your life. Um, and I I really it's a song that I hope that people can relate to and take it in.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Now, being who you are and your age, um, I would assume maybe I'm wrong because you know what assume means, but um you must have friends like getting married, you know, they're starting to go through that phase in their life.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then you've they ask you to be in the wedding, and now you gotta come up with the money for the for the gown and the shoes and all that. I mean, is that happening to you? Because you're at the boot?
SPEAKER_03Actually, a family wedding was the same week Boot First came out. So I had to go to the day boot first came out, I was at the rehearsal dinner, and then the day after was the wedding. Um, but it was yeah. Um, I had a friend um that was just like she didn't want to pay for the wedding and make it a big hoo-ha. So she she and her husband got eloped, and I had another friend that just got engaged, and I remember I was there when they they started dating, and I was that everybody's moving on, and it's just so crazy, and I'm so happy for them.
SPEAKER_00Um good, but it's expensive if they ask you to, you know, to play your part. That's all. And and here you are as a struggling musician, but not really, but really. Um yeah, it's kind of different.
SPEAKER_04I think all musicians really struggle forever.
SPEAKER_00They do, they do. Um so yeah, I made some notes here. Um, you know, you name and check and draw inspiration from artists like you got Carrie Underwood, you got Miranda Lambert, you're a fan of the chicks.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yep.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I love the chicks. I love them. Uh, is it true that you're a Taylor Swift fan?
SPEAKER_03I I her favorite, my favorite Taylor Swift album. I was talking about it today. Actually, my producer produced it and I found out out after came home from yeah, so um I'm a big speak now girl. I love her writing on that.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god, so good. I um a little Taylor Swift story. I know that this is not about me, but it's about you.
SPEAKER_03But um No, I want to hear it.
SPEAKER_00Years ago, uh when she first came out, I think she was 17, and she went out on her very first radio tour. I gave her her first radio interview. Her and her mom were in the studio at the station I was working at. Yeah, and she was coming out with the song Tim McGraw. And of course, I had three daughters, and so she changed some of the names in the song to my daughter's names. But uh that was it's a cool experience. Yeah, and and and I know I have that interview here in my files somewhere on a hard drive, but I still and you can't see it, but right over there on the wall, I have a thank you note from Taylor Swift, and it says, you know, it's like Skip, thank you for the interview, blah, blah, blah. My very first blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. If you ever need anything, reach out and call. Reach out. I'm going, I should be reaching out saying, Hey, yeah. But uh, no, I just thought that was cool. So now I look at her, and and I've gone to a couple of her shows, not recently, but uh even before the Aeris tour. Um, but she is so down to earth, and to be able to go backstage and be able to talk with her just like you and I are chatting here. And I remember her um giving us a tour of like the backstage area, showing us her wardrobe and how under the stage with all the different arrows and lines where she needs to go and stuff like that. That was so cool. And she did that all on her own. She didn't have somebody do that for her. She goes, I'm gonna take you, I'm gonna show you.
SPEAKER_02That's so cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I thought that was really cool. So that's my that's my little Taylor Swift story.
SPEAKER_03I just love I love her right. I know it's like probably an impossibility, but a co-write with her would be like a her and Ed Sheeran. Put me in a I we think Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran a room together, or Ryan Tetter and Ed Sheeran in a room together. Put me in there.
SPEAKER_00Don't ever say never. Yeah. Because you know, you're on a road right now, and uh just your energy, your passion, your dedication, everything you're doing, uh boots on. I mean, this is this is crazy. This is crazy good. Uh, you gotta
When Songs Say What You Can’t
SPEAKER_00love that. Um, tell me a little about uh a little bit about takeout, uh take it out on my guitar. I wrote down that has a little attitude.
SPEAKER_03It does have a little attitude. Well, here's the thing. We talked about this too as a songwriter. I don't talk to my friends when I have problems, I just write a song about it. Um and here's the thing. I'm not the best communicate communication. I sure do try, but when my friends ask, Hey, do you have a new song that you want to play us that you've just written? I'm like, Yeah, let me play you this one. I just so I I'm very much the person to write my feelings into a song than um speak them out. Um and I it's always I've been you can't tell it, but when I'm around my friends and family, I'm real soft spoken. Um, I'm not real loud. It's just it's I mean, yeah. So I'm in arguments, I'm always like first to cry and then think about how I feel about the argument later. So I'm okay to cry. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. No, that's okay. That's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
SPEAKER_03So I I'm more prone to write a song about it. And that really what it is, what take it out on my guitar is about. Like, I'm more likely to write a song than key your car.
SPEAKER_00Do you realize we met? It just occurred to me. We have met.
SPEAKER_03We have yeah.
SPEAKER_00I have a I have a white flash drive with your name on it from CRS? Yes, and I have an email from you saying it was a pleasure meeting you. All of a sudden it just hit me. It just hits me, hit me. You're yes, I CRS.
SPEAKER_03Here's the thing about CRS.
SPEAKER_04I blackout afterwards at everything erases.
SPEAKER_00Who does, right? Hang on, hang on. I'm just hanging, I'm just gonna stand up and I know I have it. Hang on, keep talking, keep talking.
SPEAKER_04Keep talking, keep talking.
SPEAKER_03Well, apparently, Skip and I met at CRS, which is it stands for country radio seminar, and that happens at the only hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. And apparently we had met.
SPEAKER_00I thought it was over on my uh on my desk.
SPEAKER_03I was handing them out like candy too.
SPEAKER_00You were, you were, you know what, and that's a very smart move. What you did was a very smart move because back in the day, I've been going to CRS for like 25 years. Back in the day, they would hand you CDs and they hand you all this stuff, and it's like, oh, I gotta carry this around all day. You know, I hate to say it. That's probably a big waste of money to do the CD thing or anything like that, because you know where it's gonna end up, nobody's gonna carry it all day unless you can take it back out to your room. And but they usually end up in the trash or something like that. But with the flash drive, it goes in your pocket.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. It has my name on it too.
SPEAKER_00Has your name on it. I plug it into my computer. It's it's not a you know, it's not a bother at all. Smart move, young lady. Smart move. But that's right. I'm gonna have to uh all of a sudden that hit me. We did meet at the country radio seminar.
SPEAKER_02Goodness.
SPEAKER_00Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02I'm trying to remember where where do you think it happened?
SPEAKER_00In the Omni.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but like what what what event do you think happened in?
SPEAKER_00Oh, I don't know. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04I was all over the place.
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah, because you know, for somebody like me, I go to network with other radio people, talk to the labels and uh, you know, the all the press people and this and that. You're there to shake hands and of course people like me. And you know, there's a lot of good people, and it's probably a lot of people's like, oh, where's the hand sanitizer? But um, you know, but you do what you have to do to get your music out there.
SPEAKER_03I've learned that it's okay to be annoying if it means to push yourself forward a little bit.
SPEAKER_00And here's the thing I imagine you being annoying, young lady.
SPEAKER_03You should talk to my dad. My older siblings, I'm the baby. I was born to be annoying.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god, I love this. I love this. Um, you know, I do want to say, you know, there's still, you know, there's not many Asian American artists uh in mainstream country music.
Claiming Space As Asian American Country
SPEAKER_00And what does it mean to you to be building your own place in the genre? Because I mean, that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03Well, I just I I think my grandpa came here from from China because he wanted to give his his family um a better shot.
SPEAKER_05Exactly.
SPEAKER_03Um fun fact, my grandparents actually got married uh when interracial marriage was still illegal through the Catholic Church because they it was like crazy. Since they were Catholic, they were able to get married and it wasn't illegal. Um, and he he wanted us to to succeed and um he loved our country so much. And I think that I really just want to make him proud um and show that I can be Asian American and I can be in this industry. And you know, when I was first starting, I was shy about it, and I always said I was shy about it because I people made fun of me for for all the music I listened to. And if I said I liked country, what were they gonna say then? And I really think that I was shy about it also. I'm realizing now that because uh I don't think people would have been accepting if they found out there was an Asian American girl who wanted to do country, and um I'm realizing now that it's my own sparkle to the genre and it doesn't make me um any less likely or more likely to succeed in um this industry and um just add my own little spice to it.
SPEAKER_00I love it, I love it, absolutely, absolutely. And it, you know, it's a good point too. But you go back, you know, you were maybe afraid in the beginning because because, but if you go back to let's go way back with Charlie Pride and the black artists that went country and this and that, you know, it was just they were so afraid, well, this isn't gonna work. He's you know, you know where I'm going with that. So it's like, but it it was so wrong, so wrong.
SPEAKER_03But here's the thing, I wouldn't have been able to do it now if it wasn't for artists like them then. Um exactly, and I'm so I'm so thankful for all the um artists of color and country music um that paved the way for all of us to be able to do it now.
Rock Covers Plus Social Media Reality
SPEAKER_00So you're country at heart, but um you're known to be quite the rocker too, because if I understand, you throw out some unexpected uh covers when you do your show, which is pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03I like to surprise them a little bit because I did really grow up just listening to a lot of heavy guitar and on top of my country music. Um, so we do some sweet child of mine and we do some any way you want it, and then um after that we end our set with Redneck Woman all every night and um banger after banger after banger, and I it just makes me so happy because I really just love performing with music that like just fills you and fills the room around you and just makes you feel like like you could do anything, and that's that really is what those songs make me feel like.
SPEAKER_00What would it what would you think if Gretchen Wilson called you right now and said, I want you to uh you know do rednecked woman with me at this certain show as the final song?
SPEAKER_03First of all, I would say yes. Before anything else, I would say yes. Um, I would not fangirl on the call. I'm very good at pretending not to be a fangirl, but I'm a good artist because I am a fangirl. Um I would fangirl on the call. But then afterwards, I would probably like lose my mind and practice till my my throat is hoarse.
SPEAKER_00Does and does things like that do they make you nervous?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Um, here's the thing I don't get nervous for normal shows. Um things like that I would definitely be nervous for. Um and performing for people that I I look up to, I always get nervous because I I care about it a lot and I want to impress them. And um yeah, I would, I would absolutely lose my mind.
SPEAKER_00I love that. How important is social media to you?
SPEAKER_03Really important. Um, it's I I wouldn't be able to find most of my fans if it wasn't for social media. And I always like to say um that you can get lots of fans from live music, um, but not all the time would you be able to get the fans that you get from your live performances without um without social media. Um, so you you get like a variety of fans and um social media really helps with that and show them my personality, who I am, um, and just like kind of connect with them on a different level.
SPEAKER_00Wow, it's important, it's very important. Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_03Let me tell you something, a little sidebar. Um, my Facebook actually, my official Facebook account got banned for impersonation of myself. Well, I applied for a verification badge on Facebook. I've been verified on Instagram for forever, and I guess they Instagram flagged it when I applied for verification, and they were like, no, you're impersonating this other girl.
SPEAKER_04It's just the same account.
SPEAKER_00So how hard was that was it to get straightened out?
SPEAKER_04It's we're we're we're working on it.
SPEAKER_00Maybe, maybe that's why I tried to tag you. I I put a little thing on my Facebook saying I was gonna talk to you tonight, and I went to to tag you and I couldn't find you.
SPEAKER_04We're working on it. Promise it.
SPEAKER_00Go to Instagram. Just wait.
SPEAKER_04Just yeah, just go to Instagram first. I'll post it when it's back up.
SPEAKER_00All right, go to insta. Insta. That'll work. It's still meta. Just go to insta, you'll be good. You've got like you've got like 80,000 followers on there.
SPEAKER_03Uh yeah. I maybe more now. It's almost a hundred thousand across all my platforms, which is that's crazy. That's all yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, it's crazy. I'm so blessed. I'm I I thank God for them every day.
SPEAKER_00All right, so uh the debut album.
Album Tease And Dream Co-Writes
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00When are we gonna hear it? See it.
SPEAKER_03We're working on it.
SPEAKER_00Secret, secret.
SPEAKER_03I know, I hate it. We have stuff on the way. I just can't tell you what it is. Okay, but we're working on it right now, so it's out in time for what it is.
SPEAKER_00Do you think we will hear a different uh bella lamb on this album than we have heard two or three years ago?
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes, yes, actually, I do. I had to think about it for a second. Yeah, there is one song that we're working on that's like so out of left field, but it's one of the ones I'm most excited for.
SPEAKER_00What if uh question off the cuff here? What if uh somebody called you and said, you know what, we're gonna hook up a uh I want you to come to this writing session and I want you to write with somebody, and I'll get you anybody that you want. Who would that be?
SPEAKER_03How many people am I limited to?
SPEAKER_00Oh, geez. Yeah, just add to the um I don't know. Who are you picking? How many? How many do you want to?
SPEAKER_03Usually it's like a me and two other writers, but okay. So if you could have two other list is like three miles long.
SPEAKER_00It fills a couple of boots.
SPEAKER_03I already said, I already said Ed Sheeran, Ryan Tedder, and Taylor said earlier. So um I would say Jesse Alexander. I love her. She's from my hometown, Jackson, Tennessee. Um, she wrote one of the most inspirational songs, I think, The Climb. And um, she's just such a good writer, and I've always, always, always wanted to work with her. Um, so yes, Jesse Alexander. Um, and then I'm gonna choose somebody a little more rock. And I don't know if you know who Josh Ramsey is, but he writes he writes for his band, he writes for Nickelback, and he wrote um, actually, this is why I think I I would also want to write with him. He wrote Call Me Maybe for Carly Rachel.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I would love to write with Josh Ramsey. So put me in a room with Jesse Alexander and Josh Ramsey and let's see if we can rock out a country still.
SPEAKER_00I'll bet you that would be pretty awesome. That would be pretty awesome. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04Somebody get a hold of Josh Ramsey, somebody get a hold of Jesse Alexander.
SPEAKER_00We're gonna get to have you know, I gotta tell you, I mean, I I love everything about you, and this is yes, we did meet once before, but we didn't have such a conversation as we're having right here tonight. But um, you know, just your your personality and everything about you is very you're very outgoing, and you're doing, I mean, I've seen a lot of artists, and you're doing what you need to do, and you're making it happen, and it makes me want
Horror Games Confidence And No Bullying
SPEAKER_00to go. I'm gonna go buy this, this, I'm gonna go get Bella's music. I mean, and I think anybody watching this or listening to this, whether it's now or down the road, should be doing that. Um, what's something about Bella offstage that people would never guess from watching you perform?
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, my my utility player Drew was just making fun of me for this. I really love um I I always talk about all the time that I read lots of books and stuff like that. I really love, I don't love playing them myself, but I love watching people play horror games.
SPEAKER_00Um you love watching people play board games?
SPEAKER_03So, like horror games, like um video games, like the horror videos. Oh no, no, I guess I'm sorry. And stuff like that. So when I'm like doing busy work or cleaning or um I'm doing my hair and makeup before a show, I will turn on like um a YouTuber playing a horror video game. And it's my favorite thing. Because here's the thing if I play it myself, it's not gonna get played. I'm gonna just close my eyes and look away. But if somebody else is playing it, you know, watch it just fine because I'm not I'm not the one in charge. He if he dies, he dies. That's a him problem. It's not a P problem.
SPEAKER_00I like that. I like the way you're thinking. Yeah, I get that. I get that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I love that's um my my guitarist was making because I was talking to him about I think I was talking to him about uh Resident Evil, which is one of the horror games that I like watching people play.
SPEAKER_04And he goes, Little Miss Sparkly Pink Bedroom over here likes horror games, knows who pyramid is.
SPEAKER_03I was like, hold on, here's the thing Pyramid Head is not Resident Evil, it's Silent Hill, so ha ha ha ha.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god. Oh my god, that's so great.
SPEAKER_03He's like my old ball, all my bandmates are like my older brothers, so they'll just say it sounds like sister me. Yeah, and I don't say it, I don't I stand off business, I don't let that happen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. What do you drive?
SPEAKER_03What do I drive?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna ask, what do you drive?
SPEAKER_03Here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00No, no, let me guess. Let me guess, let me guess. Um, I want to say you have a Toyota small.
SPEAKER_03I don't know, I give up what I'm passenger princess. I'm still working on my license. Don't have it yet. Here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00It's all right, it's all right. It's okay.
SPEAKER_03That was the rule. And then after she got hers, COVID.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then after COVID, live music. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, I get it.
SPEAKER_03So uh hey, but here's hey, my fans are excited to know about this too because they were they're making fun of me too about it. Um my driving test is in two weeks.
SPEAKER_00Yay! I just may call you up and ask how you did.
SPEAKER_04If I fail, don't judge me.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, no. That's all right. I totally get it. But you know what? What a smart move, though. You put it's not really a priority to you. No, you have other priorities, and I totally get that. And it and the environment that you're being brought up in, I I totally understand that. And good for you.
SPEAKER_03It really is. Um, do I feel behind a lot of the time with the the college and the the driving thing? Yes, but do I feel ahead sometimes in other ways? Yes, I do. So it's kind of like a double double-sided sword. Um, and it it's a pleasant and a curse.
SPEAKER_00What would you um tell your younger self, uh-huh to uh younger version of Bella today? What would you tell her?
SPEAKER_03Um, you can do anything your heart desires. You are worthy of being loved, you are beautiful, and you got the dang thing. So that's what I would say because she hadn't she she really I built up my confidence a lot. Um my my last few years of high school, and um she really did need to hear that because um my parents told her all the time, but she she needed to hear it from herself.
SPEAKER_00I love that. And um, what was the last thing that really pissed you off? What was the last thing that really made you mad? It could be anything. Um I can't see you getting mad.
SPEAKER_03Well, here's the thing, I'm really hard to make mad. It happens. I mean, this what I'm thinking of happened like years and years ago, but it was the last thing that made me like really go, um, so I was still full-time in college, but I was still playing a hundred shows a year. So I was like tired, and I was like, I had probably 20 hours in class. I'm a music major, it was lots of classes all at once. And there I was in a class called the Entrepreneurial Musician, and there was a few people in that class who were on the choir bus talking crap about me, playing so many live shows and promoting it all over campus. And my friends were sitting right next to them, and they so they called me up and told me immediately, you know what I did? I walked right up to those people and I was like, Hey, I thought we were friends. What what why were you saying this about me?
SPEAKER_00Wow, good for you.
SPEAKER_03Because here's the thing if you don't address it right away or face to face, we're adults and we are supposed to be be setting an example for the younger students. And if I don't say anything about it now, what's gonna happen when an incoming freshman comes in and they're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and then somebody says and music is such like a a like a pure thing, like you're performing in front of your peers all of the time. And if you don't say something about that, it's just gonna keep festering and growing, and your confidence is gonna go bow, bow, bow, bow, bow. So I I don't, I don't, I don't stand on that. I don't let people talk about me like that behind my back. You if you say it, you're gonna say it to my face.
SPEAKER_00Good girl. I love that. I love that.
SPEAKER_03I don't I and I had heard about it happened to my friends and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00But well, that's what would piss me off if it was my friends and they're talking like that about me.
SPEAKER_03They wouldn't let me say anything until it happened to me. They were like, if it happens to you, you can I'll uh we'll let you go say something. And as soon as it did, you better believe I was up off my chair.
SPEAKER_00Now I was on a mission.
SPEAKER_03I don't stand on bullying, I don't let it happen because I let it happen too much when I was younger. And as soon as I'm old enough and confident enough, I'm not gonna let it happen to nobody.
SPEAKER_00Would you would you say you were bullied when you were younger?
SPEAKER_03I would say that I wasn't treated um as well as my peers were, if that makes sense. I wouldn't say it was like hard cool hardcore bullying, but I I wasn't yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, this is what I believe is that all that um that you went through in your early years, everything made you a better person. God, the Lord has is you know, has put you where you are today for a reason.
SPEAKER_03And Priscilla Blot, she's spoken on it too, and all her songs. And I really do think that um the best artists have had that happen to them, um, and they really just put it into their music.
SPEAKER_00Do you know Priscilla?
SPEAKER_03I don't, I've never met her, but I'm I'm doing a show with her next week.
SPEAKER_00That's why I was asking.
SPEAKER_03She's she's I've always really looked up to her.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. And you must uh, I mean, we're running out of time here, but uh even you were talking about you know your rock edge and those songs that made me think about Carrie Underwood because if you go to a Carrie Underwood show, yeah, you hear all the Carrie Underwood hits, so on and so forth, then all of a sudden it's it's turning into a motley crew and it just you know her her most uh roses and it's denim and rhinestones, that album, so much guitar, and I loved it so much.
SPEAKER_03It's so good.
SPEAKER_00How many guitars do you
Guitar Names Final Advice And Where To Listen
SPEAKER_00have?
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay. So I think I have about, if I remember correctly, five acoustics, um, and I have two electrics.
SPEAKER_00All right. Do you have a separate room for those?
SPEAKER_03No, see, I have a so my um I have a Martin and a uh a Gibson hummingbird that I with me. Um and the other ones they're hanging up in my room. So my other two acoustics, um, I have a Yamaha that I learned on, and then my second guitar was a Luna. Um, and then the two electrics, I have a Fender electric, and then here's my rock side coming out of Ben. I don't know if you know who Five Seconds of Summer is, but their lead guitarist came out with a um Gibson Melee Maker, and he has a signature Melly Maker.
SPEAKER_00So you said Five Seconds of Summer? Yeah, I do know who they are.
SPEAKER_03They're uh also somebody that I've been a big big fan of forever. So um their lead guitarist came out with a Melody Maker, and of course I was like, I have to have his signature Meli Maker, so I have that too.
SPEAKER_00Do you have names for the guitars?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I name all of my guitars after um iconic artist. Um, and so I have Loretta, she's my backup, she is my Martin. I love that. Kitty is my main guitar, she's my Gibson hummingbird. Um, and then Luna, I've had her since forever, so I just named her after after the brand.
SPEAKER_00Luna, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I've not named my Yamaha yet.
SPEAKER_00So I love that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So could you say something to somebody and say, Grab my Loretta? And they're gonna know.
SPEAKER_03Well, hey, I call them her. So they're all my my girls. Um, so um the actually the other day I was running off to do something, like talking to fans and stuff before show. I asked my utility player Drew, hey, could you change the string on kitty? And he was like, Oh yeah, I'll go grab her right now. So they play into it. Ah um and I could friends be like, Why do you like humanize your your instruments? I'm like, just it's just a fun thing that I do. Why why wouldn't I? I mean, Keith Urban names his guitars, and so many people do it. Yeah, um, so I don't see why I can't do it. And you can do it, yeah, and you should do it. And they're they're pee they're they're tools that help me with my career, and I wouldn't be able to do it without them. So they're family. Yeah, family. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00It is, it is. They're your family. That that's hey, you gotta have them. You know, Bella, it this has been pretty awesome finding out about you and uh digging into your life and your music a little bit. Uh quickly before we say goodbye, uh, somebody wants to go and get your music, where can they go?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um, my music is on Spotify, Apple Music, uh, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, everywhere under Bella Lamb, B-E-L-L-A-L-A-M. And then you can look at my socials at it's Bella Lam, I T S B L A L A M. And hey, if you're looking for shows, I have a website too, Bella Lamb Music. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So are you uh any um shows like in the Northeast? You got anything planned?
SPEAKER_03I'm sure try to get up there, yeah. Um, right now we're more focused um and expanding in um around Tennessee and outwards. So but hey, if somebody picks me up on a tour to open for them, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Hint hint.
SPEAKER_03Hint hint nudge nudge.
SPEAKER_00You know, I I know like uh Drew Baldridge, he puts it when he goes out on the road, he'll put it out there saying, anybody, you know, wanna open up for me, let's let's get you up here on stage. He's that way, which is cool. So he would give somebody like you an opportunity and and um you know, and you would definitely kick some ass.
SPEAKER_03Here's the thing about the idea of opening for somebody. I have people that I would love, love, love to open for that I can name names. But here's the thing if anybody offers me a chance to learn from them and be a sponge and they believe in me that much, I will be I I would be so beyond excited and so beyond happy to take that opportunity because it really is just an I a chance to learn from them and be a sponge. And also they're giving you a chance to keep their crowd warm before they come out on stage and see what you can do with the stage. And that that really sounds like a really fun, exciting test for me.
SPEAKER_00No, that would be absolutely, but you could you'd you would handle it just fine. I think everything would be really good. It's uh Bella Lamb, everybody. And uh, you know, I love your story, I love the message behind Boot First. Uh sometimes you just uh uh you have to trust yourself and you have to jump in, and you've done that. I mean, you're all in. Um, everybody watching this, make sure you follow uh Bella Lamb, check out the new single Boot First, and keep an eye out for uh much more music on the way, as we know. And there could be an album coming out. Who know? Who knows? She won't tell me. I'm reading the body language here. Like, yeah, there's something.
SPEAKER_04You're reading the shoulders up.
SPEAKER_00I I well that's well, I can see your facial expressions, and it's like, okay, there's something going on here. It's coming, it's coming. And I know it's gonna be really, really good. Bella, I want you to hold on there when we say goodbye. But uh, thanks for hanging out with us here on Skip Happens Tonight. I'm Skip Clark, Skip Happens Podcast. We're on air online, and as I always say, every boot tells a story. Uh Bella, stay right there. Thanks for watching, everybody.
