The New Music

You may recognize the face above or even the name Baby Eagle if you’re familiar with Canada’s (former?) hardest working band, the Constantines. Steve Lambke has been a familiar presence in our country’s indie rock circuit for an official decade now, mostly because of his tenure as guitarist/vocalist/songwriter in the Cons. But for the last half-decade, Lambke has been occupying his free time as a rustic troubadour under the moniker Baby Eagle.

After two well-received releases through Outside Records - 2006’s Baby Eagle and 2007’s No Blues, Lambke brought his third and latest Baby Eagle effort to his own label, You’ve Changed Records, which he co-founded with Daniel Romano and Ian Kehoe of Attack in Black. Like with his previous albums, Dog Weather finds Lambke reaching out to some friends (Romano, as well as Shotgun Jimmie, and David Trenaman and Colleen Collins of Construction & Destruction) to help flesh out his songs, this time recording in a lakeside house in the middle of nowhere.

With Dog Weather, Lambke’s songwriting has undergone some changes as a result of both the persons involved and the rustic environment. There’s an undeniable shift from the downtrodden melancholy of albums one and two to a much sunnier demeanour, as well as a boost in the amplification, as Lambke and co have channeled Crazy Horse by plugging in and treading all over their Big Muff pedals.

Celebrating this week’s release of Dog Weather and prepping for an extensive cross-Ontario tour in September, Steve answered some questions about the new album as well as the future of the Constantines.

For each album you’ve gathered together different musicians to help you out. How did you end up assembling the band that made Dog Weather?
Shotgun Jimmie played on the last one and we’d been playing shows together in Sackville since I moved here, Jimmie on drums and me on electric guitar. Dan and I had played together a bit when we both happened to be living in Montreal, before I moved out east and he moved back to Ontario, and we had recorded the Baby Eagle/Attack in Black split together. I wanted somebody to play lead and Dan’s a great guitar player. David and Colleen of Construction and Destruction, we were recording at their house and I’m a fan of their records. Dave ended up playing most of the bass and Colleen added some little bits to a couple of tunes.

How has living in Sackville changed you as a songwriter? It must change the perspective you had when you were based in Guelph or Toronto.
Yeah, every place can inspire different things, local languages, landmarks, and new experiences. Some of the record was written when I was living in Montreal, and some of the particulars of life there are written into the songs, simple things like going down to the corner store to buy beer or wine, and not, you know, to the provincial run alcohol depot. Or, in Sackville, mention of the tides, muddy yards, old barns. But those are sometimes just the surface images and not necessarily what I think the songs are actually about.

The album was recorded in a rural house near a lake. Four friends out in the middle of nowhere. Any stories to tell?
We recorded it so fast! We were only there three days. Jimmie was leaving for a couple months on tour, Dan was leaving for an Attack in Black tour. We did it in the little bit of time we had, the guys learning the songs on the spot, figuring out arrangements really quick, recording everything live off the floor. We recorded at Construction and Destruction’s home studio, the Quarantine, in Port Greville, Nova Scotia on the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy. It was cold in the house. There were wood fires in the stoves and we were wearing lots of sweaters. Jimmie invented a colour: “Chaldren” - the happy black.

Was it this group of musicians that made you want to turn the guitars and fuzz up?
I’d definitely been heading in this direction, and a louder sound was definitely meant to be part of these new songs. But the record sounds the way it does because of the musicians that played on it. Even though we’d never all played together before it felt like a band and i think we played like a band.

You sound a bit happier on Dog Weather than on previous albums. Was that a reflection of anything in particular?
I don’t really know how to respond. The last record was really internal, and this record is definitely more concerned with the external, physical world. There’s definitely joy in that.

You released the album on You’ve Changed Records, the label you started with Daniel and Ian of Attack in Black. What are some of the pros and cons working for yourself?
I’m excited about it because we are doing it together, playing on each other’s records, helping promote each other, figuring out the business for ourselves, building relationships. The downside I guess would be the lack of outside resources to draw on, but i like the idea of making art within the means available, so I try not to think of that as a negative.

Finally, there are rumours circulating about the Constantines going on hiatus or even breaking up. What is the current status of the band? Do you personally think there will be another Constantines record?
A definite hiatus of indefinite length. Sounds like a break up. I really have no idea if there will be another record.

Catch Baby Eagle at one of the dates below throughout September and October…

Wed, Sept 22nd – Waterloo, ON - Jane Bond
Thurs, Sept 23rd – Toronto, ON - The Dakota Tavern
Fri, Sept 24th – Sudbury, ON - Millard’s Garage (all-ages)
Fri, Sept 24th – Sudbury, ON - Townhouse Tavern
Sat, Sept 25th – Kingston, ON - The Artel
Sun, Sept 26th - Oshawa, ON - Murphey’s Irish Pub
Mon, Sept 27th – Peterborough, ON - The Spill
Tues, Sept 28th – St. Catherines, ON - The Mansion House
Wed, Sept 29th – Guelph, ON - The Ebar
Thurs, Sept 30th – Montreal, QC - Le Cagibi (Sappyfest showcase at Pop Montreal)
Fri, Oct 1st - Ottawa, ON - Raw Sugar
Sat, Oct 2nd – Hamilton, ON - The Ship
Sun, Oct 3rd – Bayfield, ON - Black Dog