spotlightmary lambert
When I am vulner- able, I see people looking at it as an invitation to also
share their stories. So, for as much as I’m singing from a
first person point of view, the desire is to connect.”
funny, I have such a hard time being guarded. It’s not like I haven’t been burned before or had bad experiences, being open, but I think that the positive experiences have by far outweighed the negative repercussions of being vulnerable. When I am vulnerable, I see people looking at it as an invitation to also share their stories. So, for as much as I’m singing from a first person point of view, the desire is to connect. You can write songs that say, “You’re beautiful just the way you are.” But, the second you turn the lens on yourself and talk about vulnerable things like, “I’m insecure about this,” or “I feel like this…” I find people resonates with that far more, because it’s real. You’re coming to the table first with vulnerability, which can be really, really, scary, but for me it’s like second nature. I just don’t know any other way to be. I recently spoke at The National Council for Behavioral Health a couple weeks ago and I realized that part of my upbringing and belief system are the reason for why I’m this vulnerable. It kind of came out of a sleepover I had when I was about seven-years-old. (Laughs) There were six girls at this sleepover and I was talking about the sexual abuse I had experienced as a child by my father. By the end of the night, it became apparent that half of the girls there had been violated by men. This wasn’t a high school or college group, this was seven-year-old girls and I think for me, it was a huge, formative moment.
40 RAGE monthly | MAY 2017 RAGE monthly Look at the power of just speaking your truth and
what that can hold for people. Over the course of that night, we comforted each other as we talked and it was a really healing experience. We were able to start dealing with some of our trauma and healing. Imagine what could happen if everybody had access to dealing with that stuff—to understood it at such a young age—the world would be a lot less fucked up, I’m sure of it. Do you find that people respond to your music and you because of that vulnerability? Absolutely. I think there’s a real desire and a real hunger to share. There aren’t enough opportunities for people to tell their stories and to see similar stories reflected back. Especially in celebrity culture. There is a sort of canned way of looking at things, even a canned way of looking at trauma… Even a canned way of how we look at healing from trauma. It’s far messier, painful and not Pinterest- worthy of talking about. I feel like I’m a walking example of being messy
and that being okay. I feel like when I speak my truth and am authentic, it hopefully serves as an invitation. It’s amazing to be a part of facilitating healing in a room of people who also have that desire. They maybe didn’t know, but it sneaks up on them. I find that a lot, they might not have been prepared for it, but it happens. I did a show about a month ago for a bunch of high school students and this very stoic kid, I think
he might have been a jock or in that realm, he was very quiet and said to me, “Thank you for being vulnerable. I feel like now I can really deal with some abuse that I suffered when I was a kid. I cried for the first time that I have in years and I thank you for that.” It was very quick and he said it very politely and then just left and I just started sobbing. You do have to be careful, because you don’t
want to have a savior complex or anything like that. But at the end of the day, if I’m processing my own shit and it’s a benefit for anyone else or a catalyst for healing, then fuck
yeah...That’s an amazing cool bonus. It’s not about me and I’m not “You’re welcome, you’re welcome, everybody,” because everyone has their own agency and if they heal, it’s because they did the work themselves. But, I’m stoked to be a part of that journey. What’s next for you? The album releases May 5. I’m planning on touring in the fall, we’re still figuring out routing, dates and what makes sense for scheduling, things like that. The music video should come out mid-May or early June and it features Sara Ramirez who plays Callie fromGrey’s Anatomy. It’s going to be fun and cool.
Boldwill be available on Friday, May 5. For more information on it and about Mary Lambertand her upcoming tour, go
tomarylambertsings.com
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