Meet Chris Lambert of Are We Okay? Podcast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Lambert.

Chris, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got my first boombox cassette tape recorder when I was 13 years old, and started writing songs in my bedroom to show to my friends at school. Pretty soon, home recording consumed every part of my after-school life, and I was making “albums” to mail to my family in other states. At 19, I put out my first official full-length album, and have put out a new one almost every year since.

In addition to home recording, I developed an interest in podcasting in 2010, which is pretty much just recording music without any instruments. In July 2016, I started the Are We Okay? Podcast as a way to talk to other artists about how they navigate in a world that doesn’t always support them.

Two years later, I’ve recorded conversations with 111 different guests and just released my 11th full-length album.

Has it been a smooth road?
I spent years thinking that I would eventually get “discovered,” and that it would all smooth sailing from there. I eventually got to the point where I’m at now, which is content to be doing something I love and still managing to pay the rent every month. I can stress myself out by checking download numbers and appraising my value by them. Most of my struggles now are internal.

We’d love to hear more about the podcast.
Are We Okay? Is a weekly podcast where I have conversations about creativity, positivity, and purposeful living with a new guest every Tuesday. I record them at my dining room table, and every episode is a different adventure for me.

Sometimes the trick is drawing an interesting life story out a quiet person. Sometimes it’s trying to get in a few words while a rambler is taking a sip of water. I try to get each person to determine what they value about life, why they think we exist, and what they think we could be doing to make sure that we survive.

Since the 2016 election, I’ve put a lot of emphasis on coexistence and trying to get everyone to control their emotions as best as they can. It hasn’t been easy. Some guests are afraid, and most are angry and want to point fingers at the other political party.

I try to keep our conversations productive, and usually, that means challenging ourselves to empathize with people who are different than us. I’ve taken a little flak for encouraging people to be kind to unkind people, but I think it’s the only way things are going to get better.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Los Angeles has developed a culture that I haven’t found anywhere else. It feels like there’s a system in place for how things work, and becoming a part of it can be like jumping onto a running treadmill: just hit the ground with your feet running, and you’ll be fine.

I love finding hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bookstores and neighborhoods, where locals will show you around and teach you tricks to make your life easier.

The traffic makes my life expectancy shorten in real time. I can feel my blood vessels working overtime. For someone who comes from a much smaller town, ridesharing was recently a game changer for me, years after everyone else was already over it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://areweokay.com/
• Email: areweokaypodcast@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/areweokaypodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.comare/weokay

Image Credit:
Alexandra Wallace

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