Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Lambert.
Sean, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey through music has been a long one. Starting in my early years at elementary school, I joined the choir because my parents encouraged me to do extracurricular activities, mostly to keep myself occupied while I waited for them to pick me up because they worked many hours. I would go every day after school and my teacher noticed that I wouldn’t read the music, so she sat me down after a choral session to see what was up. I could sing the music based on memory of what the note sounded like, and after some analysis, she told me I had perfect pitch. She was very enthusiastic about telling my mother at open house; not long after, I was getting classical piano lessons to shape a good foundation in my knowledge of music theory.
I used to do the same thing that I did when I was in choir: I never read the sheet music. I played and memorized everything by ear. At the piano recitals, my teacher would tell me to bring my music, but I refused to because I had already memorized it, so there was no need. My journey on the piano didn’t last too long, and it was probably a good thing that it didn’t, in my opinion. I continued in choir for every year, up until my senior year in high school and even had the privilege of participating in the San Diego Honor Choir.
Around the time middle school came around, I started playing woodwind instruments. In 6th grade I played bass clarinet, 7th grade I played alto saxophone, and I finally found my sound in 8th grade when I picked up the tenor saxophone. At this point of my life, I was still not reading the notes off of my page and even making up parts that sounded similar to the ones I was supposed to be playing. Since my parents saw how invested I was in the tenor sax, they got me a private instructor who taught me how to improvise. This is what really changed things for me. I was the only student who didn’t play written solos for the jazz ensemble, no matter how bad it may have sounded. I knew that I’d get better.
My private instructor, Mike Hom, was a college student that recently graduated from Mission Bay High School and had recommended their music program when I was picking schools. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I was thrown into such a diverse music program with like-minded individuals that had the same drive that I did. I felt at home. In my four years at Mission Bay High School, I did so much musically and received the tools for preparation in the professional world. I couldn’t even fathom where I’d be if it weren’t for my music instructor, Jean-Paul Balmat. He pushed me to sharpen my sightreading/ music theory understanding, learn more instruments, tailored my professional understanding, and above all things helped me develop life skills that contributed to making me into a better person. I owe so much to him for doing so much for me, and other students.
I came from that program having my own voice with a heavy New Orleans influence. Both in my playing and singing. I was on the road to attend school at San Francisco State University on scholarship but had been turned off by the program so much that I dropped out. I moved back to San Diego with a goal: I was going to start my freelance career at the age of 18. I never expected anything from it, but I met so many supportive people who opened doors for me. I was getting work, toured, recorded on different albums, and most importantly met so many people who are now family to me. As of right now, I am mainly focusing on my own project, Luxury Hotline. We are a soul collective that dabbles in different styles of music, but the goal is to make you dance!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest struggle on my journey has been being different. I wasn’t accepted in many social groups growing up and it was hard to fit into a single one. People never really saw eye to eye with me or my ideas and would label me as something I wasn’t. To be fair, I wasn’t always the best kid growing up and until this day, I remain adamant with myself and have stayed pretty stubborn as an individual. Only because I know what I want out of life.
One thing I learned is that no matter what people think of you, don’t ever let negative criticism change who you are. There will always be people that don’t agree with who you are and/or what you do; listen to the ones you trust, especially if they’re coming from a genuine place. Even then, take the feeling you get from the negative criticism and use it as motivation. If people hate you for whatever art you put out, you must be doing something right.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Luxury Hotline is a collective of musicians that play a wide variety of shows, functions, and all-around venues where music can be showcased. There is an eclectic mix of musicians when it comes from background and style, ranging from folk to bebop, to gospel, to noise rock, and to neo-soul. With that in mind, it should go without saying that we are a versatile group that will make you dance no matter what!
I pride myself in saying that this group is my project. Coming from a background of being a sideman saxophonist, I feel like having a platform to seriously showcase what I can do without holding back is amazing. Though we do shows with high energy, we can also hold our own in a corporate environment that calls for subtlety and laid back groovaliciousness. I couldn’t really tell you what sets us apart from everyone else. If you want to form an opinion yourself, you should come to a show sometime.
What were you like growing up?
I was a bad kid growing up. Never was I ever mean spirited, but I did break rules, so I was more of a soft-hearted devil. A stubborn little rebel, I was. I never judged anyone until I actually got to know them, so I rolled with a lot of different crouds. I kept to myself when it came to my personal life, just because I had a “trust only a few” mentality on life.
I grew up on Sci-Fi, fishing, and all sorts of sports. In high school, I earned a varsity letter in lacrosse and sports fell out of my life shortly after. Music has always been there through the different sprinkles of whatever I found myself interested in. One thing I’ve always kept as a constant in my life is reading. I love learning about psychoanalytics, philosophy, and any matters involving human reasoning!
Contact Info:
- Website: luxuryhotlinemusic.com
- Phone: (619)-964-0051
- Email: luxuryhotlinebooking@gmail.com
- Instagram: @luxuryhotlinemusic
Image Credit:
All photos were taken by the talented, Alex Beltran!
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