By Lauren Alexis Begnaud
Photo by Justin Sonfield

People in Baton Rouge like cover bands,” says Lindsay Rae Spurlock. “It’s a cover-band city.” The new Atlantan admits she has a good fan-base back home in Baton Rouge but says the real reason for her big move to Atlanta was for music. It is true — certain cities are known for their music scene and Baton Rouge is not one of them. Although she’s only been in Atlanta for a short amount of time, Spurlock says she feels as though her music is being well received. Atlanta is the next chapter in her life.

She was in need of a change of atmosphere and a new place to fuel her already budding career as a solo artist. “I was either going to move to L.A., New York or Atlanta,” she says. In Baton Rouge, she became known as the frontwoman of a rock band. Back then, her job was to focus on the lyrics or the main melody, but she admits that she never felt the songs contained her message. “It was a great band to be in and I loved it a lot, but I’ve always wanted to focus on my solo stuff.”

Spurlock has been back and forth from Baton Rouge to Atlanta recording songs for her second album, a follow-up to her debut, Life’s Puzzle Pieces. Her first album included a plethora of different songs — old and new — that were more like vignettes than a concept album, hence the title. She admits she is eager to get her new recorded material out there, despite the hardships of self-producing an album. The task is no doubt a lot of work, especially since she has gone solo.

Spurlock is no newcomer to change. Her father worked in various radio stations over the years and the two of them moved around a lot. “My father and I were a music duo,” she says. To her, music is her outlet. When anything is bothering her, she will sit down and write, get it all on paper and then look through what she has there and figure out what it will become. It seems as though music is Spurlock’s home away from home, a constant friend, someone who will always be there.

It’s no wonder she takes the profession so seriously. Since her father worked in the music industry, Spurlock became familiar with various instruments and was accustomed to being in studios at a young age. She started singing at the age of six and says her first live experience was playing around on the air with her father, singing along with Belinda Carlisle on one of his radio shows. She recalls car trips with her dad and listening to lots of The Cars, Queen, Led Zeppelin and Yes. “Queen is my favorite band. Freddie Mercury is like my favorite figure ever in life. I love him. He’s great,” says Spurlock.

Coming from a background of famous musicians might make some artists feel pressured to create music as well. Spurlock is related to legends Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley. She speaks fondly of seeing them at family reunions, but maintains, “If they are influences in any way, they are genetic.”

Aside from her soul-bearing vocals and lyrics, Spurlock is amazingly friendly and exudes a casual comfort in her demeanor. Her songs cultivate a kind of beautiful sadness that not only captivates but also deafens with their power. But even in their sadness, the songs bring hope. Her music maintains a kind of tonal quality that can calm instantly.

Despite being classified as a kind of “American Björk,” Spurlock says, “I don’t mind. I don’t think I sound like Tori Amos. I don’t think I sound like Fiona Apple. It doesn’t make me mad. I just don’t think people know how to classify what they hear.” It is obvious that with her love for music, ambition and assiduous nature, she’s bound to make a name for herself. And she is happy now that it’s her message. Her music is all her own.


www.lindsayspurlock.com