“So I write. I sing. I play. Often for many reasons, but always for one; the world is a lonely, terrible place...and we'd all perish in it without music.”
John Karl Lamm is a singer-songwriter based in Chicago, IL, and has been writing and performing since 2013. Clean, authentic, extraordinarly expressive vocals, profound lyrics, and a unique blend of style results in truly captivating music, inspiring all who listen to dig deep and feel something.
His debut full-length album, To Run With Wolves, is available on the official website and on all major digital platforms.
It takes an immense amount of courage to step into the unknown...
...and courage is not a quality I possessed. Desperation, rather than bravery, is what brought me to a sleepy cafe on a Monday night. I had a story to share. Thoughts and feelings, composed with novice chords and a simple arrangement, to bare to a sea of strange faces. But...what for? Surely there are easier ways to get a few things off your chest. It is a dilemma I once thought of as narcissistic and uninteresting -- desires experienced by the bored and anxious, seeking praise and affection. And yet, denying these instincts felt like ignoring an essential part of who I am, and what I have to offer. What compelled me to perform that night was a very real need to compose my thoughts and empathize with others; what resulted was an existential discovery that reshaped everything I thought I knew of myself: I am, must be, and always will be, an artist.
So I write. I sing. I play. Often for many reasons, but always for one; the world is a lonely, terrible place...and we'd all perish in it without music.
My genre is most sensibly defined as a blend of folk, indie, alt-rock, and blues. It is focused on the merit and character of the lyrics, and the music is carefully textured and structured by the established themes.
I can't tell you who my influences are. The list is endless, for I am the son of the biggest classic rock nerd on the planet. That, in addition to the hundreds of alt rock artists of my own era, makes this feat quite literally impossible. I am influenced by passion, talent, and honesty. These are the important qualities I try to emulate from all the greatest musicians, and nothing less.
