Baby Eagle Fills Gap For Steve Lambke In Between Constantines Albums

Between his full-time gig with the Constantines and his side project, Baby Eagle, Steve Lambke has plenty to keep him busy. However, should he ever decide that he's had enough of the music biz, he may want to consider the real estate industry for future employment.

While going from indie rock to hawking homes may seem like a stretch, Lambke has a gift for describing dwellings. Rooms and their unique surroundings helped shape the stripped-down sounds on Baby Eagle's sophomore full-length, No Blues. The album, which was recorded over the Christmas holidays in Sackville, N.B. and during the spring in Toronto, was released in September by Outside Music.

"All the collaborative stuff was done in Sackville," says Lambke. "It's more the sound I wanted — kind of raggedy, with people playing together.

"The room we were in had a great vibe and sound. It had old wood, big windows and a big tall ceiling. It's in a really old farmhouse. There's a wooden beam in the attic where it's been marked in pencil when it's been cleaned. The earliest one was 1860 or something. That's when they first needed to clean up. The house is out in a marsh and at the end of a long driveway, just across the highway from town. The wind really blows out there."

Century 21 or Royal LePage would certainly be hard-pressed to sum up the rustic setting any better.

While Lambke was joined by Shotgun And Jaybird, Julie Doiron and Constantines bandmate Will Kidman in Sackville, he performed his acoustic tales alone while back home in Toronto.

"The recording I did in Toronto is a lot starker," Lambke explains. "It was just me in my room.

"As a space, it's cramped and frustrating and doesn't have any particularly nice sound. I'd just press record and play. There would have been more of that if I'd tried to do it all myself. It was cool, but not as fun as working with friends."

Lambke is performing material on his own and with openers Shotgun Jimmie and Construction And Destruction on his current tour. The shows mark his first time playing Baby Eagle tracks in a live setting with other people. Look for more onstage collaborations when he hooks up with Christine Fellows, who worked with Lambke on his 2006 self-titled debut, for another round of dates in late November and December.

After completing his Baby Eagle concerts, Lambke will return to the studio to work on the Constantines' fourth full-length. The quintet recently inked a deal with Toronto imprint Arts & Crafts, which will put out the new disc in the spring.

Lambke says it's easy to distinguish whether a song he wrote is better suited for Baby Eagle or should be shared with his bandmates.

"So far, it's been really clear and obvious which songs belong where. I guess they're different. I don't know how it's different, though. Every song is different when you're writing it."

Is there any chance of Baby Eagle and the Cons eventually heading out on the road together?

"I don't think we'd ever do a tour like that," says Lambke. "I don't know that it would be any fun.

"Maybe for a one-off or something it might work. We mostly like touring with pals and bands that can kick us in the ass to play better."

Here are Baby Eagle's tour dates:

Oct. 18 Halifax, NS @ Ginger's
Oct. 19 Quebec City, QC @ Tam Tam Cafe
Oct. 20 Montreal, QC @ Tricycle Media
Oct. 21 Ottawa, ON @ End Hits
Oct. 22 London, ON @ Alex P. Keaton
Oct. 23 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
Oct. 24 Waterloo, ON @ 130 King St. N.
Oct. 25 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
Oct. 26 Guelph, ON @ The New Salsateria
Oct. 27 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
Oct. 28 Montreal, QC @ Le Cagibi
Nov. 16 Peterborough, ON @ Montreal House
Nov. 30 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
Dec. 1 Calgary, AB @ The Marquee Room