Oral History with Jacques Lambert
Dublin Core
Title
Oral History with Jacques Lambert
Subject
WXPL History 1989-1993, Film and Video, Music Videos
Description
Summary
Jacques Lambert shares his experience at Fitchburg State University and his involvement with the radio station, WXPL. He discusses how he ended up at Fitchburg State after playing minor league hockey and not taking the SATs. He joined the radio station and formed a band with fellow students. They played shows, released music videos, and gained recognition. Jacques emphasizes the impact of WXPL on his life and the connections he made through the station. He also reflects on the importance of college radio and the music scene during that time. The conversation with Jacques Lambert revolves around his experiences at the college radio station, WXPL, and how it shaped his career in the entertainment industry. He shares anecdotes about playing music, political arguments, and having fun at the station. Lambert emphasizes the importance of friendships and the impact of the radio station on his life. He also discusses the skills he gained, such as negotiation and storytelling, which have been instrumental in his career as a producer and stand-up comedian.
Takeaways
WXPL and Dr. Dave Ryder had a significant impact on Jacques Lambert's life during his time at Fitchburg State University.
Jacques formed a band with fellow students and played shows, released music videos, and gained recognition.
College radio, like WXPL, played a crucial role in exposing Jacques to new music and shaping his musical taste.
Jacques emphasizes the importance of college radio and the connections made through it in the music scene. College radio stations can have a significant impact on shaping careers in the entertainment industry.
Friendships formed at college radio stations can last a lifetime.
Skills such as negotiation and storytelling are valuable in various professional fields.
The experiences and memories created at college radio stations are cherished and hold a special place in people's lives.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:06 Forming a Band and Gaining Recognition
09:54 The Role of College Radio in Music Discovery
14:24 The Importance of Connections in the Music Scene
28:39 Playing Music and Having Fun at the College Radio Station
35:46 The Impact of Fitchburg on Lambert's Career
38:37 From Music Videos to Production Company
43:28 The Lifelong Friendships and Connections Made at College Radio
48:29 The Importance of Negotiation and Storytelling Skills
56:56 The Lasting Impact of College Radio Experiences
Notes generated by AI at riverside.fm
Jacques Lambert shares his experience at Fitchburg State University and his involvement with the radio station, WXPL. He discusses how he ended up at Fitchburg State after playing minor league hockey and not taking the SATs. He joined the radio station and formed a band with fellow students. They played shows, released music videos, and gained recognition. Jacques emphasizes the impact of WXPL on his life and the connections he made through the station. He also reflects on the importance of college radio and the music scene during that time. The conversation with Jacques Lambert revolves around his experiences at the college radio station, WXPL, and how it shaped his career in the entertainment industry. He shares anecdotes about playing music, political arguments, and having fun at the station. Lambert emphasizes the importance of friendships and the impact of the radio station on his life. He also discusses the skills he gained, such as negotiation and storytelling, which have been instrumental in his career as a producer and stand-up comedian.
Takeaways
WXPL and Dr. Dave Ryder had a significant impact on Jacques Lambert's life during his time at Fitchburg State University.
Jacques formed a band with fellow students and played shows, released music videos, and gained recognition.
College radio, like WXPL, played a crucial role in exposing Jacques to new music and shaping his musical taste.
Jacques emphasizes the importance of college radio and the connections made through it in the music scene. College radio stations can have a significant impact on shaping careers in the entertainment industry.
Friendships formed at college radio stations can last a lifetime.
Skills such as negotiation and storytelling are valuable in various professional fields.
The experiences and memories created at college radio stations are cherished and hold a special place in people's lives.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:06 Forming a Band and Gaining Recognition
09:54 The Role of College Radio in Music Discovery
14:24 The Importance of Connections in the Music Scene
28:39 Playing Music and Having Fun at the College Radio Station
35:46 The Impact of Fitchburg on Lambert's Career
38:37 From Music Videos to Production Company
43:28 The Lifelong Friendships and Connections Made at College Radio
48:29 The Importance of Negotiation and Storytelling Skills
56:56 The Lasting Impact of College Radio Experiences
Notes generated by AI at riverside.fm
Creator
Katherine Jewell
Date
July 24, 2024
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Duration
57:56
Transcription
WXPL Oral Histories: Jacques Lambert - generated by Descript.
Kate Jewell: [00:00:00] Let's see. Okay. So that's recording. All right. I'm Katherine Jewell. I am in Belmont, Massachusetts. It is July 24th, 2024, and I'm recording oral histories that will be used in a podcast production on the Fitchburg State University radio station WXPL. So would you go ahead and introduce yourself, your name?
Kate Jewell: You're at and, we can jump into the
Jacques Lambert: My name is Jacques Lambert. I am a humble resident of Lowell, Massachusetts, and I[00:01:00]
Jacques Lambert: absolutely About everything about my life,
Kate Jewell: So how'd you get to Fitchburg State and eventually to the radio station?
Jacques Lambert: I finished high school. I, went to Andover high. I grew up in Wilmington, but the 10th grade, we moved to Andover and it was at that point. I was diagnosed as being seriously dyslexic and on a kindergarten reading level. it was, I won't get into the whole history, but I've moved around the world, including to the Middle East, to LA by myself.
Jacques Lambert: The toughest move of my life was from Wilmington to Andover. I never felt more unwelcomed in any place in my life, and essentially dropped out of high school to play minor league hockey. I, we all came to an agreement. I'll come enough so you guys pass me. And, I won't cause too [00:02:00] much trouble.
Jacques Lambert: And so I finished, I think there was 384 and I was 374, in our school. the girl I dated, Was the year behind me, and she was 2nd in her class, and the girl I dated after that was valedictorian, and my dad's a rocket scientist, and my brother is a 10 year professor at the University of Maryland in atmospheric chemistry, and I've not taken math or chemistry since the 7th grade, but I played 2 years of minor league hockey, after high school, and.
Jacques Lambert: years of three people on my line getting drafted and me being five, seven and 140 pounds, it wasn't going to happen. and a couple, a few colleges said, why don't you come here and play? And I said, I can barely read it. Never took the SATs. I don't think I could spell SAT if you spotted me two of the letters.
Jacques Lambert: And they're like, that's okay. and 1 of them happened to be Fitchburg state. And so they're [00:03:00] like, yeah, we'll just put you in a look. We'll put you in film. There's not a lot of reading. It's not a lot of this. There's not a lot of that. And, and okay, yeah, that sounds fine. And I didn't have to live on campus.
Jacques Lambert: I lived at 1 pearl. It was like, there's a couple of the older kids, junior, seniors, hockey players who had, an apartment there, right at One Pearl, the three bedroom, one bathroom thing. almost instantly, I realized, oh, these guys are a bunch of d bags. I don't like this.
Jacques Lambert: And, it's fine. It's fine that the hockey was a step down. It's, it, that wasn't the problem. It's Oh, you guys go to a school with a seven to one girl to guy ratio. you play on the hockey team and you think it makes you like King Turd on Crap Island. And [00:04:00] I don't want to be around any of you people.
Jacques Lambert: And it was a really, tough time. it was a really, tough time. and I handled it like most mature kids in the late 80s. I drank like a fish. And just coincidence, my it wasn't planned, but a kid I grew up with also went to Fitchburg, and he's in the dorm.
Jacques Lambert: And he I'm joining the radio station. Why don't you join the radio station with me? And I'm like, yeah, my extent I at that point live for the Beatles and you too. And the extent of my music was whatever BCN was playing or FNX. with the exception of the band Buffalo Tom. 'cause I played hockey with, the drummer's brother.
Jacques Lambert: so they were the only not mainstream band I had known of, but I, didn't [00:05:00] know. Oh Buffalo Tom is really Dinosaur Junior. Junior and Lou . I didn't, know all
Jacques Lambert: he lives in Austin, Texas. [00:06:00] I guess his biggest claim to fame is he told Spoon 10 years ago. No, I don't want to be your touring bassist because I got my own band. I'd rather play guitar than base at this point. but, we, to this day are close. We still make music. We, just put out a thing last year called, the, Trump Era and, there's, and, the XPL thing, it's still, And every day resonate with me because of XPL, because of XPL, I met my friend, John and John, Dan and I were in a band.
Jacques Lambert: My friend, Mike Sullivan, who left XPL, left Fitchburg, because he thought XPL is great. Radio is great. This is all I want to do. I'm going to go to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, and then he was a morning show, major market producer for the next 20 years, all through XPL, our, we put my little [00:07:00] band did really okay.
Jacques Lambert: And because I learned about college music journal, and I was in the film program, so my projects were all making music videos for our band. I literally, I came to an agreement unofficially with the film department at Fitchburg State that, I'm not going to show up for lighting class. I'm not going to show up for sound production.
Jacques Lambert: I'm never going to load film in a camera. But you passed me in all those classes, and then the classes in which I was the only one to turn in a senior project, and not only did my senior project get turned in, it got played on MTV, there was a big article about it in the Boston Globe, and then Billboard Magazine, and I got a 2 0.
Jacques Lambert: And the kids who, who didn't finish a class [00:08:00] project got a 3 0,[00:09:00] [00:10:00] [00:11:00] [00:12:00] [00:13:00] [00:14:00] [00:15:00]
Jacques Lambert: which was great because, they had better gear.
Jacques Lambert: On my, on whether it's, I don't want to say [00:16:00] it out loud, the listening device next to me, I have my XPL playlist. So if I'm listening to synth pop 80 stuff and a song comes up, I'll be like, Oh, listening device, put that on my XPL playlist on my Apple music, on my computer, my phone, I have my XPL playlist.
Jacques Lambert: And it's not just bands from that era, but bands, I wouldn't the dead Kennedy's or the minute man, or, a, one hit wonder or one album wonder called the warlock pinchers. they put out one album. do not look it up. It didn't hold up very well. there's an amazing song called the minds, which is one of my favorite thrash punk synth pop song.
Jacques Lambert: let's just say they have a [00:17:00] not flattering song about, Morrissey. but that's but
Kate Jewell: Sometimes
Jacques Lambert: yeah, a couple years ago when Morrissey comes out anti trans you're like, but. But you and I don't, it's it doesn't. And then it's Oh, okay. So, now it's now I have to, I ever, if I'm listening to one of those playlists and girlfriend or coma comes up, it's skip, it's Oh, but anyways, but yeah, but like I said, to this day, the XPL.
Jacques Lambert: we still joke about XPL. Like I said, my friend, John, he lives in Austin. even before the internet, he moved to Austin when I moved to L. A. and I would go see him once or twice a year. It's a 24 hour drive if he's playing South by Southwest. he was in two, he was in a touring band he did not like.
Jacques Lambert: Called spoon, which was on Sony that sent him to Japan once a year, [00:18:00] which he loved and he made just enough money to support his band called five head with a bunch of other Fitchburg guys. So it was a bunch of Fitchburg guys moved to Austin and started a bunch of bands. it really helped create that scene.
Jacques Lambert: They moved to Austin before Austin blew up and was Austin and a couple of them are still there still making music. 50 year old guys like me, 50 year old guys like me still playing shows a couple of times a month and again, it all came from that. And now I live three miles from Lowell University and I listen to WMUL.
Jacques Lambert: and sometimes it is the most painful, awkward, quote, unquote, those kids still running the stations that, that, that are just delightful to listen to. And it's [00:19:00] and they're always promoting shows and sometimes they've had shows where it's like, Oh, but I'm I would go check out that show.
Jacques Lambert: I will never be that guy showing up to see a college show. Buffalo Tom just played Lowell music festival a few weeks ago. And it was great. And I brought my son and it was awesome. But if a band that I liked was playing on the ULO campus, for many reasons, cause look, I never want to have the phrase.
Jacques Lambert: Hey, why don't you have a seat right there? and if you get that phrase, I don't have to explain further, but, but I love the radio station every now and then I'll tweet at them because I'll take a screen grab. If it comes up what they're playing, I'll be like, Oh my God. Thank you for playing. How did you have acts?
Jacques Lambert: Who's, who had the cool parent who told you that this band existed? You know what I mean? How, do you know about these people? I don't care, but I'm glad you do. Thank you for playing it. Like type thing. And, I do, I still love everything about it. And like I said, [00:20:00] that's why when I, from an old college friend, Professor Chris Cook, who he's a walking encyclopedia of music, probably one of the smartest people I know.
Jacques Lambert: maybe the smartest person I know, most musically knowledge person I know, was following you during the course of writing your book. And I'm like, Oh, I've never, followed somebody in that process. I've been like, I've seen a book and be like, Oh, I can't read this. Hopefully it comes out on tape and I can listen to it.
Jacques Lambert: But, I'll buy to be supportive. But this sounds great. But, to watch you along the way posting CMJ. Playlist posting these, college newspaper articles about the station getting shut down for being too conservative, some people be like, wait a minute. And then it turns out there's a little, at some point.
Jacques Lambert: University somewhere. [00:21:00] Somebody's trying to be, I'm trying to be Sid Vicious and my band that's bad. And then there's some idiot trying to be the young Rush Limbaugh, And it's but to watch your process the whole time, and there's so many Fitchburg people I know, or not Fitchburg people.
Jacques Lambert: I don't know if I know anybody, maybe tangentially, who wasn't connected with XPL. like that was my whole. It was either XPL, the people at XPL, and that's it, that's literally it, and, look, I do not want to come across disparaging, Fitchburg state in any way, because honestly, I don't know if this Fitchburg state college is the largest state college in the city of Fitchburg.
Jacques Lambert: Also, there was 1 class. I took a guy named Dave writer. And if I, didn't want to get up and walk the two feet, [00:22:00] the only textbooks that I bought after the first year of Fitchburg were his two. And they sit in my office, not as display, because if I'm waiting for a Zoom call, I'll flip through it.
Jacques Lambert: Getting to Yes was one of the two books, and I'm blanking on the title of his book, but it was, such a great experience. But my college experience was all my band. That came out of a dark time. I found XPL at the lowest point of my life. Like literally hockey's over. It's all I know. It's all I've done.
Jacques Lambert: I wasn't in band. I couldn't play drums. I didn't do anything. I could barely play the radio, but I end up, my buddy who was at XPL, Mike Sullivan goes on to be a big radio producer, meet my guitarist, meet my bass player, and to this day, the two closest friends I have, Mike from that. And then the third who ended up joining the band, a guy named Rod.
Jacques Lambert: like that's it. Fitchburg [00:23:00] State for me was XPL. Was that two studio, room. do I feel guilty that I may or may not have accidentally borrowed, quote, Libertate, a couple albums that, you would, have no way have absolutely had access to any other way. and I want to tell this story.
Jacques Lambert: My favorite thing about XPL, Is our bass player brought home this album, by, Archers of Loaf, the hands down, most horrible piece of crap I had ever listened to and he would listen to it once or twice a day where, you can play your album. And then I'm playing mine. And then while we're playing no friendo Nintendo, and he played this once or twice a day for a week, and it was horrible and it got worse each and every time until one time it clicked.
Jacques Lambert: And I'm like, this is the greatest album [00:24:00] ever. This is my favorite band. And it did. It was one of those things where I don't know why I hated it so much. Icky metal. Icky Metal by Archers of Loaf, 91, 92, that came out in my top 10 albums of all time. And I despised it. But, that, but then again, that's what, being in a band with somebody who wanted to be Jim Croce, somebody who wanted to be in Baja's and somebody who, wanted to literally, As much as I wanted to play the drums, I wanted to start a riot at Club Boston, which we did and wound up in court for a year.
Jacques Lambert: And that was awesome. open for the Flock of we opened for the Flock of Seagulls at Bunratty's in Burlington, Massachusetts, and we ended with a 10 minute version of I Ran. Which, they shut the lights off to the stage, and then they killed the power, the drums were not electric, so I kept [00:25:00] playing, and John kept just screaming, and I ran over and over, and they carried our equipment out piece by piece, and a flock of seagulls was waiting out there for us, and it was the most violent Dickhead, jerk, horrible, awful thing, and I want to feel bad about it because I know a good person would, but I giggle every time I think about it, and again, all because of XPL, all because of, because at that point, If you were on fnx Yeah, you were no, they would like, they want a 10 year anniversary of that song being number one.
Jacques Lambert: But, you didn't look down at fnx. But FNX used to be the coolest thing in the world because it was a F or FNX. And then
Jacques Lambert: you spend your life at XPL and you hear stuff that maybe gets played at three in the morning on. On FNX that is in heavy rotation [00:26:00] at college radio and you feel like, the in club, it's oh, you guys don't get it.
Jacques Lambert: You guys don't get how cool this is and stuff like that. And then you become 1 of those 50 or people who tell your wife who right now is on her way to see Duran in Croatia. And she feels guilty that I don't go to shows. Oh, the pixies and modest mouse are coming. It's yeah, I saw the pixies of the channel in front of 200 people.
Jacques Lambert: I'm fine. I don't need, it's now I'm too cool to see the band that I love the most because they're mainstream, but, that's all F and X. it's all college radio. and to this day, I, didn't know college radio was a thing. How in Wilmington maths. And 1983, could you possibly imagine something like that was out there?
Jacques Lambert: There was no, if I could read, which I couldn't at the time, there was no mention of it. I didn't even know what the, Boston Phoenix was like the Boston Phoenix,[00:27:00]
Jacques Lambert: even later, even like the, 87, 88, 89. I only knew about the Boston Phoenix because my stepbrother, who was going to Harvard, I'm a doctor, you was the movie editor.
Jacques Lambert: That's the only way I otherwise you would not have had any idea that the Boston Phoenix was a thing. And if it wasn't for a cool kid on my junior team, who knew about FNX. I wouldn't even heard about F and X, it would have because everybody I knew it was BCN or AAF. There was those two camps, You're either the people's front or the JJO people's front, but there was absolutely nothing in between that, and so that's why, like I said, when I got there, it was, like this awakening and I know how cliche that sounds, but it's like, how can something like this exist? [00:28:00] how can this whole world within this world exist and stuff like that?
Jacques Lambert: no,
Kate Jewell: So what was your show like? what were you doing when you were on the air? What are some of your
Jacques Lambert: being, being obnoxious, playing horrible songs from oh, I'm trying, I'm just trying to think of like, I would play. Like I said, I, it'd be Mission of Burma. I would record the show on my boombox because that's how you would get access to these things.
Jacques Lambert: So I, would, I would tell my girlfriend, it's okay, don't forget. I know I go in at 1 in the morning, but it's really important. Yeah. because I would play Mission of Burma and then a Joy Division thing. And then I would, Play Captain and Tennille the same song 2 or 3 times in a row [00:29:00] and sing over it, just to be just because it was 1 in the morning and nobody else was there and nobody told me I could or couldn't do anything, sometimes I would have a political arguments with myself, like doing voices.
Jacques Lambert: just the dumbest, dumbest, stuff, But at the same time, just having more fun. And like I said, okay, I know I want to play these songs and I know rock wants me to play these songs. but I would flip through the CMJ and just while something else was playing, on the other thing, put on the headphones and listen to it's crap.
Jacques Lambert: Oh, this is good. Yeah. Crap. And then just. play whatever and then forget what I played and then 2 days later, somebody says you're supposed to write down what you played and I'd be like, oh, yeah, I'll do that next time. No, I won't. [00:30:00] Cause, it's and again, it's just really, funny that I'm.
Jacques Lambert: I didn't go through a program or anything like that, but, 1 of my best friends, was a functioning alcoholic since he was 14 and, 1112 years ago was like, yeah. And I had a kid when I was older in 2007 and I'm like, yeah, I'm not going to do this much anymore. But the honest truth is.
Jacques Lambert: 89 to about 95 is mostly gone. I'll be introduced to somebody I lived with for two years, Li you know who, Or, so a lot of that, and I don't say that in a funny, oh, look how cool I am now. Fitchburg was a drinking, and I don't know how it is now, but it was, the National Guard came in Spree Day.
Jacques Lambert: Oh, do you not know that? [00:31:00] 91, I think it was 91. they sent in the National Guard on spree day. It was 91 or 92 that, Dukakis was the governor, declared it a state of emergency and sent in the National Guard. That is fact not. And it's 1 of those things where, when, we talk to these people, or every now and then, I'll get a text from somebody I talked to, but not a lot, but Did that really happen or hey, yes, this really happened because Fitchburg and maybe it still is, was a suitcase school where you moved away to school, but you brought your laundry home on Thursday night and most.
Jacques Lambert: If you could not have any class on Friday, or you would have 1 class on Friday, I'm going to say 50 percent plus of the people, especially the 1st, couple of years Thursday night go home because it's a state school. [00:32:00] It's in the middle of state. let's say you live in Williamsburg. Williamsburg or Williamstown hour and a half away down route to, you live, at the Cape an hour and a half that way you live in, Wilmington 45 minutes that way.
Jacques Lambert: So everybody went home to do their laundry or to see their high school girlfriend or boyfriend or both. No judgments. but if you stay behind, you drink. You, drank until the Statue of Liberty looked hot Drake and, it was those basements that had just cement and you could hose them down the next day.
Jacques Lambert: and that's what Fitchburg was, oh, God bless us. But, yeah,
Kate Jewell: so how did the radio station in the university get along? How did it fit in overall socially, academically administratively with the university
Jacques Lambert: I, luckily I didn't know much of that, but that's why I [00:33:00] would be told on a regular basis. Hey, don't do. All the stuff you do, by people, by look, it's funny cause you think of it. It's I'm a complete jerk 20 year old, guy who's quote unquote boss is, maybe 19 because I went to school two years later and they know they want a real job.
Jacques Lambert: And we're like, I, yes, I had to look down to see I am wearing a golden girl shirt. And this is what I will wear to a professional meeting. As soon as we wrap with this. that's, but this kid knew what he wanted to do and his working at the radio station on administration level was because it's going to look good on a resume.
Jacques Lambert: I'm working at the radio station because I want to see if I can play. I want to be your dog live by the Stooges 20 times in a row. And if [00:34:00] anybody calls into notice, and the answer is no. No one cared, but no one was listening, but I did it for an audience of 1 and that audience was delighted.
Jacques Lambert: And that audience was me. And, I modeled my DJ persona after the great. I think we could say great Johnny fever from WKRP in Cincinnati, but as far as the administration stuff goes, the, kids who again, when I'm a freshman, I'm, almost 20 because I didn't go to school right away. So if you.
Jacques Lambert: oh, so you're a freshman, you're a sophomore, you might be a junior, same age, or you're younger than me as I'm my freshman there. And, you have to deal with the administration. And maybe somebody says, oh, that man that's not allowed to play in the pub anymore for reasons. one of the only reason they're not allowed to play in the pub is because one person in the band and that's a drummer and he's on the show and maybe [00:35:00] we should do something about this.
Jacques Lambert: And so I would nicely get reminded. By the grown ups who were a year older or a year younger than me, but luckily I was shielded from all of that. cause, cause I, if I knew I was possibly annoying somebody, you have an eight year old. Oh, this bothers you? Oh, let me see how many times I can say skibbity toilet in a minute.
Jacques Lambert: just a quadruple down on it. I, I was a child then I'm a child now. And, and but like I said, I will never Fitchburg state for me was WXPL and Dr. David Ryder. And that was the, that was everything, that was the best of the best. Somehow I have a degree. I think I sent you, after you did our [00:36:00] podcast, with your awesome book, I have found a picture of me wearing an XPL shirt.
Jacques Lambert: I think I sent you that and my actual yearbook photo, which I'm in fifties now, and I'm still so glad I did it. But there is that little bit of me that says, Oh, all the other people on this page who had to go to a graduation party and grandma wanted to see their yearbook and opens it up and sees. this girl spent all the time getting her Marge Simpson, early nineties, which really means late eighties, this is why we have no also layer hair done, next to a guy wearing a world war flying cap.
Jacques Lambert: holding a robot's head and no shirt. Why? Why did they put that in? [00:37:00] I I don't want to say I take no responsibility, but there were a lot of people who had to check off the proofs of that before it went to print. I, didn't sneak in and press, print at the manufacturer and put that in there.
Jacques Lambert: But yeah, but the whole XBL and, experience shaped and again, I end up going out to work on music. I end up moving to LA, having a music video show on KCOP channel 13. I worked for a company that, when I first got out there, it was a sweatshop that just was a dub house that made all the music videos and sent them to all the MTVs and.
Jacques Lambert: The cable access shows, like the 1 that I had around the world and a few years later, I opened my own production company and my only clients were 1 of brothers records, capital and universal. And I was in charge of taking [00:38:00] every scrape of tape, possibly imagining as Napster was destroying music or destroying the music model, which never really worked.
Jacques Lambert: Anyways.
Kate Jewell: what
Jacques Lambert: most awful, we did 3 best of hits for tears for fears now.
Jacques Lambert: Do I like Tears for Freers? Yes. Was there a need for a second best of DVD? The answer is no. let alone a third one. So anyways, but, yeah, but that music, the music, and, again, it's such a small world, when I was listening to your book, and you're like, oh, Syracuse University launched so and so and Dear McQuinn, who is [00:39:00] somebody who's a great, friend, and again, it's all, I wouldn't have known of any of this, I wouldn't have known these worlds existed, I wouldn't have known that, oh, you there's these tiny clubs, that aren't really clubs, that are clubs, two days a week, that are having Sebado come on a Tuesday night, that you can, yeah, It's a ground zero.
Jacques Lambert: It was 2 for 2 bands on a Tuesday. That was the whole 2, 2, 2 thing. A club called Ground Zero, maybe a block from the Middle East Cafe, where we saw Buffalo Tom and Sebedo play their 2nd show, Sebedo's 2nd show. It's just after You Can't Fire Me, I Quit, Lou Barlow Left, and it's and again, we, Mark Small, I don't, Mark Small is one of the only people I know their real name of, He was another XPL guy.
Jacques Lambert: he and Mark Small had a band and, Rock had a band. And I can't remember the other [00:40:00] guy. I see his face. He's like a big, his name might come to me. But yeah, we crammed there was like six of us in a car that might have fed two people in a Chihuahua to go down, to see that show.
Jacques Lambert: And, I would have known. Places like that existed without the cool people. so there was the administration people who wanted to look good on the resume. And then there were the cool people like Mark Small, who's oh, you like Buffalo Tom? You have any idea who produces their stuff and who they're ripping off?
Jacques Lambert: it's these guys and the guy who got thrown out of that band is playing with them. Let's go see them. So the coolest people I knew. were from the radio station. The most uptight people I knew were from the radio station. But again, I don't they're kids. You're looking back thinking, it's yeah, I was trying to see how many people I can piss [00:41:00] off as a 20 year old and here's some 19 year old sophomore.
Jacques Lambert: Assistant station manager, hoping to be station manager when the senior leaves next year, who wants to go to those meetings with the administration. the only time I don't have any recollection meeting with the administration, but if it was anything like high school, those meetings weren't, Hey, let's talk about how everything's going right.
Jacques Lambert: so I, I, didn't want to do that, but like I said, that the music itself, life changing the friendships. What are we talking 90? So I'm meeting those guys in the fall of 89. So what's that 15 years ago? And don't correct me. Let's just let me have this one. and still, my friend John was up from Austin and just.
Jacques Lambert: The 3 of us sat in my friend's kitchen for about 7 hours just hanging out just it was just the best, [00:42:00] and it's all because of those 2 little rooms. And because some land grant act in 1936 called for schools to have these things. I read that in a book somewhere fascinating. I'll send you some information on it, but yeah, but the fact that that, little tiny, I don't think it had a bandwidth.
Jacques Lambert: I remember getting off of Route 2, getting off of 495 onto Route 2, and the first 3, miles You couldn't, you could kinda depending on if you were turning left or right, you could pick it up, but it wasn't until you got maybe 10, 15 minutes down route two. So what's a 10 mile bandwidth at the time, and that absolutely tiny two room, 10 mile, maybe bandwidth is, has launched radio careers.
Jacques Lambert: I personally have great friends who had. Absolute, [00:43:00] number one drive time warning. major market, producer credits, from that, bands who have gone on to do like really good things and just friendships that have lasted forever all because of those two tiny rooms, in the basement.
Jacques Lambert: Of that building, for nothing else. I will always be thankful for XPL and Dr. Dave Ryder and for the hockey coach who I Stiffed over by not playing on the team for getting me into the film project for getting me into film. I have a film degree. I've made movies. I've made TV shows because this coach said, oh, there's no math and science.
Jacques Lambert: We'll get you in this dumb and, And he was right, but I have a career and entertainment because of Fitchburg, and again, the way the filming worked. [00:44:00] Your junior and senior year, there was 20 kids in the class and everybody pitched a show and, or pitch the project to make, and you would vote, which 2 to do and then half work on this and half work on the other.
Jacques Lambert: And the professor who hated me. Because the first assignment was to come in with your 10 favorite films. Mine were, The Jerk, Blazing Saddles, Stripes, and, all these other film kids were like, it's not really a film, but it's two roles or a film. There's Chuck Lzovacki and filmmaker smuggled out of the country.
Jacques Lambert: an orifices we won't mention, so it's not really a film, but, the symbolic and I'm like, shut up. So I didn't work well with anybody. I still don't, which is. I, never have so the professor was like, got there. Who's is okay, 9 people in this 10 people in that Jack, whatever the fuck you do is fine.
Jacques Lambert: just, if you get arrested again, just try to make it off campus [00:45:00] this time. And but like I said, my, my 1st project. My junior year somehow, we shot in our basement and I want to get this right. I'm trying to look at the newspaper. The Worcester telegram came and shot, did an article and it was the front page of the Sunday paper back in the time when the Sunday paper was.
Jacques Lambert: 10 pounds and I came into class feeling pretty good with my three quarter master of the edited music video and the article from the Worcester Telegram and cassette. And I got a 2 0, which again, we had a, non written understanding that. Okay. That's fine. Not only did I finish my project, not only did it see the light of day because, oh, here's the VMJ tracking number where it was number [00:46:00] seven.
Jacques Lambert: Here's a newspaper article. No, I don't have any idea what day the lighting classes are. So, which is you give me a 2 0 on that. I'll take it to it with the exception of Dave Ryder. but that time in Fitchburg will always be remarkable and special. Also, depending on how you go to work, I implore you to go buy.
Jacques Lambert: 1 pro street and look at it because somebody did this for me a few years ago. I've never been back to Fitchburg since graduating. I'm not sure the statute of limitation. but if you go by on pro street, they're, on the 2nd floor. On the porch, it's somebody has written the Dan Cray Memorial porch and if there's a border around it, our friend, Dan passed out there 1 night and we, put it there and 30 plus years later, we think that somebody thinks somebody might have died there.
Jacques Lambert: And every time like. [00:47:00] Like I said, I had a friend go by there a few years ago, who's going to, who's taking their kids to Great Wolf Lodge, and they're like, dude, I went by the old apartment. That's still there. the house has obviously been painted a couple times since then, but whoever paints over it thinks that somehow, some way, somebody died there.
Jacques Lambert: No, nobody died there. Just Dan Cray, dancray. net. who billboard said Tom Waits meets Kirk Colbain's minus the drugs double the booze. Probably the best quote, you could have absolutely given anybody, but yeah, but Fitch, Fitchburg was, way too much fun. what I'm told I had a great time, but the friendships made.
Jacques Lambert: Specifically in that little room. And I wouldn't have gone if my friend, Mike Sullivan didn't go to Fitchburg and say, Oh, you're not gonna play hockey. why don't you come to this radio station? I, so there's some people [00:48:00] that I wish I had the vocabulary enough to express. Thank you for giving me a life in a career, but it did 100 percent spawn from those two tiny little rooms.
Jacques Lambert: I
Kate Jewell: do you think were the particular skills that you gained the radio station through your college career that set you up to do what you're doing now or have done in your career?
Jacques Lambert: think it's a combination of truly getting through life, not being able to read, until very later. I'm a producer. So what I do is I just, I'm trying, I don't want to swear. look, I just spin a yarn all day long. I, get people to, it's almost like a, it's almost like a Ponzi scheme where I convince people it's in your [00:49:00] best interest to help me get from point A to point B.
Jacques Lambert: So I want to get this movie done. I want to get this TV show done. I want my band to chart. On VMJ so I need so it will help you rock and mark to, promote my band on your station on your shows, not my show. So it doesn't look like I'm playing it. So we can get a chart number. And then you guys play with us at TT the bears coming up on Thursday.
Jacques Lambert: so all of those, all of those learning how to make deals happen. in my professional life and my personal life, I don't do a deal that isn't a win because I, don't see anything as transactional. Like I'm not going to the gas station and buying gas and I'm looking for the best price. I'm looking for, and again, this 100 percent comes [00:50:00] from Dave writers class, when you sit down and you negotiate with somebody, you have to know what their objectives are.
Jacques Lambert: You have to know, look, they're not negotiating with you. They're negotiating on behalf of a bunch of people that they have to go back to and say, I wanted to get us this, but I got us that. But. we got, and it has to be that and that's what I want. So what I learned is okay, I want to continue being at this radio station.
Jacques Lambert: Rock wants to look good on his resume by having, run a station that didn't get shut down by the administration. So, how can I. You know, make a happy medium work so that they let me keep having a show that only I listened to when I was recording at 1 in the morning, and that's Abby mean, it's okay, we'll let you be at the station, but it's going to be at 1 o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday, which is fine with me.
Jacques Lambert: So I did. I learned. [00:51:00] those, negotiating skills, a lot of it was natural, but it was shaped and, structured. But a lot of it also was, specifically I have Dave Ryder's voice in my head. When I think about that, it's what does this person have to get for, it to be a win for them, because.
Jacques Lambert: I'm coming back next week with another project. if I'm dealing with, an actor who hasn't worked for scale in 10 years to do this, how can you make it beneficial to them? same thing in music, same thing in everything, and now, I'm a stand up comic and stuff like that.
Jacques Lambert: And I work a lot with the venues. It's okay. You're putting on the show and I won't get into details, but every time I enter into 1 of those things, it's okay, we're doing a show here for the 1st time. I want this to be a monthly thing. How does it have to work [00:52:00] for them? Not just on this side.
Jacques Lambert: And that came from dealing with people at the radio station dealing with, the Dave Ryder class, and, then the fun, the irony thing, as much as I was an a hole not being able to play at the pub, I was also booking all their bands and starting to manage bands. I was smart enough to realize, oh, I have a really bad reputation, so I used Sean Franklin, which is my legal first name and middle name, as a manager, and Jacques Lambert as, the personality.
Jacques Lambert: And I, if I haven't sent it to you, I will billboard magazine quoted both of us in the same article and, that's when I realized it's oh, everybody's just lazy. And they're waiting for you to come in and tell them. This is a story. This is who, what, where, how, why, and when. And again, it's a win This is why it benefits you to cover this [00:53:00] story over here. You know what I mean? I, and that, that is stuff that, that. time and time again, I had to do as a kid, as a drunk kid at 19, 20, 21, figure out, it's okay, for this wheel to turn, these are the things that make the wheel turn.
Jacques Lambert: And this is the give and take. And no, I don't have to learn to load film into a camera. 'cause this guy over here loves to load film into her camera. I, I. I'm Huck Finn who convinced other people to paint the fence for me, because it's so much fun. And again, that's all that's what Fitchburg was, for me learning to figure it out, learn learning.
Jacques Lambert: It's I was driven to an excessive point. I'm an acquired taste where you're going to talk to a lot of other people who will Be like, yeah, we know Jacques, [00:54:00] that you talk to some people who they, he's the greatest guy ever. We had so much fun. And then there are people like, he made my life a living hell.
Jacques Lambert: Professor Crook being one of them. We'll go to all our shows. would be so supportive, was really good friends with the other two guys in the band. And then there's Jacques, it's so yeah, my friends have spent a lifetime apologizing for me, but now we're great friends, but that's all that stuff that all came, I don't know what Fitchburg's enrollment was at the time.
Jacques Lambert: It wasn't what it is now. it wasn't, what, definitely what it is now. but, it was, it's those 2 tiny rooms in that 1 classroom, with Dave Ryder and the film people were great. They had equipment. They were so they, they were supportive by not. By not putting up roadblocks, They realize it's okay, he's different. [00:55:00] This isn't going to work. And for whatever reason, they're like, go ahead, do your own thing. And it worked, it worked. It worked for them. It worked for me. I don't recommend the path that I've chosen through life because I every lesson has been the hard way, Oh, so if I stop hitting my head on the wall, it won't hurt so much. Okay. All right. I don't believe you, but I'll give that a try, but Like I said, the whole XPL experience, the interpersonal relationships, the friendships, the lifelong friendships, a lifelong friendships, which is funny to say for a 19 year old, but the kid I lived next to from age five to 15 was the one who said, Hey, hockey's all done.
Jacques Lambert: You'll have fun. Come. You just come to the meeting, just come to the meeting. And I'm like, what kind of meeting? I don't drink that much. But I went, somebody made the mistake of saying, okay, yeah, you want to do a show? Sure. And I think it was like [00:56:00] at eight to begin with. And then I got moved to that vault at 1 a.
Jacques Lambert: m. time slot. I, It did it gave me time to watch the top 10 list and then walk down, to the studio. yeah, it was it was it was a win And it's one of those things today where, if there was ever like a benefit or a fundraiser that XPL needed, Maybe not the rest of the apparatus, but I'd be like, how can I help?
Jacques Lambert: Like, how can I help? I, book shows, I book comedy, fundraisers all the time. I do that. I can do this. I can do that. it's I am happy to help because, that in the school as a whole, the school, but XPL is the reason I've had a career. I have a career.
Jacques Lambert: And a large reason why I've got to truly as crazy as it says, travel around the world because [00:57:00] of that and those connections and those relationships and those skills that I developed, learning, Hey, how far can you push the envelope before the envelope goes off the desk? But it's great. I, that time capsule is just, I wouldn't go back, I, if I had a time machine, I'd go back just to Maybe I'm flying the wall.
Jacques Lambert: It's yeah, cause there was some crazy stuff. I'm like, did that, happen? Did that really happen? but, but yeah, it's, it was, I, it was so great. And like I said, my love for college radio extends to this day.
Kate Jewell: it. That's perfect. we hit, our time mark perfectly. It's
Jacques Lambert: Fantastic.
Kate Jewell: And then.
[00:58:00]
Kate Jewell: [00:00:00] Let's see. Okay. So that's recording. All right. I'm Katherine Jewell. I am in Belmont, Massachusetts. It is July 24th, 2024, and I'm recording oral histories that will be used in a podcast production on the Fitchburg State University radio station WXPL. So would you go ahead and introduce yourself, your name?
Kate Jewell: You're at and, we can jump into the
Jacques Lambert: My name is Jacques Lambert. I am a humble resident of Lowell, Massachusetts, and I[00:01:00]
Jacques Lambert: absolutely About everything about my life,
Kate Jewell: So how'd you get to Fitchburg State and eventually to the radio station?
Jacques Lambert: I finished high school. I, went to Andover high. I grew up in Wilmington, but the 10th grade, we moved to Andover and it was at that point. I was diagnosed as being seriously dyslexic and on a kindergarten reading level. it was, I won't get into the whole history, but I've moved around the world, including to the Middle East, to LA by myself.
Jacques Lambert: The toughest move of my life was from Wilmington to Andover. I never felt more unwelcomed in any place in my life, and essentially dropped out of high school to play minor league hockey. I, we all came to an agreement. I'll come enough so you guys pass me. And, I won't cause too [00:02:00] much trouble.
Jacques Lambert: And so I finished, I think there was 384 and I was 374, in our school. the girl I dated, Was the year behind me, and she was 2nd in her class, and the girl I dated after that was valedictorian, and my dad's a rocket scientist, and my brother is a 10 year professor at the University of Maryland in atmospheric chemistry, and I've not taken math or chemistry since the 7th grade, but I played 2 years of minor league hockey, after high school, and.
Jacques Lambert: years of three people on my line getting drafted and me being five, seven and 140 pounds, it wasn't going to happen. and a couple, a few colleges said, why don't you come here and play? And I said, I can barely read it. Never took the SATs. I don't think I could spell SAT if you spotted me two of the letters.
Jacques Lambert: And they're like, that's okay. and 1 of them happened to be Fitchburg state. And so they're [00:03:00] like, yeah, we'll just put you in a look. We'll put you in film. There's not a lot of reading. It's not a lot of this. There's not a lot of that. And, and okay, yeah, that sounds fine. And I didn't have to live on campus.
Jacques Lambert: I lived at 1 pearl. It was like, there's a couple of the older kids, junior, seniors, hockey players who had, an apartment there, right at One Pearl, the three bedroom, one bathroom thing. almost instantly, I realized, oh, these guys are a bunch of d bags. I don't like this.
Jacques Lambert: And, it's fine. It's fine that the hockey was a step down. It's, it, that wasn't the problem. It's Oh, you guys go to a school with a seven to one girl to guy ratio. you play on the hockey team and you think it makes you like King Turd on Crap Island. And [00:04:00] I don't want to be around any of you people.
Jacques Lambert: And it was a really, tough time. it was a really, tough time. and I handled it like most mature kids in the late 80s. I drank like a fish. And just coincidence, my it wasn't planned, but a kid I grew up with also went to Fitchburg, and he's in the dorm.
Jacques Lambert: And he I'm joining the radio station. Why don't you join the radio station with me? And I'm like, yeah, my extent I at that point live for the Beatles and you too. And the extent of my music was whatever BCN was playing or FNX. with the exception of the band Buffalo Tom. 'cause I played hockey with, the drummer's brother.
Jacques Lambert: so they were the only not mainstream band I had known of, but I, didn't [00:05:00] know. Oh Buffalo Tom is really Dinosaur Junior. Junior and Lou . I didn't, know all
Jacques Lambert: he lives in Austin, Texas. [00:06:00] I guess his biggest claim to fame is he told Spoon 10 years ago. No, I don't want to be your touring bassist because I got my own band. I'd rather play guitar than base at this point. but, we, to this day are close. We still make music. We, just put out a thing last year called, the, Trump Era and, there's, and, the XPL thing, it's still, And every day resonate with me because of XPL, because of XPL, I met my friend, John and John, Dan and I were in a band.
Jacques Lambert: My friend, Mike Sullivan, who left XPL, left Fitchburg, because he thought XPL is great. Radio is great. This is all I want to do. I'm going to go to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, and then he was a morning show, major market producer for the next 20 years, all through XPL, our, we put my little [00:07:00] band did really okay.
Jacques Lambert: And because I learned about college music journal, and I was in the film program, so my projects were all making music videos for our band. I literally, I came to an agreement unofficially with the film department at Fitchburg State that, I'm not going to show up for lighting class. I'm not going to show up for sound production.
Jacques Lambert: I'm never going to load film in a camera. But you passed me in all those classes, and then the classes in which I was the only one to turn in a senior project, and not only did my senior project get turned in, it got played on MTV, there was a big article about it in the Boston Globe, and then Billboard Magazine, and I got a 2 0.
Jacques Lambert: And the kids who, who didn't finish a class [00:08:00] project got a 3 0,[00:09:00] [00:10:00] [00:11:00] [00:12:00] [00:13:00] [00:14:00] [00:15:00]
Jacques Lambert: which was great because, they had better gear.
Jacques Lambert: On my, on whether it's, I don't want to say [00:16:00] it out loud, the listening device next to me, I have my XPL playlist. So if I'm listening to synth pop 80 stuff and a song comes up, I'll be like, Oh, listening device, put that on my XPL playlist on my Apple music, on my computer, my phone, I have my XPL playlist.
Jacques Lambert: And it's not just bands from that era, but bands, I wouldn't the dead Kennedy's or the minute man, or, a, one hit wonder or one album wonder called the warlock pinchers. they put out one album. do not look it up. It didn't hold up very well. there's an amazing song called the minds, which is one of my favorite thrash punk synth pop song.
Jacques Lambert: let's just say they have a [00:17:00] not flattering song about, Morrissey. but that's but
Kate Jewell: Sometimes
Jacques Lambert: yeah, a couple years ago when Morrissey comes out anti trans you're like, but. But you and I don't, it's it doesn't. And then it's Oh, okay. So, now it's now I have to, I ever, if I'm listening to one of those playlists and girlfriend or coma comes up, it's skip, it's Oh, but anyways, but yeah, but like I said, to this day, the XPL.
Jacques Lambert: we still joke about XPL. Like I said, my friend, John, he lives in Austin. even before the internet, he moved to Austin when I moved to L. A. and I would go see him once or twice a year. It's a 24 hour drive if he's playing South by Southwest. he was in two, he was in a touring band he did not like.
Jacques Lambert: Called spoon, which was on Sony that sent him to Japan once a year, [00:18:00] which he loved and he made just enough money to support his band called five head with a bunch of other Fitchburg guys. So it was a bunch of Fitchburg guys moved to Austin and started a bunch of bands. it really helped create that scene.
Jacques Lambert: They moved to Austin before Austin blew up and was Austin and a couple of them are still there still making music. 50 year old guys like me, 50 year old guys like me still playing shows a couple of times a month and again, it all came from that. And now I live three miles from Lowell University and I listen to WMUL.
Jacques Lambert: and sometimes it is the most painful, awkward, quote, unquote, those kids still running the stations that, that, that are just delightful to listen to. And it's [00:19:00] and they're always promoting shows and sometimes they've had shows where it's like, Oh, but I'm I would go check out that show.
Jacques Lambert: I will never be that guy showing up to see a college show. Buffalo Tom just played Lowell music festival a few weeks ago. And it was great. And I brought my son and it was awesome. But if a band that I liked was playing on the ULO campus, for many reasons, cause look, I never want to have the phrase.
Jacques Lambert: Hey, why don't you have a seat right there? and if you get that phrase, I don't have to explain further, but, but I love the radio station every now and then I'll tweet at them because I'll take a screen grab. If it comes up what they're playing, I'll be like, Oh my God. Thank you for playing. How did you have acts?
Jacques Lambert: Who's, who had the cool parent who told you that this band existed? You know what I mean? How, do you know about these people? I don't care, but I'm glad you do. Thank you for playing it. Like type thing. And, I do, I still love everything about it. And like I said, [00:20:00] that's why when I, from an old college friend, Professor Chris Cook, who he's a walking encyclopedia of music, probably one of the smartest people I know.
Jacques Lambert: maybe the smartest person I know, most musically knowledge person I know, was following you during the course of writing your book. And I'm like, Oh, I've never, followed somebody in that process. I've been like, I've seen a book and be like, Oh, I can't read this. Hopefully it comes out on tape and I can listen to it.
Jacques Lambert: But, I'll buy to be supportive. But this sounds great. But, to watch you along the way posting CMJ. Playlist posting these, college newspaper articles about the station getting shut down for being too conservative, some people be like, wait a minute. And then it turns out there's a little, at some point.
Jacques Lambert: University somewhere. [00:21:00] Somebody's trying to be, I'm trying to be Sid Vicious and my band that's bad. And then there's some idiot trying to be the young Rush Limbaugh, And it's but to watch your process the whole time, and there's so many Fitchburg people I know, or not Fitchburg people.
Jacques Lambert: I don't know if I know anybody, maybe tangentially, who wasn't connected with XPL. like that was my whole. It was either XPL, the people at XPL, and that's it, that's literally it, and, look, I do not want to come across disparaging, Fitchburg state in any way, because honestly, I don't know if this Fitchburg state college is the largest state college in the city of Fitchburg.
Jacques Lambert: Also, there was 1 class. I took a guy named Dave writer. And if I, didn't want to get up and walk the two feet, [00:22:00] the only textbooks that I bought after the first year of Fitchburg were his two. And they sit in my office, not as display, because if I'm waiting for a Zoom call, I'll flip through it.
Jacques Lambert: Getting to Yes was one of the two books, and I'm blanking on the title of his book, but it was, such a great experience. But my college experience was all my band. That came out of a dark time. I found XPL at the lowest point of my life. Like literally hockey's over. It's all I know. It's all I've done.
Jacques Lambert: I wasn't in band. I couldn't play drums. I didn't do anything. I could barely play the radio, but I end up, my buddy who was at XPL, Mike Sullivan goes on to be a big radio producer, meet my guitarist, meet my bass player, and to this day, the two closest friends I have, Mike from that. And then the third who ended up joining the band, a guy named Rod.
Jacques Lambert: like that's it. Fitchburg [00:23:00] State for me was XPL. Was that two studio, room. do I feel guilty that I may or may not have accidentally borrowed, quote, Libertate, a couple albums that, you would, have no way have absolutely had access to any other way. and I want to tell this story.
Jacques Lambert: My favorite thing about XPL, Is our bass player brought home this album, by, Archers of Loaf, the hands down, most horrible piece of crap I had ever listened to and he would listen to it once or twice a day where, you can play your album. And then I'm playing mine. And then while we're playing no friendo Nintendo, and he played this once or twice a day for a week, and it was horrible and it got worse each and every time until one time it clicked.
Jacques Lambert: And I'm like, this is the greatest album [00:24:00] ever. This is my favorite band. And it did. It was one of those things where I don't know why I hated it so much. Icky metal. Icky Metal by Archers of Loaf, 91, 92, that came out in my top 10 albums of all time. And I despised it. But, that, but then again, that's what, being in a band with somebody who wanted to be Jim Croce, somebody who wanted to be in Baja's and somebody who, wanted to literally, As much as I wanted to play the drums, I wanted to start a riot at Club Boston, which we did and wound up in court for a year.
Jacques Lambert: And that was awesome. open for the Flock of we opened for the Flock of Seagulls at Bunratty's in Burlington, Massachusetts, and we ended with a 10 minute version of I Ran. Which, they shut the lights off to the stage, and then they killed the power, the drums were not electric, so I kept [00:25:00] playing, and John kept just screaming, and I ran over and over, and they carried our equipment out piece by piece, and a flock of seagulls was waiting out there for us, and it was the most violent Dickhead, jerk, horrible, awful thing, and I want to feel bad about it because I know a good person would, but I giggle every time I think about it, and again, all because of XPL, all because of, because at that point, If you were on fnx Yeah, you were no, they would like, they want a 10 year anniversary of that song being number one.
Jacques Lambert: But, you didn't look down at fnx. But FNX used to be the coolest thing in the world because it was a F or FNX. And then
Jacques Lambert: you spend your life at XPL and you hear stuff that maybe gets played at three in the morning on. On FNX that is in heavy rotation [00:26:00] at college radio and you feel like, the in club, it's oh, you guys don't get it.
Jacques Lambert: You guys don't get how cool this is and stuff like that. And then you become 1 of those 50 or people who tell your wife who right now is on her way to see Duran in Croatia. And she feels guilty that I don't go to shows. Oh, the pixies and modest mouse are coming. It's yeah, I saw the pixies of the channel in front of 200 people.
Jacques Lambert: I'm fine. I don't need, it's now I'm too cool to see the band that I love the most because they're mainstream, but, that's all F and X. it's all college radio. and to this day, I, didn't know college radio was a thing. How in Wilmington maths. And 1983, could you possibly imagine something like that was out there?
Jacques Lambert: There was no, if I could read, which I couldn't at the time, there was no mention of it. I didn't even know what the, Boston Phoenix was like the Boston Phoenix,[00:27:00]
Jacques Lambert: even later, even like the, 87, 88, 89. I only knew about the Boston Phoenix because my stepbrother, who was going to Harvard, I'm a doctor, you was the movie editor.
Jacques Lambert: That's the only way I otherwise you would not have had any idea that the Boston Phoenix was a thing. And if it wasn't for a cool kid on my junior team, who knew about FNX. I wouldn't even heard about F and X, it would have because everybody I knew it was BCN or AAF. There was those two camps, You're either the people's front or the JJO people's front, but there was absolutely nothing in between that, and so that's why, like I said, when I got there, it was, like this awakening and I know how cliche that sounds, but it's like, how can something like this exist? [00:28:00] how can this whole world within this world exist and stuff like that?
Jacques Lambert: no,
Kate Jewell: So what was your show like? what were you doing when you were on the air? What are some of your
Jacques Lambert: being, being obnoxious, playing horrible songs from oh, I'm trying, I'm just trying to think of like, I would play. Like I said, I, it'd be Mission of Burma. I would record the show on my boombox because that's how you would get access to these things.
Jacques Lambert: So I, would, I would tell my girlfriend, it's okay, don't forget. I know I go in at 1 in the morning, but it's really important. Yeah. because I would play Mission of Burma and then a Joy Division thing. And then I would, Play Captain and Tennille the same song 2 or 3 times in a row [00:29:00] and sing over it, just to be just because it was 1 in the morning and nobody else was there and nobody told me I could or couldn't do anything, sometimes I would have a political arguments with myself, like doing voices.
Jacques Lambert: just the dumbest, dumbest, stuff, But at the same time, just having more fun. And like I said, okay, I know I want to play these songs and I know rock wants me to play these songs. but I would flip through the CMJ and just while something else was playing, on the other thing, put on the headphones and listen to it's crap.
Jacques Lambert: Oh, this is good. Yeah. Crap. And then just. play whatever and then forget what I played and then 2 days later, somebody says you're supposed to write down what you played and I'd be like, oh, yeah, I'll do that next time. No, I won't. [00:30:00] Cause, it's and again, it's just really, funny that I'm.
Jacques Lambert: I didn't go through a program or anything like that, but, 1 of my best friends, was a functioning alcoholic since he was 14 and, 1112 years ago was like, yeah. And I had a kid when I was older in 2007 and I'm like, yeah, I'm not going to do this much anymore. But the honest truth is.
Jacques Lambert: 89 to about 95 is mostly gone. I'll be introduced to somebody I lived with for two years, Li you know who, Or, so a lot of that, and I don't say that in a funny, oh, look how cool I am now. Fitchburg was a drinking, and I don't know how it is now, but it was, the National Guard came in Spree Day.
Jacques Lambert: Oh, do you not know that? [00:31:00] 91, I think it was 91. they sent in the National Guard on spree day. It was 91 or 92 that, Dukakis was the governor, declared it a state of emergency and sent in the National Guard. That is fact not. And it's 1 of those things where, when, we talk to these people, or every now and then, I'll get a text from somebody I talked to, but not a lot, but Did that really happen or hey, yes, this really happened because Fitchburg and maybe it still is, was a suitcase school where you moved away to school, but you brought your laundry home on Thursday night and most.
Jacques Lambert: If you could not have any class on Friday, or you would have 1 class on Friday, I'm going to say 50 percent plus of the people, especially the 1st, couple of years Thursday night go home because it's a state school. [00:32:00] It's in the middle of state. let's say you live in Williamsburg. Williamsburg or Williamstown hour and a half away down route to, you live, at the Cape an hour and a half that way you live in, Wilmington 45 minutes that way.
Jacques Lambert: So everybody went home to do their laundry or to see their high school girlfriend or boyfriend or both. No judgments. but if you stay behind, you drink. You, drank until the Statue of Liberty looked hot Drake and, it was those basements that had just cement and you could hose them down the next day.
Jacques Lambert: and that's what Fitchburg was, oh, God bless us. But, yeah,
Kate Jewell: so how did the radio station in the university get along? How did it fit in overall socially, academically administratively with the university
Jacques Lambert: I, luckily I didn't know much of that, but that's why I [00:33:00] would be told on a regular basis. Hey, don't do. All the stuff you do, by people, by look, it's funny cause you think of it. It's I'm a complete jerk 20 year old, guy who's quote unquote boss is, maybe 19 because I went to school two years later and they know they want a real job.
Jacques Lambert: And we're like, I, yes, I had to look down to see I am wearing a golden girl shirt. And this is what I will wear to a professional meeting. As soon as we wrap with this. that's, but this kid knew what he wanted to do and his working at the radio station on administration level was because it's going to look good on a resume.
Jacques Lambert: I'm working at the radio station because I want to see if I can play. I want to be your dog live by the Stooges 20 times in a row. And if [00:34:00] anybody calls into notice, and the answer is no. No one cared, but no one was listening, but I did it for an audience of 1 and that audience was delighted.
Jacques Lambert: And that audience was me. And, I modeled my DJ persona after the great. I think we could say great Johnny fever from WKRP in Cincinnati, but as far as the administration stuff goes, the, kids who again, when I'm a freshman, I'm, almost 20 because I didn't go to school right away. So if you.
Jacques Lambert: oh, so you're a freshman, you're a sophomore, you might be a junior, same age, or you're younger than me as I'm my freshman there. And, you have to deal with the administration. And maybe somebody says, oh, that man that's not allowed to play in the pub anymore for reasons. one of the only reason they're not allowed to play in the pub is because one person in the band and that's a drummer and he's on the show and maybe [00:35:00] we should do something about this.
Jacques Lambert: And so I would nicely get reminded. By the grown ups who were a year older or a year younger than me, but luckily I was shielded from all of that. cause, cause I, if I knew I was possibly annoying somebody, you have an eight year old. Oh, this bothers you? Oh, let me see how many times I can say skibbity toilet in a minute.
Jacques Lambert: just a quadruple down on it. I, I was a child then I'm a child now. And, and but like I said, I will never Fitchburg state for me was WXPL and Dr. David Ryder. And that was the, that was everything, that was the best of the best. Somehow I have a degree. I think I sent you, after you did our [00:36:00] podcast, with your awesome book, I have found a picture of me wearing an XPL shirt.
Jacques Lambert: I think I sent you that and my actual yearbook photo, which I'm in fifties now, and I'm still so glad I did it. But there is that little bit of me that says, Oh, all the other people on this page who had to go to a graduation party and grandma wanted to see their yearbook and opens it up and sees. this girl spent all the time getting her Marge Simpson, early nineties, which really means late eighties, this is why we have no also layer hair done, next to a guy wearing a world war flying cap.
Jacques Lambert: holding a robot's head and no shirt. Why? Why did they put that in? [00:37:00] I I don't want to say I take no responsibility, but there were a lot of people who had to check off the proofs of that before it went to print. I, didn't sneak in and press, print at the manufacturer and put that in there.
Jacques Lambert: But yeah, but the whole XBL and, experience shaped and again, I end up going out to work on music. I end up moving to LA, having a music video show on KCOP channel 13. I worked for a company that, when I first got out there, it was a sweatshop that just was a dub house that made all the music videos and sent them to all the MTVs and.
Jacques Lambert: The cable access shows, like the 1 that I had around the world and a few years later, I opened my own production company and my only clients were 1 of brothers records, capital and universal. And I was in charge of taking [00:38:00] every scrape of tape, possibly imagining as Napster was destroying music or destroying the music model, which never really worked.
Jacques Lambert: Anyways.
Kate Jewell: what
Jacques Lambert: most awful, we did 3 best of hits for tears for fears now.
Jacques Lambert: Do I like Tears for Freers? Yes. Was there a need for a second best of DVD? The answer is no. let alone a third one. So anyways, but, yeah, but that music, the music, and, again, it's such a small world, when I was listening to your book, and you're like, oh, Syracuse University launched so and so and Dear McQuinn, who is [00:39:00] somebody who's a great, friend, and again, it's all, I wouldn't have known of any of this, I wouldn't have known these worlds existed, I wouldn't have known that, oh, you there's these tiny clubs, that aren't really clubs, that are clubs, two days a week, that are having Sebado come on a Tuesday night, that you can, yeah, It's a ground zero.
Jacques Lambert: It was 2 for 2 bands on a Tuesday. That was the whole 2, 2, 2 thing. A club called Ground Zero, maybe a block from the Middle East Cafe, where we saw Buffalo Tom and Sebedo play their 2nd show, Sebedo's 2nd show. It's just after You Can't Fire Me, I Quit, Lou Barlow Left, and it's and again, we, Mark Small, I don't, Mark Small is one of the only people I know their real name of, He was another XPL guy.
Jacques Lambert: he and Mark Small had a band and, Rock had a band. And I can't remember the other [00:40:00] guy. I see his face. He's like a big, his name might come to me. But yeah, we crammed there was like six of us in a car that might have fed two people in a Chihuahua to go down, to see that show.
Jacques Lambert: And, I would have known. Places like that existed without the cool people. so there was the administration people who wanted to look good on the resume. And then there were the cool people like Mark Small, who's oh, you like Buffalo Tom? You have any idea who produces their stuff and who they're ripping off?
Jacques Lambert: it's these guys and the guy who got thrown out of that band is playing with them. Let's go see them. So the coolest people I knew. were from the radio station. The most uptight people I knew were from the radio station. But again, I don't they're kids. You're looking back thinking, it's yeah, I was trying to see how many people I can piss [00:41:00] off as a 20 year old and here's some 19 year old sophomore.
Jacques Lambert: Assistant station manager, hoping to be station manager when the senior leaves next year, who wants to go to those meetings with the administration. the only time I don't have any recollection meeting with the administration, but if it was anything like high school, those meetings weren't, Hey, let's talk about how everything's going right.
Jacques Lambert: so I, I, didn't want to do that, but like I said, that the music itself, life changing the friendships. What are we talking 90? So I'm meeting those guys in the fall of 89. So what's that 15 years ago? And don't correct me. Let's just let me have this one. and still, my friend John was up from Austin and just.
Jacques Lambert: The 3 of us sat in my friend's kitchen for about 7 hours just hanging out just it was just the best, [00:42:00] and it's all because of those 2 little rooms. And because some land grant act in 1936 called for schools to have these things. I read that in a book somewhere fascinating. I'll send you some information on it, but yeah, but the fact that that, little tiny, I don't think it had a bandwidth.
Jacques Lambert: I remember getting off of Route 2, getting off of 495 onto Route 2, and the first 3, miles You couldn't, you could kinda depending on if you were turning left or right, you could pick it up, but it wasn't until you got maybe 10, 15 minutes down route two. So what's a 10 mile bandwidth at the time, and that absolutely tiny two room, 10 mile, maybe bandwidth is, has launched radio careers.
Jacques Lambert: I personally have great friends who had. Absolute, [00:43:00] number one drive time warning. major market, producer credits, from that, bands who have gone on to do like really good things and just friendships that have lasted forever all because of those two tiny rooms, in the basement.
Jacques Lambert: Of that building, for nothing else. I will always be thankful for XPL and Dr. Dave Ryder and for the hockey coach who I Stiffed over by not playing on the team for getting me into the film project for getting me into film. I have a film degree. I've made movies. I've made TV shows because this coach said, oh, there's no math and science.
Jacques Lambert: We'll get you in this dumb and, And he was right, but I have a career and entertainment because of Fitchburg, and again, the way the filming worked. [00:44:00] Your junior and senior year, there was 20 kids in the class and everybody pitched a show and, or pitch the project to make, and you would vote, which 2 to do and then half work on this and half work on the other.
Jacques Lambert: And the professor who hated me. Because the first assignment was to come in with your 10 favorite films. Mine were, The Jerk, Blazing Saddles, Stripes, and, all these other film kids were like, it's not really a film, but it's two roles or a film. There's Chuck Lzovacki and filmmaker smuggled out of the country.
Jacques Lambert: an orifices we won't mention, so it's not really a film, but, the symbolic and I'm like, shut up. So I didn't work well with anybody. I still don't, which is. I, never have so the professor was like, got there. Who's is okay, 9 people in this 10 people in that Jack, whatever the fuck you do is fine.
Jacques Lambert: just, if you get arrested again, just try to make it off campus [00:45:00] this time. And but like I said, my, my 1st project. My junior year somehow, we shot in our basement and I want to get this right. I'm trying to look at the newspaper. The Worcester telegram came and shot, did an article and it was the front page of the Sunday paper back in the time when the Sunday paper was.
Jacques Lambert: 10 pounds and I came into class feeling pretty good with my three quarter master of the edited music video and the article from the Worcester Telegram and cassette. And I got a 2 0, which again, we had a, non written understanding that. Okay. That's fine. Not only did I finish my project, not only did it see the light of day because, oh, here's the VMJ tracking number where it was number [00:46:00] seven.
Jacques Lambert: Here's a newspaper article. No, I don't have any idea what day the lighting classes are. So, which is you give me a 2 0 on that. I'll take it to it with the exception of Dave Ryder. but that time in Fitchburg will always be remarkable and special. Also, depending on how you go to work, I implore you to go buy.
Jacques Lambert: 1 pro street and look at it because somebody did this for me a few years ago. I've never been back to Fitchburg since graduating. I'm not sure the statute of limitation. but if you go by on pro street, they're, on the 2nd floor. On the porch, it's somebody has written the Dan Cray Memorial porch and if there's a border around it, our friend, Dan passed out there 1 night and we, put it there and 30 plus years later, we think that somebody thinks somebody might have died there.
Jacques Lambert: And every time like. [00:47:00] Like I said, I had a friend go by there a few years ago, who's going to, who's taking their kids to Great Wolf Lodge, and they're like, dude, I went by the old apartment. That's still there. the house has obviously been painted a couple times since then, but whoever paints over it thinks that somehow, some way, somebody died there.
Jacques Lambert: No, nobody died there. Just Dan Cray, dancray. net. who billboard said Tom Waits meets Kirk Colbain's minus the drugs double the booze. Probably the best quote, you could have absolutely given anybody, but yeah, but Fitch, Fitchburg was, way too much fun. what I'm told I had a great time, but the friendships made.
Jacques Lambert: Specifically in that little room. And I wouldn't have gone if my friend, Mike Sullivan didn't go to Fitchburg and say, Oh, you're not gonna play hockey. why don't you come to this radio station? I, so there's some people [00:48:00] that I wish I had the vocabulary enough to express. Thank you for giving me a life in a career, but it did 100 percent spawn from those two tiny little rooms.
Jacques Lambert: I
Kate Jewell: do you think were the particular skills that you gained the radio station through your college career that set you up to do what you're doing now or have done in your career?
Jacques Lambert: think it's a combination of truly getting through life, not being able to read, until very later. I'm a producer. So what I do is I just, I'm trying, I don't want to swear. look, I just spin a yarn all day long. I, get people to, it's almost like a, it's almost like a Ponzi scheme where I convince people it's in your [00:49:00] best interest to help me get from point A to point B.
Jacques Lambert: So I want to get this movie done. I want to get this TV show done. I want my band to chart. On VMJ so I need so it will help you rock and mark to, promote my band on your station on your shows, not my show. So it doesn't look like I'm playing it. So we can get a chart number. And then you guys play with us at TT the bears coming up on Thursday.
Jacques Lambert: so all of those, all of those learning how to make deals happen. in my professional life and my personal life, I don't do a deal that isn't a win because I, don't see anything as transactional. Like I'm not going to the gas station and buying gas and I'm looking for the best price. I'm looking for, and again, this 100 percent comes [00:50:00] from Dave writers class, when you sit down and you negotiate with somebody, you have to know what their objectives are.
Jacques Lambert: You have to know, look, they're not negotiating with you. They're negotiating on behalf of a bunch of people that they have to go back to and say, I wanted to get us this, but I got us that. But. we got, and it has to be that and that's what I want. So what I learned is okay, I want to continue being at this radio station.
Jacques Lambert: Rock wants to look good on his resume by having, run a station that didn't get shut down by the administration. So, how can I. You know, make a happy medium work so that they let me keep having a show that only I listened to when I was recording at 1 in the morning, and that's Abby mean, it's okay, we'll let you be at the station, but it's going to be at 1 o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday, which is fine with me.
Jacques Lambert: So I did. I learned. [00:51:00] those, negotiating skills, a lot of it was natural, but it was shaped and, structured. But a lot of it also was, specifically I have Dave Ryder's voice in my head. When I think about that, it's what does this person have to get for, it to be a win for them, because.
Jacques Lambert: I'm coming back next week with another project. if I'm dealing with, an actor who hasn't worked for scale in 10 years to do this, how can you make it beneficial to them? same thing in music, same thing in everything, and now, I'm a stand up comic and stuff like that.
Jacques Lambert: And I work a lot with the venues. It's okay. You're putting on the show and I won't get into details, but every time I enter into 1 of those things, it's okay, we're doing a show here for the 1st time. I want this to be a monthly thing. How does it have to work [00:52:00] for them? Not just on this side.
Jacques Lambert: And that came from dealing with people at the radio station dealing with, the Dave Ryder class, and, then the fun, the irony thing, as much as I was an a hole not being able to play at the pub, I was also booking all their bands and starting to manage bands. I was smart enough to realize, oh, I have a really bad reputation, so I used Sean Franklin, which is my legal first name and middle name, as a manager, and Jacques Lambert as, the personality.
Jacques Lambert: And I, if I haven't sent it to you, I will billboard magazine quoted both of us in the same article and, that's when I realized it's oh, everybody's just lazy. And they're waiting for you to come in and tell them. This is a story. This is who, what, where, how, why, and when. And again, it's a win This is why it benefits you to cover this [00:53:00] story over here. You know what I mean? I, and that, that is stuff that, that. time and time again, I had to do as a kid, as a drunk kid at 19, 20, 21, figure out, it's okay, for this wheel to turn, these are the things that make the wheel turn.
Jacques Lambert: And this is the give and take. And no, I don't have to learn to load film into a camera. 'cause this guy over here loves to load film into her camera. I, I. I'm Huck Finn who convinced other people to paint the fence for me, because it's so much fun. And again, that's all that's what Fitchburg was, for me learning to figure it out, learn learning.
Jacques Lambert: It's I was driven to an excessive point. I'm an acquired taste where you're going to talk to a lot of other people who will Be like, yeah, we know Jacques, [00:54:00] that you talk to some people who they, he's the greatest guy ever. We had so much fun. And then there are people like, he made my life a living hell.
Jacques Lambert: Professor Crook being one of them. We'll go to all our shows. would be so supportive, was really good friends with the other two guys in the band. And then there's Jacques, it's so yeah, my friends have spent a lifetime apologizing for me, but now we're great friends, but that's all that stuff that all came, I don't know what Fitchburg's enrollment was at the time.
Jacques Lambert: It wasn't what it is now. it wasn't, what, definitely what it is now. but, it was, it's those 2 tiny rooms in that 1 classroom, with Dave Ryder and the film people were great. They had equipment. They were so they, they were supportive by not. By not putting up roadblocks, They realize it's okay, he's different. [00:55:00] This isn't going to work. And for whatever reason, they're like, go ahead, do your own thing. And it worked, it worked. It worked for them. It worked for me. I don't recommend the path that I've chosen through life because I every lesson has been the hard way, Oh, so if I stop hitting my head on the wall, it won't hurt so much. Okay. All right. I don't believe you, but I'll give that a try, but Like I said, the whole XPL experience, the interpersonal relationships, the friendships, the lifelong friendships, a lifelong friendships, which is funny to say for a 19 year old, but the kid I lived next to from age five to 15 was the one who said, Hey, hockey's all done.
Jacques Lambert: You'll have fun. Come. You just come to the meeting, just come to the meeting. And I'm like, what kind of meeting? I don't drink that much. But I went, somebody made the mistake of saying, okay, yeah, you want to do a show? Sure. And I think it was like [00:56:00] at eight to begin with. And then I got moved to that vault at 1 a.
Jacques Lambert: m. time slot. I, It did it gave me time to watch the top 10 list and then walk down, to the studio. yeah, it was it was it was a win And it's one of those things today where, if there was ever like a benefit or a fundraiser that XPL needed, Maybe not the rest of the apparatus, but I'd be like, how can I help?
Jacques Lambert: Like, how can I help? I, book shows, I book comedy, fundraisers all the time. I do that. I can do this. I can do that. it's I am happy to help because, that in the school as a whole, the school, but XPL is the reason I've had a career. I have a career.
Jacques Lambert: And a large reason why I've got to truly as crazy as it says, travel around the world because [00:57:00] of that and those connections and those relationships and those skills that I developed, learning, Hey, how far can you push the envelope before the envelope goes off the desk? But it's great. I, that time capsule is just, I wouldn't go back, I, if I had a time machine, I'd go back just to Maybe I'm flying the wall.
Jacques Lambert: It's yeah, cause there was some crazy stuff. I'm like, did that, happen? Did that really happen? but, but yeah, it's, it was, I, it was so great. And like I said, my love for college radio extends to this day.
Kate Jewell: it. That's perfect. we hit, our time mark perfectly. It's
Jacques Lambert: Fantastic.
Kate Jewell: And then.
[00:58:00]
Interviewer
Katherine Jewell
Interviewee
Jacques Lambert
Location
Remote via riverside.fm
Time Summary
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:06 Forming a Band and Gaining Recognition
09:54 The Role of College Radio in Music Discovery
14:24 The Importance of Connections in the Music Scene
28:39 Playing Music and Having Fun at the College Radio Station
35:46 The Impact of Fitchburg on Lambert's Career
38:37 From Music Videos to Production Company
43:28 The Lifelong Friendships and Connections Made at College Radio
48:29 The Importance of Negotiation and Storytelling Skills
56:56 The Lasting Impact of College Radio Experiences
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:06 Forming a Band and Gaining Recognition
09:54 The Role of College Radio in Music Discovery
14:24 The Importance of Connections in the Music Scene
28:39 Playing Music and Having Fun at the College Radio Station
35:46 The Impact of Fitchburg on Lambert's Career
38:37 From Music Videos to Production Company
43:28 The Lifelong Friendships and Connections Made at College Radio
48:29 The Importance of Negotiation and Storytelling Skills
56:56 The Lasting Impact of College Radio Experiences
Files
Collection
Citation
Katherine Jewell, “Oral History with Jacques Lambert,” Crowd Noise, accessed June 24, 2025, https://www.wrvuhistory.org/items/show/34.
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