Chris Lambert (born March 28, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and podcaster. In 2019, Lambert launched a true-crime podcast documentary series about the murder of Kristin Smart, which led to arrests and ultimately a conviction in the 25-year-old case.

Early life

Lambert was born in

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish for "St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County. It is approximately northwest of Santa Barbara and northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 109,707 at the 202 ...

. He was raised in

Orcutt, California Orcutt is an unincorporated town and census-designated place located in the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Orcutt is named for William Warren Orcutt, the manager of the Geological, Land and Engineering Depar ...

, and attended Ernest Righetti High School.

Career

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

, Lambert makes use of a variety of instruments, frequently playing many of them himself on the same track. Lambert has released albums of varying styles, ranging from the 1990s alternative rock revival of ''Warp & Woof'', to the ambient folk sound of his most recent release, ''The Constant Education of Christopher Lambert''.

True-crime podcast

Beginning September 30, 2019, Chris Lambert released a multi-episode documentary podcast series called ''Your Own Backyard''. The podcast recounts, in detail, the disappearance and murder of Kristin Smart from the campus of California Polytechnic State University in May 1996. The podcast was downloaded over five million times in its first 6 months. Renewed public interest led to a new billboard being put up in

Arroyo Grande, California Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 18,441 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,252 as of the 2010 Census. History The earliest inhabitants of the Arroyo Gran ...

, in January 2020 to replace the original, which had been up since 1997. On April 13, 2021, the

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

sheriff announced two arrests in the case of the disappearance of Kristin Smart, and said the podcast had helped encourage witnesses to come forward with information. The two arrests eventually resulted in the conviction of Paul Flores for the

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

of Kristin Smart. Following the conviction, the Smart Family, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff, the San Luis Obispo District Attorney, and the President of Cal Poly all thanked Lambert for his role in bringing the case to a resolution.

Discography

Studio Albums * ''Two Guns'' (2007) * ''Songs I'd Like to Sing Into Your Open Mouth'' (2008) * ''The Great Dipso Drought'' (2009) * ''Phoebe'' (2010) * ''Phoebe, Naked'' (2010) * ''Krakatoa Lazer Punch'' (2011) * ''The Weatherman'' (2012) * ''Silver Jubilee'' (2013) * ''Warp & Woof'' (2014) * ''The Blue Hour'' (2016) * ''The Constant Education of Christopher Lambert'' (2018) Soundtrack Albums * ''Your Own Backyard: The Disappearance of Kristin Smart (Original Soundtrack Highlights)'' (2020) * ''People vs. Flores (Original Soundtrack Highlights)'' (2023)

References

External links

Truth & Justice with Bob Ruff - S9E16: Disappearance of Kristin Smart w/ Chris Lambert

Your Own Backyard - Episode 02: The Only Suspect by Chris Lambert
Living people American male singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American podcasters People from Santa Maria, California Singer-songwriters from California 1988 births Ernest Righetti High School alumni {{US-musician-stub