Author: Sophie Chernin

  • Kalbells on Beating Cancer, Saying Yes to Yourself, and Sowing Songs Like Seeds

    Kalbells on Beating Cancer, Saying Yes to Yourself, and Sowing Songs Like Seeds

    Welcome back to Soundfly’s new interview series, Incorrect Music, curated by guitarist, singer, and composer Lora-Faye Åshuvud (of the band Arthur Moon). In this series, we present intimate conversations with artists who are striving to push the boundaries of their process and craft. In true Incorrect Music fashion, Rubblebucket singer and saxophonist Kalmia Traver says, “I like to feel…

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  • Don’t Be the Chamber Pop Band at the Hardcore Show

    Don’t Be the Chamber Pop Band at the Hardcore Show

    At times during my completely penniless illustrious DIY career, I would’ve taken just about every gig thrown my way. Sometimes that choice made sense, like when my band was trying to get our name out as much as we could the summer before we released our debut album, or when we were brand new and…

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  • Mastering Band Promotion with a Step-by-Step Daily Routine

    Mastering Band Promotion with a Step-by-Step Daily Routine

    One of the worst things about being an independent musician is the feeling of stasis: when you have no shows coming up, or you just put out an album, but you still feel like you’re going nowhere. You feel powerless against the forces of the music industry and the insane number of other people just…

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  • The Fundamental Musician’s Guide to Instagram for Bands

    The Fundamental Musician’s Guide to Instagram for Bands

    + Pursue your next social media marketing goal with a Soundfly Mentor like Marta! Soundfly offers four-week mentorship sessions with a pro, customized to you. Get in touch to learn more. I know what you’re thinking. Another social media account to stay on top of? Will I ever have time to actually play music, instead of just posting…

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  • Rock Legend June Millington: Study the Blues, Be Empathetic, and Run Your Own PA

    Rock Legend June Millington: Study the Blues, Be Empathetic, and Run Your Own PA

    It’s 8pm on a Wednesday evening, and a pixelated June Millington waits patiently on Skype as I pull up a write-up of her massive autobiography, Land of a Thousand Bridges (published by No Depression). As I scroll through the summary of the 500+ page book, I realize with some trepidation I’m about to interview a…

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  • Be Your Own Booker: Advice on Booking Shows from NYC’s DIY Community

    Be Your Own Booker: Advice on Booking Shows from NYC’s DIY Community

    Countless idealistic, fresh-faced musicians move to NYC every year, and far too many of them are preyed upon by shady bookers who cancel last-minute, take unreasonable cuts of the door, and bill them with other bands who share no genre or potential audience reach. One of the first shows I booked in the city required…

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  • #BetterBands to See You Through the Rest of Summer 2015

    #BetterBands to See You Through the Rest of Summer 2015

    Maybe it’s just my way of justifying getting a beer a few times a week and hanging out with musician friends I don’t get to see often enough because the hustle is real. Maybe I’m addicted to live music and desperately need to start a weekly support group. But when I don’t catch at least…

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  • 5 Things to Know About Venues to Book Great Shows

    5 Things to Know About Venues to Book Great Shows

    Until about a year ago, my band fit the “bedroom musician” stereotype. I didn’t realize it at the time, but a small part of me was living what I call the Bieber Dream Syndrome — imagining that posting our music online was enough to gain a following out of nowhere. Sadly, with the majority of musicians now…

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