By Jhoni Jackson Putting together a multi-day event in your city requires a little knowledge of booking and who’s who in your local music scene, but it’s not the impossible feat some might imagine. Organizing a festival is within the reach of nearly anyone who’s willing to commit time to planning, researching, and learning. It’s…
By Rebecca Redman I moved to the Bay Area from a town where there were only two places to play shows — a garage and a supper club. Unless you could convince someone to let you plug in your amplifier in their living room, choices were slim. Moving up to the Bay Area came with a dramatic…
It’s show day! You’ve rehearsed your set until there’s no more room for improvement, changed your strings, sent all the Facebook invites weeks ago (right?), and you’re ready to bring down a packed house tonight. But before you melt any faces, you have to arrive early to the venue and soundcheck. You’re a band full of…
It’s a new year and among all the many resolutions you and your artistic family are bound to be pursuing, perhaps 2017 is the year your band finally decides it’s ready to take your presence to a level beyond that of your local, hometown scene. The question that immediately follows, of course, is, “Okay, but how?”…
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. You’ve done it. You’ve crafted a song from start to finish. Perhaps a couple songs. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your music and spent hours…
I’m a lifetime Philadelphian and proud of it. It’s an interesting place to grow up and be a musician. Philly is a big East Coast city that can feel like a small town of connected, but decidedly distinct neighborhoods and music scenes. The city is full of some of the oldest stuff in the country and…
Whether we feel comfortable confronting it or not, there exists a fundamental hypocrisy in experimental music today. For me, a straight, white, middle-class male living in New York City, I’ve had to climb over no barriers in order to get deeply involved with what some may refer to as the “scene” here. Playing experimental, noise, or…
Whether we are firing up the van for a coast-to-coast tour or showing up for our first open mic, we as performing musicians must hold ourselves to professional standards. Of course, we will still maintain our DIY-punk aesthetic onstage, and in our day to day lives. But when it comes to our bands, we take things…
During a live gig, the relationship between the artist and audience is beyond that of simply performer and observer. Physically and emotionally, there’s little separation between both parties and a huge deal of direct interaction, both explicit and subliminal. Self-assurance is essential and, as with so much in life, confidence is the key. If a…
By China Marsot-Wood What is it about live music that inspires me to do what I do — go out, after work, night after night to watch, and photograph, and listen to, and write about strangers playing music? It is a question I couldn’t answer immediately, so I’ll ask it differently. Why are musical events so important for…
