Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melody Kiser. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melody, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

It honestly seems like a completely different lifetime when I asked for a guitar for my ninth birthday. Everyone in my immediate family had a gift for music. Although I had tried my hand at a few instruments during my childhood, like mandolin, violin, and piano, nothing seemed to really speak to me, and I felt like I didn’t really fit into my family unit that was characterized so strongly by inherent musical talent. Then, I discovered my family’s CD collection, and I was obsessed! I discovered that on practically every album, in every genre, one instrument stood out: guitar. At this point, I had made up my mind that I was going to be a guitarist. No one else in my family played guitar, so it gave me a sense of uniqueness, but I didn’t want to be like other popular “girl” guitar players that I’d seen on TV, with their acoustic guitars and sultry voices… I wanted to play electric guitar and be a rockstar! Since then, I’ve learned that this was a typical immature perspective of a nine year old. In reality, there were already tons of female electric guitarists for me to gain inspiration from, and I’ve even had the pleasure to join some of them on bills and stages. Until I went to music college, I was a self-taught guitarist. My early years of playing guitar were the days when Blockbuster and Hollywood Video dominated, and Netflix was still shipping DVDs to your house. I got instructional video tapes, and these were really helpful in my learning process. I also learned to play songs by ear by playing along to my family’s CD collection, which was by far the most helpful and practical skill I’ve ever learned. However, looking back, my practice methods were pretty sloppy. I would often only learn pieces of songs and techniques that made me feel “cool,” instead of learning things that could actually help me to become a better musician overall. I think my own personal likes and interests sometimes got in the way of learning the essential elements of music and guitar in general.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m the lead guitarist and singer for HeyDreamer, an alternative band from Atlanta, GA. To date, we’ve released two studio albums, “If You’re Out There” and “Dances in Wonderland.” “Dances in Wonderland” was produced by Will Turpin of Collective Soul. We’re a trio, composed of myself, Dustin Williams on bass, and Dylan Hansen on drums. We’re known for our catchy melodies, jam-out live performances, and tight vocal harmonies. You can check out our tour schedule on our website and our music on every major streaming platform!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best thing that society can do to support artists is to stay engaged with the artists that you care about. This could be as simple as liking or commenting on our social media posts, listening to our music on Spotify, adding our songs to your playlists, or watching and sharing our videos. If you really connect with us, buy tickets to our shows, get merchandise from our website, and join our email list. These small things help artists more than most people realize. Our main sources of income are often live shows and merchandise sales. Even grabbing a $2 sticker will help our cause and help us market ourselves! Also, venues heavily consider Instagram and Facebook followers, monthly Spotify listeners, and past ticket sales history when they’re booking bands. You never know if you might be the reason why a band is coming through your town on their next tour!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The one resource that has really helped us stay afloat in a post-pandemic world is Patreon. Patreon is a subscription-based platform that allows artists to connect with their fanbase on a deeper level. We share all sorts of behind-the-scenes content, exclusive videos, and Patron-only live stream performances! Patrons can choose different tiers of patronage: we offer $5, $10, and $30 tiers. In exchange, members get become a part of our HeyDreamer family. It’s really like an exclusive fan-club, and everyone seems to have a really great time with it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heydreamerband.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heydreamerband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeyDreamerBand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Cj6J_VK4g
• Other: Stream our latest album: https://ffm.to/anpnvmo

Image Credits
Mil Cannon, Richard Davenport, Meg Hamm