Congrats on your debut EP, ‘Classic’! By the looks of it your release show was a must-be-at event! In fact, you even sold out the initial space and had to move it. What’s a live show with Madame Daley & The Starchild Band like?

The EP release show was amazing and we actually ended up getting noise compliments in the middle of NYC. Our live show is fun – plain and simple. We really try to provide the crowd a space to have fun and dance and be themselves. We encourage it through stage presence and campy gimmicks I’ve come up with – like waving a Nicki Minaj flag during our cover of Party in the USA haha. I want people to walk away with a smile on their face, discussing their favorite part of the show.

 

What advice would you give artists who want to replicate that success and audience engagement?

Sorta piggybacking my last answer – My biggest pet peeve is when musicians don’t look like they’re having fun onstage. Every single member of the band needs to have stage presence, it automatically makes the show so much more engaging and exciting. Since we play in NYC at least once a week, it would be much more difficult to keep people coming to our shows if they didn’t get something out of it – that being a fun time. I saw a local show last night and though I liked both bands’ music, I feel much more inclined to actually listen to the music of the band who were dancing and smiling after the fact.

 

You’ve talked about women not being respected on stage, backstage, or in the audience. It’s what your song “Teenage Girls Made Rock n Roll” is about. Can you speak to that a little more?

The other day, in between sets, a random group of people said to me “When we saw that the band was all girls we were a little skeptical like ‘oh are they gonna be good’ but you guys are amazing.” Literally insane. So wild to me, in 2022, that people still think this way but they do and it’s not discussed enough. Women are undermined and underestimated constantly everywhere but especially in music. Walking into a music store as a female musician isn’t a fun experience.  You never know if the guy you met at the show is genuinely interested in your music or just trying to hook up. It’s hard to grow your career when you’re often not respected or taken seriously. I went to shows often as a teenager and actually spoke and took pictures with several musicians who turned out to be messaging underage girls. A friend of mine was actually invited on to a tour bus at a music festival when she was 15, extremely weird and predatory behavior. At a music business internship in college, I was the only woman and was not offered the same opportunities as the other two male interns. So yes, every step of the way despite being the biggest revenue-driving demographic for the industry, women are disrespected. That song in particular is very important to me.

 

With that in mind, who do you want to give a shout-out to, that doesn’t get enough credit for their talent?

I mean, really any woman pursuing a music career. It’s hard but keep going.

 

Your brand is solid, but you also know how to translate that into an array of devourable content. With so many platforms to keep up with, how do you decide where and how to market your music to fans?

The visual aesthetic is very important for Madame Daley and since I don’t have the resources to do that on Tiktok, Instagram has become a way to express that side of it. I get to use my graphic design skills and achieve that retro glam rock look. I look forward to one day being able to produce the level of stylized video I would like. For now, I use TikTok as a way to showcase show clips but also show off my band’s personality. You have to create value for your audience and sometimes that value can go beyond the music. You can be funny or creative and it’s just an added layer of why a fan is a fan.

 

How can artists, looking to build up their fanbase, and involve them in the process, do that? (Crowdfunding or otherwise)

I think a big one is to actually have conversations with anyone who approaches you and pays you a compliment about the set. Ask them their name, where they’re coming from, say thanks for coming out, etc. That one extra step goes a longgg way.

 

What’s one thing you’d like to say to other indie artists building their career right now?

Keep going. Keep chipping away at it. Also, go out and support other local artists! Make friends and really experience the scene that you’re a part of.

 

Thank you so much for chatting with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Add Classic to your playlists right now please and thank you! Haha

 

About Madame Daley:

“The Madame” is the brainchild of Madison Daley, an instrumentalist and vocalist from NYC. Performing in theatrical productions, writing her own music, working as a staff photographer, and creating film projects, Daley has worked in nearly every artistic medium. 

Madame Daley exists at the intersection of Madison’s love for glamorous fashion and gritty rock n roll and her all-out devotion to the music legends of the 20th century and her never-ending appreciation for the power of women and femininity. 

She recently joined forces with three NYC-based musicians to form the Starchild Band. Madame Daley and the Starchild band take great pride in being an all-woman and LGBTQ+ group. They began performing together in NYC in May of 2022 to many enthusiastic audiences, and in August 2022 Madame Daley performed to a sold-out audience for their release show.

 

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Photo: Ruba Amara