DIY Musician Stories

In this episode Montse chats with musician Madisen Ward of the folky-blues-roots duo Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear. Madisen tells us about his “Quarentunes”, how he built his artist team, on writing, starting a podcast, “Little failures”, and lots more.

In this episode Montse chats with Shelby Means and Joel Timmons of the folk-rock duo Sally & George. They are independent artists releasing an album during the pandemic and they tell us all about that experience.

Birds of Chicago are a husband and wife folk/soul duo based in Nashville, TN. In this episode Alli and JT chat with Montse about their origin story, writing process, and what it’s been like to pause and pivot from a life on the road. They also talk about collective grief, the rejection every artist encounters, finding your tribe, and much more.

Maya de Vitry is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.  In this episode Maya tells us about releasing her beautiful album How To Break a Fall just as the pandemic started to hit. Maya and Montse also chat about holding day-jobs as an artist, self-forgiveness, and social media breaks.

Sunny War is a Folk-Punk musician based in LA. In this episode, Sunny talks about moving from addiction into music, on the perils of social media, on her experiences busking, on finding meaningful ways to stay in touch during quarantine, and she tells us what she’s listening to right now. More episodes here: https://podcast.cdbaby.com/category/diy-musician-stories/

Mary Gauthier is a Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter who has struck a balance between her own artistry and penning songs for singers such as Blake Shelton and Jimmy Buffett. In 2017, Mary was the keynote speaker at CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference, and had 1000 attendees wiping tears from their eyes after her talk about the transformative power of songwriting to heal trauma. In this episode, Mary conveys that power, while discussing her songcraft, and her new memoir "Saved by the Song," the way her life has changed since the pandemic, and much more. If you’re a songwriter, or want to be, this episode is a must listen. More episodes here: https://podcast.cdbaby.com/category/diy-musician-stories/

Singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah is a solo artist, and can be heard alongside Layla McCalla, Allison Russell and Rhiannon Giddens in the Grammy nominated project Our Native Daughters. In this episode of the NEW DIY Musician Stories podcast, Amythsyt talks openly about overcoming trauma and pain and how music was her emotional vehicle to process deep feelings. She speaks on the transition of music in her life from an escape into a career, on being a part of the Grammy nominated project Our Native Daughters, and how she’s been leaning into live streams during this time.

DIY Musician Stories delves deep into the struggles, triumphs, process, and inspiration of trailblazing musicians and songwriters. Hosted by Montse Andrée Carty, this CD Baby podcast also gives you a chance to sit in the interviewer’s seat, as listener questions are solicited for the artists before every episode. The first few episodes of this brand new podcast will appear in the feed of our established DIY Musician Podcast, just to be sure people know about it. But please subscribe to our DIY Musician Stories podcast separately on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more. In case you’re worried, the DIY Musician Podcast isn’t going anywhere; we now have TWO awesome podcasts to inspire your creativity and music marketing. EPISODE 1: Misty Boyce is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is part of Sara Bareilles and Lord Huron’s band, and has an incredible solo career to boot! Misty talks about what it’s like being a “sideman” vs. a solo artist, the artist/manager relationship, and her recent collaboration with Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith.