Fantasy. Dark romance. Bloodsucking creatures of the night.
What's not to love about The Inferno Doll?
Vocalist and songwriter Laura Vargas brings her demonic side to life in this solo project, recently sharing the sophomore studio release Sacrifice. Today, she takes over Music and Money to share what's been helpful to her in building her music career.
Tell our readers all about your band! Where are you from and when did you get started? What is your music like?
I’m a singer and songwriter from Chile and The Inferno Doll is my solo project. I started developing the concept of The Inferno Doll in mid-2013 and for my debut album I teamed up with guitarist and producer Gabriel Hidalgo (from Chile) and later with drummer Guillermo Pereira (also from Chile) and together we recorded the music that became Dollmination (2015).
In December 2016 I relocated to Canada. I live in Calgary now, and after some time of musical silence, I started writing new music that will saw the light on Friday, October 30th. My music is inspired by dark romance, gothic horror and fiction, personal experiences, growth, heartbreak, life.
What are your goals for your band?
Right now I am focused on promoting my new EP “Sacrifice” which was released digitally on Oct. 30th, and then the CD release coming up on December 11th.
We’re shooting the music video for the title track and I’m also planning the shooting of the second music video and all the imagery that goes hand in hand with the music of The Inferno Doll.
What do you do for a living?
I’m a part-time nanny.
How do you balance your work and personal life with the band?
I’m a solo artist, so it’s not that complicated. I have a schedule, so I use mornings to work on my music and music business, ship orders, etc and in the afternoon I go to my part-time job. I use most of my free time in The Inferno Doll. Creating art keeps me happy and motivated.
What do you consider to be the best investment you've made, music-wise?
To have signed up to Savvy Musician Academy. Best investment in life. Everything I’ve learned there (and still learning) is priceless.
What's the worst or least helpful thing you've ever spent money on as a musician/band?
None that I recall. I take care of my budget and save as much as I can for future projects and for school (Savvy Musician Academy).
What kind of merch sells the best for your band? And what do you purchase most often as a music listener?
I am building my shop now, so I only have CDs available. But for the crowdfunding campaign T-shirts and digipak were the most popular.
I like buying CDs (digipak), T-shirts and hoodies from bands or visual artists. I love prints too, so whenever I can, I buy prints from artists I like to decorate my home.
If you've been on tour, can you share some tour budgeting tips?
When I was living in Chile, I was the singer for the alternative metal band Sacramento. We played very often but we didn’t tour worldwide. Just locally. Because back then I was in a band, we would split the expenses for gas, sound engineer, etc and sell our merch at shows to recoup as much as we could.
Which online music or social media platforms are most helpful to your band?
I gotta say Spotify has been the best so far. Most of my fans use that platform more than iTunes. And for social media, I would say Instagram and Facebook, and now I’m trying Twitter.
What does "making it" mean to you, and what do you think a band needs to make it in 2020?
In my opinion, being a full-time musician. Getting the education to market your music online and learn more about the new music industry and this is a thing not all bands do.
Vargas's new EP Sacrifice is out now in digital formats and will be released on CD December 11th. For more from The Inferno Doll, visit the links below:
Website: https://www.theinfernodoll.com/
Bandcamp: https://theinfernodoll.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theinfernodoll
Interview and photo courtesy of Dewar PR.
To learn more about band finances, order Money Hacks for Metalheads and Old Millennials in paperback and ebook formats: https://amzn.to/3lCsFdq
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