meet the girls behind chalk talk!

✧ Interview by Elisa Matalon with permission to publish by Chalk Talk. ✧

Elisa: What originally inspired you to make music together, and when did you realize your dreams of recording and performing could become a reality?

Chalk Talk: We are all fairly musical people in the sense that we’ve grown up constantly listening to or playing music and so eventually all that exposure began inspiring us to make music ourselves. The band came together in a pretty fragmented way and so with each member added it felt like another piece of the puzzle falling in place and that our “sound” was becoming more complete with each new member. When we played our first showーa huge house show that wrecked Nina’s houseー it felt like “wow” people will actually listen to us and like what they’re hearing. That really pushed us to make more music and begin recording our album. 

Elisa: Tell me about some current projects you’d like people to know about!

Chalk Talk: We’ve been working on lots of new music, writing it, recording it, and planning for the future. We were set to play a festival in June but now with Covid-19 it’s hard to say if that will still happen. With the current situation, we can’t really get into the studio to record, see each other to practice, or play shows but nevertheless we’ve all been working on music individually. Hopefully within the next few months you’ll see an explosion of new tunes ;)... but we can’t reveal too much. 

Elisa: What role do you think the internet and social media has in allowing youth to create music? Has social media had any significant positive or negative effects for you guys?

Chalk Talk: For us, social media has really helped us connect with other artists, from sharing ideas to planning shows, it has really opened up a lot of opportunities. It’s really clear that social media is the new platform for sharing music, promoting music, and getting in touch with people. The positive effects of this for us is that we’ve been able to contact artists/venues/others in the music industry  who otherwise would be unreachable. The negative effects of the widespread use of social media is that it’s easy to get swallowed up by all the content out there and it’s difficult to gain recognition among the influx of other great music. 

Elisa: What are some music icons or influences: what did you all grow up listening to? Any new music you love right now?

Chalk Talk: Our current musical influences include Angel Olsen, Indigo De Souza, Alvvays, Car Seat Headrest, and Sharon Van Etten. With our new music we attempt to embody a fuller, more complex sound with more influence from these artists. Nina and Fia met in music school so they were exposed to a variety of different artists and genres and were able to nurture a love for music. Fia’s mom introduced her to lots of music growing up (Jane's Addiction, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, etc.) so her life has always been filled with musical inspiration. Stella grew up listening primarily to folk rock and lots of classical music which influences her love for playing the piano. Nina grew up listening to Persian music, therefore is able to bring in subtle Middle-Eastern elements into our music to create a surf-rock tone with a twist.

Elisa: Do any of you have a hobby outside of music that you channel into your music or that inspires you and helps you be more creative?

Chalk Talk: All of our lives are pretty consumed with music because we all play our instruments separate from the band. Fia is a digital artist who particularly enjoys animation and illustration and her work has helped with the visual aspect of our music because she makes videos, show posters, merch, and ultimately has greatly upped our game. Katie is an editor of a magazine called All My Friends which introduced us to a new group of creatives and audience. Nina writes poetry and stories, which carry over into songwriting inspiration, bringing many new ideas to the table, and is always trying to learn a new instrument. Besides playing keyboard in the band, Stella plays classical piano and participates in different performances in the area. Her classical training is an interesting addition to the indie vibe of our music. All in all, music trumps any other hobby in our lives and our individual inspirations add to the dynamic of the band. 

Elisa: What do you use to record and produce your music?

Chalk Talk: We go to Big Fish Studios to record our music because we love the mix of digital and analog equipment they have. Also, the team of people at Big Fish are great... shoutout to Dave Poole, Chris Goldsmith, and Austin Burns for all the help with mixing, producing and recording.

Elisa: What is the songwriting process like for this band?

Chalk Talk: Honestly, the songwriting process varies with every song. Most of the time, we write lyrics while writing a melody and basic structure with our respective instrument, and then bring the idea to band practice and figure out the rest. In the past, mostly Nina wrote the lyrics for songs; however, recently all of our members have been contributing to the writing process and we have all been group facetiming to figure out technicalities. Our lyrics start out with random words and phrases that don’t particularly make sense, but paint a picture in the listener’s mind. The song then develops to encompass a theme or emotion we are trying to convey. Our music is primarily about nostalgia and adolescence, a very relatable topic for our audience.

Elisa: So far, what moments have stood out to you as monumental points in your music career? What have you experienced together as a band that you can all agree you’ll remember for a long time?

Chalk Talk: A few months ago, we all went to San Francisco together. No music was rehearsed or written there but the love we have for each other grew. We got lots of inspiration from our weird Uber drivers, our night at the Castro, the people we met there and just spending 24/7 with each other. Also, the first show we played at the Che is one of our favorite shows we’ve played so far. The energy, crowd, and other bands playing were just perfect. 

Elisa: What should we keep an eye out for in the future from you guys?

Chalk Talk: Keep an eye out for new music, and potentially some shows (if COVID-19 ever stops!) 

I had a great time getting to know Chalk Talk and their music better! You can listen to their latest album, Just a Girl Band here on Spotify and follow them on Instagram at @chalktalk.band to keep in touch.

fever dreams magazine is the only publication with rights to publish dialogues or texts within this interview, contact for permissions to publish.