Even though Rubblebucket's Kalmia Traver is always flanked by half a dozen dudes impressively playing enormous instruments, she manages steal the spotlight every single time. As the lead singer—and lone lady—of the dance-pop collective, she holds her own on a stage full of trombones and saxophones with infectious charisma, some pretty sweet moves, and a constantly evolving, consistently colorful wardrobe.Typically found in voluminous high-waisted trousers, throwback crop tops, and button earrings that were probably copped from a great aunt, Traver looks like a straight-up '80s dream girl—a rebellious Andie Walsh who isn't afraid of getting grounded. "When I get dressed in the morning—or afternoon, let's be honest—I always think, 'Can I dance in this?'," Traver explains. "Will this make my body look cooler or less cool while dancing?" Truthfully, she's never not looking cool while dancing, but it's a solid life motto regardless…especially since she spends her days singing jams that involuntarily make people bust out their best moves.The band just wrapped up a huge cross-country tour, so we stole a few minutes to find out what Traver can't live without when she's on the road (which is pretty much always). If you like dancing and fun and generally feeling happy, be sure to catch Rubblebucket next time they come through your city.All photos courtesy of Rubblebucket.WHITE BOOTS
"I got these for so cheap in Manhattan and they've become the most important part of my day (sometimes waking up feels better knowing I get to put them on). They are a great response to the ever-pervasive black boot, and they make my feet look great dancing."
DENIM JACKETS
"They seem to multiply in the van."
TIE-DYED SHIRTS
"We got a huge box of them from an old hippie man in upstate NY like five years ago, when they weren't cool again yet. I found the box right before we left for tour, and lived in them. Makes a cold day in Minneapolis/Cleveland/Park City/etc a little more colorful."
NICE WOOL SOCKS
"We all upped our sock game on this tour. I decided to never, ever buy shitty socks again, because with the nice wool ones, you can wear them multiple days in a row and they're prettier."
FACEPAINT
"It never gets old for me. I can't help it. This is me and Angie [Altagracia Bess] from Body Language. Every night before the show, we had tea-fashion-balloons-facepaint hour. It is my favorite memory of tour, and also a great answer to that often-asked interview question: 'Do you have any pre-show rituals?'"
THIS SWEATER/PONCHO
"A prized gift from my best friend and style guru, Yuan Liu's mom in China. On a regular basis, it makes everything OK."Casey Lewis does this every week. She's on Twitter - @caseymlewis.
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