Milwaukee’s Caley Conway making her most compelling music
At first, Caley Conway’s songs were her secrets. When the Milwaukee singer-songwriter eventually started playing her songs in public, she didn’t exert total control over her career.
But now Conway has taken the reins — spreadsheets are involved — and released the most compelling music of her career on this year’s EP “Surrounded Middle.” And all of that is on top of joining the ranks of Field Report, the nationally touring, critically acclaimed Milwaukee folk rock group, last year.
“With my old band, I definitely wrote the songs and directed the music to my liking, but I didn’t direct the project,” Conway said. “I did none of the publicity and hardly any of the booking. I didn’t have Facebook and didn’t know how to do Bandcamp. I was super oblivious to a lot of stuff. I just really wanted to not have to depend on people as much. Taking more ownership has revealed to me that I need to definitely keep working on increasing my independence.”
Conway spoke recently about her music and her new direction.
Getting started
I started playing guitar when I was 12. We had guitars around the house, and so my dad taught me on my Mom’s nylon string, and I was instantly pretty fascinated. It was always a bedroom hobby for me, and I started writing songs when I was in college. They just kind of started coming out of me. I was pretty lonely in college, and I was listening to a lot of Paul Simon and Aimee Mann and David Bowie, and they were a huge solace for me.
I dropped out and went to work on a farm in Maui; I wanted to pursue sustainable agriculture. I started showing people my songs and getting players together and making it more of a thing. Until then, they were my secrets. I moved back to Milwaukee in 2012 and started playing open mics at Linneman’s and started visualizing it as more of a serious craft.
Making ‘Surrounded Middle’
It was sort of an insecure process. Every decision for me is kind of a hurdle, so after I wrote the songs in my bedroom and living room, it was this long process where I got a trio together to arrange the songs for the recording.
A few songs were about love, and the other three are just about me being confused by what is going on. … I wrote pieces that were more for electric guitar, to hold my own as my own lead guitarist … and I wrote in a more repetitive and sparse style.
Favorite track on the EP
I have this special pride in “Middle Child Syndrome.” The song is about my insecurities, and sometimes you just look at yourself and think, “Wow, everything is wrong with the way I am.”
I was complaining about myself using the stance of the middle child and pushing against the boundaries about my own personality. The song to me is sort of sad and pretty, but it has a bouncy, funky rock thing going on.
Joining Field Report
Last summer, (Field Report frontman) Chris (Porterfield) invited me to play their Eaux Claires show with them. It was super fun to be an artist at that festival, and it also gave me a kick in the pants. I had to learn 10 songs for their set in a month, and I’m not an improvisational guitarist, so I had to memorize what I had to play. It was a lot of studying of the album and making parts I would send to Chris to see what he thought.
He officially asked me to join a little bit after that. It has helped me a lot as a performer. … There were a few shows where I was really in a weird head space and flubbing a lot, but all of those experiences have really helped me grow as a musician, too.
Next gigs
Conway plays a solo set at 8 p.m. July 19 at Circle A Cafe, 932 E. Chambers St. Admission is $5. She performs a free set with a full band at 6 p.m. July 30 for Chill on the Hill at Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Ave.