Image via YouTube / Caley Conway
It would be too easy to peg Caley Conway as a singer songwriter. Dig in a bit and her multi-faceted imagination becomes obvious. She once performed “Jingle Bells” decorated as a Christmas tree and displays her art-driven vision’s experimental side with her recent video “I Love You So Much I Don't Want to See You.” The ever-restless Conway offered some of her experiences on coming to grips with managing her time during the pandemic.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
The socially isolated lifestyle of the past year has probably helped my creativity more than hurt it, if I’m being honest. Having been given the dark gift of more time, I’ve realized how few things I’m actually capable of completing within the time I do possess. This has forced me to prioritize not only the creation of my music, but the creative act of moving it through its many stages. And there are a lot; technical practice, inspiration, production, art direction, outreach, release, consumption, whatever comes after consumption, stagnation, etc.
I haven’t written very many “songs” in my typical, completed “singer-songwriter” format, but I guess you could say I’ve been working on a broader opus or something, by pushing my backlog of songs through toward eventual release. In other words, I’ve been doing a lot of arranging, recording, mixing, visual art, logistical work and advertising. And contributing to others’ projects remotely, as well.
Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
Routine is one of the most necessary things for me. At the same time, it is so very challenging for me to implement and stick to. After several months of grappling for some kind of structure, I landed on a morning routine that involves a tiny bit of yoga and/or meditation (like, as little as five minutes), a three-page free write, and an hour of guitar practice before going to work. I’ll admit that during this latest frenzy to release “I Love You So Much I Don’t Want to See You,” that routine is hanging on by a thread. I’m trying to get it back, though.
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Also, within the past few months, my partner and I have been running on a studio routine that's working pretty well for us. Since we share studio space and both have a lot to work on, we basically alternate nights of the week—one person gets the studio, the other makes dinner for the two of us.
Before this, I was having feelings of guilt and insecurity around taking up time in the studio, especially if I didn't know exactly “what” I was going to be working on. Having designated time that we both acknowledge, plan for ahead of time, and divvy up totally even-stevens, has provided me with the support I didn't know I needed in order to make this a habit.
Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
I’m honestly not making any booking plans for when live shows resume. Perhaps I’ll kick myself, since booking takes so much advanced planning, but for now I've gotten a lot of use out of eliminating that logistical aspect from my creative aspirations.
Usually, it would take up at least 75% of my time and attention, and largely define my idea of my own success. And yes, traditionally live performance has brought in most of the income for this project, but since it was ripped out from under us musicians in such an unexpected way, I also see some use in becoming less reliant on or preoccupied with it.
I’m definitely eager to dive back into performance as an art form, and to apply myself to it with more intentionality, but I guess I’m just not willing to dive into the logistics of all that, just yet.
