Christine Conley
Art and Music
As a girl, I sang and played the guitar, ukelele, glockenspiel, piano, and French horn, among other instruments. Music was it for me. But in high school, crippling stage fright caused me to turn away from music, and toward visual art which I pursued for love and money (mostly love) for most of my adult life. In 2007, while healing from a near-fatal car accident, I returned to music and now songwriting has become my most pleasurable obsession. It's interesting to feel like a beginner at this stage in my life. Learning to record in a home studio is a whole other matter. Patience is a virtue. Except for "Let the Kingdom Come," written in 2018, and "Eye to Eye" from 2016, I have not kept up with posting newer songs here. Perhaps I will address that soon.
"Emeline" - This is the first song I wrote for my son's daughter. They were going to name her Emeline. Then, when she was born, they saw her and decided she was not an Emeline. She was Sophia. It's ok. Sophie knows it's her song. The video was taken by Bart Mathews at A Gathering of Good Times for Linda Yancy at South Main Sounds in May of 2015.
Songs
"Let the Kingdom Come" - I have been discouraged, baffled, saddened, and infuriated by the venom that's been unleashed in the Trump presidency. I channeled some of that into this song. I can't live believing that hatred will win.
"Eye to Eye" for my John E.
"Going Nowhere" was recorded at Little Eden Music in Nashville, Bruce Michael Miller on guitars, Forest Miller vocals. I was trying to write a contemporary country song. When I went to Nashville this past year, for a song evaluation with RC Bannon of NSAI, I got lucky, and got to play at the Bluebird Cafe. Got to say, that was fun.
"Roll With It" - recorded on Garage Band. Joe Conley on hand drum. Me on vocals, guitar, and recorder.
"Mattress" - I wrote this one for Chris. He always loved country music, and Behind Closed Doors really was the song that played on the jukebox all night long when we lived above the Old Mill. I'm glad I played it for him before he flew up to that big barroom in the sky. Me on guitar and vocals. That three part harmony took forever, but boy I'd like to do more sometime.
"Granddad's Piano" is the story of my life in music. My mom, who was not one to easily show emotion, talked on several different occasions about how I first picked out melodies at age four on my Granddad's piano and about how mad she was at me when I stopped taking piano lessons. It was recorded at Richard Ford's Memphis Studio, The Good Garden, with the amazing Olivia Linam on vocals and me on guitar.
Cool Colors
The Artist's Hands
Warm Colors
This was written and recorded in 2008. I was talking to Donalyn Heise, a terrific art ed teacher, about how I had switched from art to making music and about how it was an uneasy transition for me. She suggested I make a CD of art songs for children. The other songs are: Line, Talking Texture, Rhythm, Treasure Hunt, Artist's Hands, and Clean Up.