Honey Conaway, Out of the Shadows

Honey Conaway is a soul singer whose first album, Staircases, won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues performance nearly twenty years ago. We met at Dooby's, a Baltimore coffee shop just around the corner from the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she is a teaching artist. She arrived flustered, but clearly invigorated by her students.

It looks like you came straight from teaching. How was it?

I did! Every day is a wonder with these children. I work with the high schoolers, but also with the TWIGS. Do you know what those are? They are the young ones.

How many classes do you teach?

I teach on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. About ten students in all.

How do you balance that with your creative schedule?

Oh, that's not my only job! I also work on Wednesdays and Fridays at An Die Muzik and I have some private lessons too. And, of course, I'm still doing some voice work. I just recorded an audiobook.

So I will repeat my question, but this time, add emphasis: How do you balance that with your creative schedule?

I'm a working artist! This is what it looks like. [sings] This is how we do it... It's every day. I don't get a break, or I don't get paid. You know what that's like, don't you?

Unfortunately, I do. So do you do any songwriting for yourself? Or just performing your own songs?

Since my mother moved out and I sold the house, and since the album, I've gotten a little more work. But the performing life is not as easy. My boyfriend--I mean, fiance--I keep forgetting! My fiance doesn't have a high-paying job, so we're making it work. We work, and we make it work.

On Wildflowers, you had your first songwriting credit. How did that feel?

It was amazing. The process was so deep and vulnerable. Tim Karman is such an inspired producer. He takes you down to the studs, you know, just strips all that veneer off and then he helps you see what you've been hiding. It was scary, working with him. I mean, he's really great, but I saw some things in myself I didn't like.

You mean Bunny?

Yeah. Yeah, I mean Bunny. I don't really want to talk about my brother, but Tim Karman helped me be a better person. He helped me exorcise some demons, you know?

I know you're estranged from your brother, Bunny, and I heard that you don't want to talk about him. But how difficult is it to take the stage and play "Please, Bunny"?

It's a Mississippi Sheiks' song, "Please, Baby," that we used as the base, so in some ways, it's not my song at all. But it is hard because I know he's listening to it. I think I know how it's hitting him, but I hope he hears it as an apology. I hope he knows how much I love him and that whenever I perform the song, it's an apology. No, maybe it's a prayer. And I don't take prayer lightly -- not with my most recent commitment to a man of God! (She wiggles her engagement ring.) It's a prayer to reconnect with family, to right the wrongs in the blood. To feel whole. That's what I hope he hears. And I can wait the rest of my life for him to come back to me.

Now, you were in your twenties when you first hit the big time. You turn 45 this summer. How have your goals changed as you get older?

I used to be so driven to get a recording contract. You know, actually, I'd sure like a recording contract today! (laughs) But really, I want to make more meaningful music. I think my recent collaboration with Savion [Kimberman] has been exactly what I'm looking for. He just creates the space and invites beauty and creativity to flourish. I'd like to collaborate with more artists. But also, if you can put in a word for me with any of the record labels, I will not say no! And I will be the hardest worker on the block!

Last question: What's next for Honey Conaway?

Well, obviously, [sings] love and marriage, love and marriage. [Laughs] But for my career? I don't know. This whole year has been such a whirlwind. Gloria and I have the downtown space, and it's really coming along! I can't wait for it to open. But I don't want to tell you too much about it, lest I ruin the surprise. You'll just have to see for yourself what happens next!