“[A]n indispensable contributor to the creative chemistry of our events.”

“[A]n excellent example of a prolific songwriter.”

“Carley Possesses a strong and enviable charm.”

I grew up in Milwaukee, WI, in a house that was always alive with music. If my dad wasn’t playing his guitar, my mom was spinning records from her extensive collection. My sister studied flute and I studied violin, although my first instrument was a Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard. The first song I ever wrote was about moonbeams. I was five.

Looking back, I was always a bit of a wanderer. Instead of doing the normal college thing, I dropped out to make my way as a performing singer/songwriter, first on guitar and then increasingly on ukulele. After kicking around Milwaukee getting involved with organizations like Chick Singer Night, I relocated to Portland, OR, and began making friends and playing shows in the Pacific Northwest. I released a couple official albums and a handful of unofficial demo records, traveled to Europe twice for the Paris Project and the Budapest Project respectively, and got involved in some life-altering songwriting organizations, but after a while things started to feel a little empty. I felt there was a larger purpose I wanted to serve, but I wasn’t sure what it was or how to find it.

During a brief stint in Boston (where I almost attended Berklee College of Music, until I saw the tuition bill), I got my first experience working in early music education, and that was my lightbulb moment. Working with kids, helping them to develop a lifelong love of music, was the larger purpose I’d been searching for. Driven to pursue this newfound direction, I relocated back to Portland, survived online music school during the pandemic, and got my degree in music education from Portland State University in June 2023.

Part of my undergraduate studies included an Honors thesis, which I devoted to the study of the internal obstacles that prevent songwriters from reaching their full potential. This became my second passion, and from it, the Bad Song Club was born. I currently spend my time creating bad prompts for the Club, writing and recording more songs (with new albums on the horizon) and finishing an accelerated graduate program that will grant me a Master of Education degree in June 2024.