Acoustic band Calloway Dreams will open for Pure Water Construction Band at Backstage Pizza Friday night. Composed of two guitarists and a female singer, Calloway Dreams blends powerful vocals and relaxed melodies.
Guitarists Brandon Morris, a Cuesta student, and Cal Poly crop science sophomore Martin Etcheverry began playing together last fall after meeting through mutual friends. They rehearsed with a male vocalist before he moved away, and shortly after, Morris met Cuesta student Katie Boyer after her introduction on the first day of class.
“I usually don’t say anything about my music stuff. But the professor said, ‘Say something interesting about yourself,’ so I said I like singing and playing piano,” Boyer said.
“And I thought, ‘This has to be our singer,’” Morris said.
The group said after incorporating Boyer, they almost effortlessly found their sound, pulling from influences such as John Mayer and Taylor Swift to create melodious ballads carried by easy-to-listen-to tones. Emphasizing the unity of female vocals and acoustics, the band wants to create a sense of appeal to a wide range of listeners.
“When we listen to a song, we all agree that the first thing that catches us is the melody,” Morris said. “That’s usually how we write our songs.”
Their sound, however, strays far from their personal tastes in music, which ranges from country to hardcore rock. Yet the three are able to meet in the middle, finding a common playing style and lyrics they still enjoy. Close friend and fan Tim Koppi, who has listened to the group since the start, has watched them sacrifice their preferences for a common ground.
“(Etcheverry and Morris) have polar opposite tastes and music. It’s cool how they both were willing to find a middle and adapt to different playing styles to accommodate Katie,” he said.
Their playing style is directly built around their songwriting, which the band said is the most rewarding part. However, because most of the songs are written by Morris and Etcheverry, Morris said the lyrics don’t fall into place as easily when writing for a female.
“I’m trying to put myself in her shoes, which is hard. But you take what you know,” Morris said.
With just a five-song demo released, they continue to write with a focus on attaching lyrics with emotions. The feelings associated with the songs, they said, is what distinguishes a genuine artist from a media-masked performer. True musicianship, they said they believe, encompasses not only performance, but original songwriting as well.
“Obviously, Carrie Underwood is super talented, but I don’t believe what she says when she sings. But when I hear an Eric Church song, I know he wrote this. I know what he means,” Morris said.
Finding lyrical inspiration from artists such as Jack’s Mannequin, Etcheverry prefers to write about the inescapable ups and downs of relationships.
“We try to look at the good and bad side of relationships,” Etcheverry said. “We’re just trying to get all the different moods.”
Boyer, a more secretive songwriter, finds it difficult to thread the thoughts together. Although she has not shared her personal songs with the group yet, she said she is still writing for herself, testing songs on both guitar and piano.
“I don’t think about who I’m writing for, I just write for myself. I can put thoughts together, but to turn it into a song is really challenging,” she said.
Collectively tying their talents together, the group has played a few shows around the San Luis Obispo area, hoping for more to come. San Luis Obispo events host Casey McDonald is excited for the band to join the singer-songwriter community. Having hosted showcases for over a year, McDonald has helped the band book two shows at The Clubhouse in San Luis Obispo, and is eager to continue working with them.
“They have a very lyrical style. Katie’s voice is great. The combination of her voice and acoustic guitar is light and very pleasing to the ear,” McDonald said. “More importantly, they seem to get along and that translates to the performance.”
In their short time together, the group has had almost no problems, aside from the inevitable exhaustion from school. However, because both Boyer and Morris are waitlisted for Cal Poly, the future of the group may be their biggest obstacle yet. But they are looking forward, ready to accept whatever direction finds them.
“Every setback is the setup for a comeback. Like when our singer moved away and then we found Katie, and now we’re 10 times more badass. It’s just like one step back and two steps forward,” Etcheverry said.
The band may take larger steps forward in the future, such as bigger shows and more promotion, but for now, just baby steps.
“If you like playing and writing music, then play and write as much as you can. If you get a few gigs, great. If you don’t, so what? You don’t play music to become famous,” Morris said.
The free concert starts at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.