Home studio provides space for Camille to Bloom

When Camille Bloom left Spokane for Seattle in 2000, she had been playing music for less than a year. Originally from Bremerton, Bloom moved to Spokane as a child in 1985, attended Whitworth University and Spokane Falls Community College, and eventually graduated from Eastern Washington University.

“When I first started touring, I’d play Spokane twice a year, and I really built a good following from doing that,” Bloom said. “In fact, a lot of people that came out to shows didn’t realize I’d lived in Spokane before. … I’ve really fallen back in love with (Spokane), so I get really excited to visit.”

The singer-songwriter, still based out of Seattle, returns to Spokane for the first time in several years this weekend, performing at nYne Bar and Bistro with her latest album, “Pieces of Me.” The record, Bloom’s fifth full-length release, is something of a DIY project. It was funded through a crowdsourcing campaign on Bloom’s website (she raised $27,000 in six months) and was recorded on Bloom’s farm outside Seattle.

It’s also the first album Bloom has produced herself, a decision that initially came about as a cost-saving measure and ended up being a beneficial creative maneuver.

“It was freeing, and it was also a little terrifying,” Bloom said. “When you’re in the studio, you’re looking at the clock because you’re paying hourly. … It was a lot different in the sense that I had all the time in the world, but that also made it almost more painful, because I could listen to everything 9,000 times and I didn’t have to make any decisions. But it was great in that I had the time to really let a song speak for itself.”

Bloom also used some of the money from her crowdfunding endeavor to build a home recording studio out of an old grain silo. With its high ceiling and wood floor and its lack of corners and windows, it ended up being an ideal and convenient space to record music.

“I did everything I could to save money,” Bloom said. “We built all the sound panels. I bought my microphones secondhand through eBay at half price, just scrimping every possible penny I could. It was an incredibly fun process. I had no idea how much I would love producing, and since I’ve produced three more projects for other artists. … I didn’t realize what I had in me until I pushed myself in that way.”

Bloom says that her songs typically come about while she’s on the road. She’ll start with the germ of an idea and flesh it out as she plays it for audiences. But almost all of the songs on “Pieces of Me” were created in the studio, and Bloom attributes the record’s varied styles – ballads, rockers, folk tunes, country songs – to that process.

“In the past, I had tried to fit into a genre, but this time, I decided to let this album be as varied as my writing style,” Bloom said. “I write what is present for me. I call it birthing a song. I’m not the type of person who premeditates or says, ‘I’m going to write a song about this.’ I really have to feel it.”

Bloom, a former high school English teacher, still works with kids when she isn’t touring. She has taught music workshops in schools and participated in songwriting retreats for young people, and she also instructs private music lessons in her home.

“When I left teaching (in 2005), I really missed connecting with young people. I felt like it was a calling in some sense, but it wasn’t supposed to be in the English classroom,” Bloom said. “It’s a really important part of what I’m doing, and I’ve found a way to make it work around the touring schedule. It’s wonderful, and I work with some amazing teens who are so inspiring. It’s a nice balance.”