Category: Music

Another Frosty Morning

Compared to the last two days, this morning was a downright balmy 17 degrees when I went outside for some singing in the car. Just like yesterday I managed two songs. That leaves two for tomorrow. One song was a mellow guy in a register that’s really easy for me to sing. The other was very shouty and a smidge too high for comfort. Fortunately it only had one part.

I did the mellow song first to warm up. It went pretty simple. Two part harmony, but nothing too taxing. Then on to the harder song where I did the thing I keep doing. I only had one part to sing, right? So I added a harmony part that runs all the way through. That means I doubled the amount of shouty stuff I had to do. Dumb ass.

By the time I was done I was done. It was still early, I still had battery, I still had an empty bladder. It was my voice that sent me home. Hoping for some more guitar tonight… or maybe within the next few minutes or so, then some more vocal fun tomorrow? One of the two songs that remain has a lot of three part harmony. That should be painful and awkward as hell.

Rock on!

The secret to a successful car music turns out to be my glasses. Who knew?

I thought I’d switch things up on the drive home pics too and show you my town’s gigantic city hall.

…then I took a clock pic anyway, just because.

Wah Wah

I played some guitar tonight. I wasn’t going to but I did and it made me happy.

I redid a couple of rhythm guitar tracks that I didn’t like the sound of and then I put leads on one of the songs that got vocals this morning. I used my new wah pedal a lot. It’s a Real McCoy Custom RMC10 and it is killer. The sweep on it is gigantic. It starts on Monday and ends on Thursday. That’s how gigantic the sweep is. It’s actually so much wider than I’m used to that I think it is going to take some time to adjust my brain to it. It sounds great though.

I started putting leads on the other song that got vocals this morning but I had to stop before I finished. I used my Fuzz Face again but this time I stuck a Klon copy after it as a boost and it was gnarly and bitchin and mean and nasty and wonderful.

Fuzz Face pedals and wah-wahs are notorious for not working well together. I haven’t tried the combo yet with the new wah, but I will.

I hope to get in some more car music tomorrow. We’ll see. For now though, I am feeling pretty good about the little bit that I accomplished tonight.

It’s Cold Out There

Yesterday I skipped a car music opportunity because it was seven degrees out. Today when the question of to car music or not to car music arose I checked the temperature again. It was eight degrees out. Okay, that’s warm enough. Off we go!

I had six songs queued up to record vocals. I did two. I worked on one, and then ran the heater in the car for a few minutes and worked on the second. My voice was still feeling okay after two songs. The battery on the laptop was still good. I hadn’t been outside for very long so the clock was in good shape. Why did I stop after two? Because sometimes sitting out in the cold has a negative effect on the old bladder. I had to pee. If not for that I might still be out there yelling.

I’m hoping to go out again tomorrow and pick off another couple, and then wrap it up next week. Monday if possible, but I am off work again on Wednesday so maybe wait until then.

Now the obligatory drive-home-through-the-center-of-town pic!

As a bonus, there’s also this picture that was snapped accidentally while trying to open up the camera app.

It’s Bloody Cold Out!

I did it. I got up early and showered and got dressed and was all ready to grab my lappytop and jump into the car and do some effin’ car music!

“Hey Siri, how’s the weather?” he asked.

“The current temperature is seven degrees. The high today will be 19 degrees and the low will be seven degrees,” Siri replied.

Well screw that! It’s bloody cold out there! I wonder how the forecast for tomorrow morning is looking. I just looked… it’s pretty much the same as today. Crap.

On a not quite related note, the RPM Challenge website used to have a blog section and a forum and it was all replaced by a Discord channel. Discord makes me feel old. You know the stereotype about the old people who are unable or unwilling to embrace new technology? It’s not that I don’t get it, it’s just that I don’t want to. I used to use those ICR boards back in the stone age, and I used the AOL chatrooms before that. Discord feels exactly like them. So it’s not a matter of failing to embrace a new technology, it’s more a matter of not having any interest in re-embracing an ancient one. I guess. I’m trying though.

On a totally unrelated note, Rest in Peace Meat Loaf. My sister had Bat Out of Hell when it was actually current, if you can imagine a world that far in the past. I would occasionally take it for a spin when she wasn’t around.

Slept Late Again

I didn’t get up until after 7:00 this morning. No car music again. I have six songs that need vocals. I want them all done before February 1st. When I say done I mean vocals, leads, and mix. I don’t want to be thinking about any of these songs when RPM starts. I don’t have any specific plans for RPM yet. I don’t know if I want to do anything special for a theme or anything, or if I just want to write a bunch of new songs.

I didn’t watch Book of Boba Fett yesterday. We’re going to try and do a watch party with Harry tonight. I hope so. Jen and I started the new season of Cobra Kai. They are like 30 minute pieces of candy. We blew through the first three before we even realized it.

The show to watch right now, if you have access to it, is Yellowjackets. My spoiler free review of the first six episodes, which are the only ones I’ve seen so far: WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?????

Enjoy.

Musical Thought for February

Just jotting down a gimmick idea for RPM in February….

Write a melody. Sing it on a guide track. Reverse the guide track. On a second track, sing along with the reverse track. Reverse the second track. You now have a backwards vocal track singing the correct melody.

Just a dumb idea I had in the car this morning. Gimmicky, yes, but fun.

13 days until the 2022 RPM Challenge.