Category: Recording

50/90 – Day 10

Two of the last three nights have been 50/90 progress free. Am I slowing down? Yeah, probably a little. Is it okay? Well, I’ve got 18 songs in the works and there are still 80 days left… so yeah, I think it’s okay.

If there is a hangup, it’s in the demo recording. I don’t want to use any amp sims at all. I want all of the guitar sounds to be my Fender Deluxe Reverb. All or nothing. I’ll probably change my mind on that eventually, but for now I’m sticking to it. That means no recording in the living room while the kids are watching tv. That’s a big deal. We’ll see how far this goes.

Most importantly, I’m still having fun.

Nerd Alert

I often make a Google Document for keeping notes on my RPM Challenge progress. Start a new idea, add it to the doc. Write some lyrics, add them to the doc. I just sometimes need something to help me keep my thoughts in order. Sometimes I use a Google Spreadsheet to keep track of which guitars I use on each song, or which amplifier patch, or beats per minute, or really anything you can think of.

Today I upped my nerd game. I created a Trello board to keep track of this year’s project. There is a list for songs that are just in the idea phase, songs that are in the recording instruments phase, songs in the vocals/lyrics phase (lyrics and melodies are always the last thing I write), and songs that are in the mixing phase. Each time I start a new idea I will add a card to the idea list. Then as I add to it I can make notes on what I did in each card, and move it between lists as it progresses.

I’m waiving my nerd flag high this year.

New RPM on the Bandcamp Page

I uploaded the new RPM music to bandcamp. Please don’t pay for this. If you want it you can get it at my alonetone site for nuttin. If you insist on shelling out some dough, I would ask you to donate it to rpmchallenge.com.

13 Songs Finished

I mixed a song at lunch time today and it immediately went onto the cut list. I just don’t like it. So I am not posting it here. Then after playing karate chauffeur to the kids all evening I mixed this one. It also probably belongs on the cut list, but it isn’t so bad.

And One More Makes 11

Song #11. I started this one last night, after I had already sketched out song #14, with 14 songs being the goal. So this is sort of overkill, but I like it more than most of the other songs so it’s a keeper.

RPM Song #9

Let’s take stock of the ol’ RPM Challenge, shall we?

The goal is 10 songs or 35 minutes of music. Right.

I currently stand at 9 songs and 34:41.

SONOFA!! 19 seconds short!

I have four more songs in progress. None of which have lyrics yet. That’s the sticking point right there now isn’t it.

I’ll have before work time on Tuesday. On Wednesday I took a vacation day, but the kids are on school vacation so I will only have a couple of hours in the morning before I go get them at their dads. Thursday is telecommute day, but the kids will be home. If I can’t get the rest of the songs tracked (including one more that hasn’t even been started yet) by the early afternoon on Wednesday then FAWM is a bust. I need 14 songs to finish that one. RPM looks good. One more lyric/vocal and it’s done, and I can do that Tuesday morning. After getting the kids on Wednesday the plan will be to mix whatever is left. I suppose if I’m close to 14 I could always sit in the car and sing. Maybe drive to some empty parking lot somewhere.

Song Number Eight

Eight down, six to go. One of those six is ready to mix (I think) and two don’t exist at all yet. Things ain’t looking good for FAWM, but the RPM Challenge is looking nice and rosy.

Song Number Seven

I started noodling out this little rocker this morning after going grocery shopping. The lyrics were recorded while sitting in the car outside of my step son’s guitar lesson. Later, after going to my nephew’s 4th birthday party, I recorded the guitars. Then after a break for some TV time I mixed it.

Not that good, but it’s there.

RPM Song #5

So if you take a four bar segment of GarageBand’s drummer, cut it into four individual pieces, and set the fill to maximum, you can almost trick garageband into giving you a drum solo. Almost.

A song about being depressed about winter. Sort of the anthem for all Bostonians these days.

Song #4

Four songs done. Six to go. (10 if I haven’t given up on FAWM, which I might have done)

I made it all the way to the fourth song before writing a lyric about worrying whether I could finish RPM on time or not. It’s like an annual thing now.