Category: Song Writing

RPMarch

So Robbie, what’s the deal? When you finished off your February recording project you said you were just going to keep going and do another one in March. You even came up with a clever stupid name for it, RPMarch.

So where are the constant updates that make us, your loyal readers want to claw our own eyes out?

Well here’s one.

I have bass and drum tracks set for five songs. There are a total of nine songs in the plans at this point. I need to come up with at least one more. I have four songs left over from the kids’ Christmas vacation, when I tried to write a few songs for a goofy EP idea. I have one idea that I had during February that I never got around to. I also have two outtakes from Things and Stuff that I want to see if I can salvage. Then there is one song that I came up with a couple of nights ago, and the one Tempest Fero song I want to add to the TF Redux collection. That’s nine. My goal is 10. So far so good.

There you have it. The RPMarch Day Six update. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you are pleased that I haven’t quit on this idea yet.

Yet.

What Next?

Here’s the obligatory post-RPM Challenge post.

Now that my musical month of February is in the past, what’s next?

Well, I think I’m just going to do it again. Not the same songs, and not the longer FAWM based album, but a new recording of either 10 songs or 35 minutes. Call it RPMarch.

I’ve still got four things that I was tinkering with in January, and there was the 15th song idea from RPM that I never got to. There is also the missing Tempest Fero song that I took a listen to this evening. Those six plus four more? There is also the three unfinished things from the 2008 failure. Maybe I’ll save those for April.

Any one else want to take a shot at RPMarch?

RPM Challenge – Day 27

Something happened last night that sort of sums up this year’s challenge for me.  I went to bed after finishing the lead guitars on the last two songs.  While sleeping, I had a dream.  I was digging around in my ear for ear wax.  I found something else though.  I was able to grab it and pull.  What came out?  Dust.  A dust bunny about the size of a quarter.  When I woke up my first thought was, so that’s why everything sounds like crap this year.

I mixed two more songs before work this morning.  There are only two left.  I will finish them both tonight if it kills me.  Then I need to figure out a running order, burn a CD, and mail it off.

Here is one of this morning’s mixes. It’s the 7/8 rocker with the terrible leads.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/bad-guy.mp3%20

The other song is in 6/8. It was an eighth note kinda morning. It was supposed to be the big quiet/loud/quiet thing but the loud parts are kinda pointless.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/that-certain-someone.mp3%20

It is February 27th. The end is upon us.

RPM Challenge – Day 26

I have finished recording all of the parts I need. I have four more songs to mix. I’m going to finish on time and have something in the mail by noon on Saturday. It just won’t be all that good.

The music is repetitive and clunky, the lyrics are crap as usual, the singing is worse than ever, and the lead guitar playing (which is normally weak at best) has been at times dreadful. I just don’t have it in me this month. I could probably take four or five of these and combine them with three or for from November and end up with a decent collection of songs, but this one on its own is pretty pathetic.

I mixed two more last night, for a total of 10 finished songs. I’m not going to post one of them because the vocal performance is the worst of my life, and despite recording the whole thing multiple times (dumbing down the melody each time) I still can’t pull it off.

The second mix from last night is better though.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/yes.mp3%20

My hands are too tired to perform, my voice is too tired to perform, and I think my ears are too tired to perform too. Everything just sounds sort of… mushy.

20140226-223015.jpg

RPM Challenge – Day 24

Last night I mixed two more songs. Today I wrote lyrics and sang the vocals for three more songs. That leaves me with eight songs finished, and six songs that only require lead guitar before mixing. I’ve got four days left. I can still pull off all 14 songs.

The first of the two finished songs is this year’s 12-bar blues. The lyrics are based on a little bit of family history. My grandfather was a fisherman. On one trip out to sea his boat sank. He floated around on a lifeboat for a while before being picked up by a passing ship. The whole time he was missing no one let my grandmother know. She was kept away from newspapers and radios. When my grandfather finally got to shore in New York he called her to say that he was safe and she had no idea what he was talking about.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/bridget-and-john.mp3%20

The second newly finished song is one that I was planning on dropping early on, but it is growing on me a little.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/ufo.mp3%20

I don’t have anything else ready to mix at this point. I am going to try and pick off a guitar solo tomorrow before work. Tonight though, is all about last night’s episode of The Walking Dead.

RPM Challenge – Day 23

I am about to leave to bring my step daughter to softball practice.  90 minutes later I will pick her up.  The plan?  Drop her off, find a parking spot as far away from civilization as humanly possible, crack out the MacBook and record at least two songs worth of vocals.  

Think I can do it?  I did it Thursday night when I dropped the kids off for karate, and I actually wrote the basics for songs #10 and 11 in the same parking lot two weeks ago.

Wish me luck!

RPM Challenge – Day 22 Again

I mixed two songs tonight. The first of the two is just a terrible song that I really hope I’ll be able to drop. I need lyrics for at least one more song in order to do that. I think I really must get at least one more done. This song just sucks.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/forced.mp3%20

The other song is okay, but it is really similar to another song that I’ve already finished. Big chunks of both songs were actually written in one sitting. That might explain it. Ya think?

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/not-if-i-see-you-first.mp3%20

I hope to be able to record more vocals tomorrow. I’ve got two more ready to go. I’ve got another song ready to mix, and another song that only needs leads. It would be nice if I could get through all of them tomorrow. Then I would have telecommuting on Monday and Thursday to finish up any additional vocals I might get to before the deadline. The goal is still to record 14 songs. It’s getting near the end, and I have a lot left to do.

RPM Challenge – Day 22

We are going for a drive today in the hopes of getting desks and desk chairs for the kids.  When we woke up we had a very small window of time for anything other than getting ready to go.  I used that time wisely and recorded the leads for song #5.  It was far from perfect, but far from my usual terrible.  What was weird was that I nailed each part on the first take.  Woah!  I must be in the groove.  (that is sarcasm, the groove and I never see eye to eye, let alone meet up)

Even weirder is that I recorded a 16 bar guitar riff that will become song #15.  Now that is weird!  Here I am convinced I won’t have time to finish 14 songs and I go and start a 15th.  Somebody stop me!

RPM Challenge – Day 19

Not much today. I mixed one song last night and recorded one vocal this morning. I am off work the next two days, but will not have the house to myself tomorrow. I will try to do some more whispered guide vocals if I can write some damn lyrics. I think I will be using the random wikipedia article trick quite a bit this year.

Here is the song I mixed last night. I am not happy with the mix at all. The vocals are too low. Of course with my singing, too low is infinitely better than too loud. Am I right, or am I right?

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/confidence.mp3%20

RPM Challenge – Day 18

I mixed two songs last night. I don’t like either of them, or anything else I’ve worked on this month. It’s good, because I don’t think I am going to have enough time in the house alone to finish all of the vocals.

This is the first song I worked on, and the first song I finished:
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/small-3.mp3%20

This is the 12th song I worked on, and the second song I finished. As you can guess, I am jumping around all over the place right now.
http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/not-in-this-lifetime.mp3%20

I have one more song that is ready to mix. I was just too tired to finish it off last night. Yesterday I wrote lyrics and a really rough melody for three more songs. This morning I recorded two of them. My vocal performance was terrible at best, but it’s done and I don’t think I am going to have time to fix anything that irks me when I start listening back to it. I didn’t take the time to put rough mixes up onto Soundcloud.

So that’s five vocals recorded, and a sixth that is written and ready to record. I need to get four more done to qualify for RPM, and eight more to qualify for FAWM. FAWM is starting to look like a lost cause. I took Thursday and Friday off from work, but I don’t think I am going to have time on those days to handle vocals. I’m starting to honestly consider driving to an empty parking lot somewhere and recording in the car. It’s looking more and more like that’s the only way I will be able to finish everything. Cold weather be damned, you know?