Today’s RPM Challenge agenda consists of massive doses of acoustic 12-string guitar. Only partly because my six string acoustic is at my singer’s house. The 12-string is a much better sounding guitar though, so it would still win out.
Before that happens though, I need to brave the -10 degree weather to put gas in the car and go food shopping. Brrr, man. Brrr.
4:15am… Makes the -5 I posted last night look like freakin’ summer!
Let’s all give thanks for our functioning furnaces.
I took a little RPM inventory tonight and updated my trello board. I have 14 songs in progress. Seven have all of the rhythm guitar parts done and are in the ready for vocals list. Three more have guitars recorded but still need to have the song forms worked out. Four more still need more pieces to be written. Tomorrow is the half way point of the month. I’d say I’m in half decent shape.
I didn’t even come close to getting as much done as I’d hoped today, but RPM progress has been made. I am now up to nine songs with rhythm guitars recorded. Yay, eh? It’s almost time to break out the acoustic guitar. Be afraid!
I thought I was going to have two full work days with the house to myself. I was wrong. I will have one full work day with the house to myself. I will have to get as much vocalizin’ and socializin’* done on that day as possible, and then cram in the rest when I can get a free minute here and there. The double album plan is kaput.
*That is a Bloom County reference. Death Tongue. Remember that? Before they sold out and went all corporate rock and changed their name to Billy and the Boingers? When Opus learned what Bono already knew? No words rhyme with Nicaragua? Remember? On the Death Tongue comic, Steve Dallas was listed as lead vocalising and socialising. One of the two spellings I’ve used on this post might be correct. Also, both of the spellings could be wrong.
No hockey at the garden for us tonight. We are just passing through.
This song sums up my entire songwriting life. From the first riff back in 1987 right through to the thing I put together last night.
I’m referring specifically to the first chorus here. Except for the part about people cheering and wanting to hear it.
Guess I’m not the only guy who thought 18 degrees was good oil changin’ weather.
It’s cold out there. This morning when the kids and I left the house it was four degrees out. Right now at home in Methuen it is 20 degrees. Cold, but not brutally end of the world cold. This weekend there is a chance we could break the record for the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the 13th or 14th of February. I think the record for tomorrow is -3.
Strangely, this cold snap might work to my advantage. I’m so ridiculously behind on my RPM recording this year. I’m ahead of the game on writing, but way way way behind on recording. In a rare moment of optimism, I see a deep freeze of a weekend as a good reason to stay home and get some work done. My wife expects to be busy working this weekend. While I would much prefer the two of us spend the weekend doing things together, it is Valentines Day on Sunday after all, if she is going to be wrapped up in code, I can use the time to get wrapped up in tunes. Monday is a holiday. I have the day off, but my beloved doesn’t. I also took Tuesday and Wednesday off from work with the intention of getting as much singing recorded as I can (even though I have no words or melodies written yet). That gives me a five day weekend. If I buckle down, I might be able to finish the whole project by this time next week! That’s impossible, but maybe I could somehow magically manage to increase my out put from the 13 songs in progress today (with the FAWM goal of 14) to maybe 20? If RPM defines an album as 10 songs or 35 minutes, could I possibly turn this month into a double album? Or maybe two entirely separate albums? Three of the 13 songs are leaning toward being acoustic guitar centered. Might I end up with an album of electric songs and an album of acoustic songs?
The answer, of course, is no. I’m getting to 14 and then I’ll probably drop four of them and have a normal 10 song RPM album. But a boy can dream, right? I mean… right?
Then the question is, what to do about Valentines Day? Valentines always gets the shaft in our house. We still haven’t gotten back to normal from Christmas yet, and then the first week of February has two birthdays in the house, my step son and my beloved brilliant amazing wife, and just when you’ve gotten everything squared away for the birthdays… BAM… you’ve practically missed Valentines. Personally, I think we should move Valentines to April. That way we can have enough time to financially recover from Christmas and Birthday week, and have the wonderfully silly celebration of all things romance coincide with the anniversary of our first date. That would be something I can get behind. I think the United States, if not the entire world, should get with me and make April Valentines day a reality. Let’s do this people! Working together in a massive grass roots effort we can accomplish anything! First let’s get Bernie Sanders into the White House, then we’ll move Valentines Day to April 5th!
What was I talking about?
Oh yeah… it’s going to be cold this weekend. Stay warm, New England.
Inside the Red Head's Head 