Tag: Rpm Challenge

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?

Back to Reality

Each morning over the last two plus weeks I presented myself with a question:

You can either shave today, or spend an extra five minutes working on RPM.

Each day I chose RPM.  Well, RPM is over now.  I did not have to pose the question today.  I have finally shaved the shag carpet that was causing my whole face to be an unbearably itchy mess.

I feel much better.  Oh what a relief!  When we go to our weight watchers meeting tomorrow and weigh in I expect to be at least 15 pounds lighter than I was when I woke up this morning.

Ahhhhh!

In the Mail

I mailed my RPM CD today at lunch.  The post office in Westwood is a teeny tiny little corner of a teeny tiny little strip mall and I drove past it twice before I found it, but the disc is in the mail.

Now the question is, what do I do with myself now that I don’t have RPM hanging over my head?

The first thing is to shave.  My face is so damn itchy!

RPM Challenge – Day 28 – FINISHED

The clock struck midnight as I was typing this. My MacBook battery is down to 13%.

The last songs are finished. I even added a new song while I was waiting for the kids to get out of karate. It’s just a really silly 90 second long 12-bar that I probably should have left off the final CD but didn’t.

Here’s the playlist at alonetone. I’ll get it to bandcamp and add it to my music page some other time.

ADDENDUM:
The alonetone playlist is displaying but it’s not playing, so here is the same playlist on soundcloud. This will be deleted eventually, but the alonetone one will live forever (so long as the site stays up).

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.