Tag: rpm2025

Another Screwy Day

Today is Thursday and much like yesterday and the day before it is turning out to be a screwy day. Fun.

I overslept this morning. I had a bunch of things I wanted to do before the work day started and then I overslept and screwed up all of my plans. I did get the big things in, my day’s worth of goofy exercise, breakfast, routine stuff like that, and I managed to sneak in a little bit of guitar playing. I put rhythm guitars onto one RPM Challenge song. Not much but better than nothing.

We got a little snow last night. Probably less than an inch. The snow turned into rain and now we have a driveway covered in a nightmare of slush. At some point later today the temperature is going to drop and that nightmare of slush is going to turn into a nightmare of ice and I don’t know if I am going to have time to clear any of it before it freezes. I am super happy about that. Really. There’s not an ounce of sarcasm here. I am thrilled to the teeth by this potential outcome*.

It’s not even noon yet and the work day has been just as crazy as yesterday. Not bad, but a weird combination of hectic and frustrating. It’s looking like tomorrow will be similar, but after that things should settle again. Here’s hoping at least.

In closing, here’s a few guitar pictures from this morning because I am insane.

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*Contrary to the above statement, I was in fact being sarcastic. Extremely sarcastic. My words were dripping with venomous sarcasm. Just call me a sarcasm machine.

RPM Challenge Day 12/28

Nothing. Again. Two days in a row with no progress at all.

Day 13 has already been a little better but I’ll spell that out another time. Am I running out of steam? Yes and no. I think my internal, gimmicky challenges (10 electric and 10 acoustic songs, and using two different guitars for the rhythm tracks) are probably about to be toast, but the project as a hole is still on, though getting to be massively behind schedule.

RPM Challenge Day 10/28

Not a lot of progress on day 10 (yesterday) but a couple of noteworthy things.

First, I added song number 12. We’re hoping to hit 20 this year. Not sure if that’s in the cards or not, but every little bit helps.

More importantly, I added lyrics to one song. Just one. I am hoping to have 4-5 ready to go by Thursday morning so I can sneak in some singing in the car before work. Vocal tracking is always the sticking point for me on these projects so anything I can do to make that process a little easier is a big deal. One vocal part written, at least 11 but hopefully 19 to go. Yikes.

RPM Challenge Day 9/28

I put rhythm guitars onto two songs. Still playing the Les Paul Custom in your left ear and Les Paul Standard in your right game. We’ll see how long that lasts. I also added two new songs. Both have complete MIDI Bass and Drums.

The two new song ideas are numbers 10 and 11. I have a new mini-challenge in mind and song 11 kicks it off. The first 10 songs will be electric guitar focused. Everything after that, hopefully the second batch of 10 songs, will be acoustic guitar focused. I’ll still have electric guitars on those songs, probably just the lead guitar parts, and I still want to play some sax on them, but the rhythm guitars will for the most part be acoustic. For now. Once I actually take my acoustic out of its case and remember how much of an absolute bitch it is to play, I will probably give up on this particular mini-challenge.

We’ll see how day 10 plays out. I don’t expect to have a lot of time for anything over the next three days, but I do have seven songs ready for lyrics so… maybe.

On the Hunt

The cats are hunting their little toy mice right now. Well, Robin is hunting. Lily is watching and clearly being very judgmental. Oh well. They played nicely together earlier. It was nice.

I had a musical idea tonight. What if I shoot for 20 songs this year (I always shoot for 20 songs during the February RPM Challenge) and have 10 of them be electric guitar focused, and 10 be acoustic guitar focused? I could try to do that. I’ll probably follow that plan for a few days and then just make it all electric anyway. That’s what usually happens when I try to get clever. Let’s see what happens.

Ouch

I’m too old for this shit.

Shoveling, I mean. I felt okay when I first came back inside after shoveling, but now that a few hours have passed… Ouch town, population me, bro. Every inch of me is sore, and despite having two of the best nights sleep I’ve had in ages over the last two nights, I am completely exhausted.

I don’t know if I have the energy to do anything other than sit on the couch for the rest of the night. I think we were already planning on ordering out for dinner tonight. Maybe I’ll be able to crawl to the door to bring the delivery in.* I mean, really… that’s asking a lot.

It is a good thing I managed to put rhythm guitar tracks onto two RPM Challenge songs this morning before I shoveled. I don’t know if I will be able to do any more than that tonight, though I really need to. We’ll see how the pain goes. For now though, it’s just couch time. Much needed couch time, believe me.

Here’s a few guitar pictures to hold us over until next time.

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*Obviously I exaggerate. I mean, it’s still laundry day after all.

RPM Challenge Day 8/28

Okay, figuring out what I did yesterday might take a second. I did a lot and I didn’t keep the best notes. Let’s see….

I put rhythm guitars onto five songs. That’s the big deal of the day. Lots of guitar playing after a long time with almost no playing means my finger tips hurt like hell, but it’s okay because progress is good. I also added song number nine complete with MIDI bass and drums. I redid a MIDI drum part on one of the songs that got guitars but I don’t remember which one. I also just realized I have another song that needs the drums redone but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I also worked out the song form, and the bass and drums for two additional songs. Those were numbers seven and eight, I think.

I’ve already recorded some more guitar tracks this morning, but you’ll have to wait until the day nine recap to hear about all of that ultra fascinating shit. My finger tips need a break though, so it’s time to go shovel. Wish me luck.

It Was Just a Matter of Time

May 8, 2021. The musical nerd moment I lived today has been inevitable since May 8, 2021. On that day, my 50th birthday, my beloved bride bought me the best birthday present ever. A new guitar. A Gibson Les Paul Standard 50’s. Since that day I have been living the life of a glutton who owns two, that’s right, two Gibson Les Pauls. I’ve had a Les Paul Custom since 1990, and now I have two. From that day on it has been inevitable that I was going to be a total nerd and record some music with the guitar parts doubled using both Les Pauls together.

Today became that day, of course. I put rhythm guitars onto five RPM Challenge songs. In each case, the guitar coming out of the left speaker is my Les Paul Custom and the guitar coming out of the right speaker is my Les Paul Standard.

Yeah… nerd.

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RPM Challenge Day 7/28

I made a little bit of progress on day seven. I added two songs ideas. I don’t have the form set yet, just a few pieces. The good news is it puts me back over the one-idea-per-day pace as I am now up to eight songs in the pipeline.

More interesting news will come on day eight. It’s already started.