The RPM Challenge entered its second decade this year, and close to 1,000 acts signed up to test their creative mettle. Well over 400 new albums resulted, each including at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music recorded during the month of February.
Born in Portsmouth in 2006, the RPM Challenge invites people around the world to create a full album of new music during the shortest month of the year, just because they can. Some RPMers have participated every year, while others gave it a shot for the first time in 2016.
Whether you took part in RPM or not, you can hear tracks from albums completed by local participants during the RPM Challenge Listening Party on Saturday, March 12, at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, starting at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit rpmchallenge.com.
The Sound sent out questionnaires to local RPM participants to learn more about their projects. Here are some of the responses. To see more, go to soundnh.com.
JONATHAN BLAKESLEE
Name of your RPM band: The Look Backs
Total years of RPM participation: Year one for The Look Backs; this is the sixth or seventh year that I have done an RPM record. Trying to remember all of them!
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “RPM” (while it doesn’t seem very original, it looks cool enough on the cover).
Where/how you recorded: My basement in Eliot, Maine.
Biggest obstacle to overcome: Time! I really tried to write songs I would still want to play after RPM was over. Recording can also take up a lot of time, especially if you can’t remember how to use your gear!
Brief description of your album: Returning to roots. Growing up with my dad’s jazz and blues records, the post-punk of teen years, rediscovering folk heroes — all infused with a sense of place. Here, home…now.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Happy to finish.
HALEY BROWN (age 10)
Name of your RPM band: Haley Brown & Friends
Total years of RPM participation: The first time I did the RPM Challenge was when I was 6 years old, in 2011.
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “Play that Track”
Where/how you recorded: I have a recording room at my mom’s office. My music teacher John strums notes on the guitar and I just sing to them. I make songs up as I am singing. Sometimes I write the songs down but not all the time.
Biggest obstacle overcome: Getting it done on time.
Brief description of your album: I think it is really crazy and out of the box. There are lots of different songs, some about Greek mythology, others about life. My friend Josie and I wrote and sang a song together about the government.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Excited. Relieved. Happy.
CHRIS CARIGNAN
Name of your RPM band: Doll Butcher
Total years of RPM participation: two
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “Deadly Brothers”
Where/how you recorded: We both have access to nearly identical DAWs with the same software and plugins for recording and arranging. We worked on the album together from our own homes using Dropbox to keep the files centralized and managed.
Biggest obstacle overcome: Time. This year we managed our time well but it was still a challenge to get it all done. Dropbox and two studios really helped speed things along.
Brief description of your album: “Deadly Brothers” is a rock/metal/chiptune concept album about an ’80s action video game. Each song is a new mission or bonus level.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Relief. Pride. Happiness.
Doll Butcher’s RPM album art.
SHAWN GRANT
Name of your RPM band: Shawn Grant
Total years of RPM participation: one
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “Wildheart”
Where/how you recorded: Recorded at home with garage band.
Biggest obstacle overcome: Writing for multiple instruments.
Brief description of your album: Some more traditional sounding folk songs with a few that are a little more out there.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Proud and relieved.
JOSEPH L. IULIUCCI
Name of your RPM band: Two entries: 1. Sub Navy Roamers, and 2. Henry Pleasant (and the Hotel Hangover).
Total years of RPM participation: Five
Title of your 2016 RPM album: 1. “Indecipherableyelling” 2. “I am not Here to Break Your Wings (Only Soft Lullabies from Me)”
Where/how you recorded: In my apartment living room/multi-mic acoustic and DI electric instruments plus some midi instruments.
Biggest obstacle overcome: Long work weeks and former RPM structure. I had to reassure myself each year of RPM has been a mutually exclusive experience and that previous milestones were only memories.
Brief description of your album: Each album is a sketchbook; recent lyrical ideas, and vapor trails of melodies.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Wide awake.
THOM KEITH
Name of your RPM band: Thom Keith
Total years of RPM participation: All (I believe that’s 11 at this point).
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “stop thinking and go in”
Where/how you recorded: Home studio using rhythm loops, harmonic loops, and live recorded wind instruments.
Biggest obstacle overcome: Creating 10 songs/35 minutes for the 11th year. Getting it “in the can” around the rest of life.
Brief description of your album: Some musical thoughts presented in a different (for me) format.
Up to three words to describe how you felt after getting it done: Relief, depression, wanting.
RANDY LECLAIR
Name of your RPM band: Lithia Spring and the Beatniks of Destruction (We used the old online band-name generator for a larf and it stuck!)
Total years of RPM participation: Eleven, with eight or nine completions.
Title of your 2016 RPM album: “Drive (What Drives You?)”
Where/how you recorded: We recorded the album in our own living room “studio” area (well, one song recorded in another state); vocals and flute were recorded facing our hallway (which has excellent natural reverb!) We recorded with Apple’s Logic Pro X and a big pile of gear (guitars, flute, old junky synthesizers, new junky synthesizers, drums, samples, and whatnot).
Oddly, we have an upright bass that sounds awesome, but we didn’t have enough time to go back and use it, so all the bits that sound like an upright are actually synthesized. This gives me some pain!
Biggest obstacle overcome: Logic X Pro is a brand-new program to us (got my copy a week before the challenge), so we learned how it works on the fly. It’s occasionally quirky, and occasionally very, very buggy. It’s an exceptionally powerful program, though, so learning the quirks was a worthwhile investment of time. Plus, equipment failures! Monitors, mixing boards, guitars. Very expensive stuff kept breaking! Kind of a tie between those.