Bad Advice

Robert James

The RPM Challenge’s Record Every Month (REM) challenge lives. April has a song. I wrote it and recorded it all in the last week of the month but who cares, it’s done.

For a challenge within the challenge within the challenge, I decided to write the vocal melody first and then write the rest of the song around that. I only worked on two songs this month but they both followed that rule. I’m sort of pleased with it but ask me again in a month or two.

The guitars are all my Gibson SG Standard into a Vox AC15. I’m downsizing the recording nook a smidge. The rhythm guitar tracks used a Dunlop Crybaby wah (the Gary Clark Jr signature. It’s good, but the Joe Bonamassa signature on my big pedal board is better) into a Chicago Stompworks Blooze Maker and a Ryra The Klone. I used the same setup for the lead guitar at the very end of the song (the part over the wah’d rhythm guitars), and the rest of the leads swapped out a Chicago Stompworks Mr Vermin in place of the Blooze Maker.

Chorus
Compromise
in disguise
bad advice
steers you wrong
a grain of salt
by default
to high a cost
You stay strong

Verse 1
I’ll always tell you just what I think
I will be straight about everything
Sometimes the answer isn’t the thing you want to hear
The right direction isn’t always clear

Verse 2
It does not matter what you want
Could be the best move is to stop
Don’t take advice from someone who cannot see both
sides
Don’t take direction from someone who’s gone blind

Verse 3
I’ll always tell you just what I think
I will be straight about everything
Don’t take advice from someone who cannot see both
sides
Don’t take direction from someone who’s gone blind