This one is all gimmick but I like it. I think it has album track one potential, but I'm not sure yet. The last few projects I've done have seen me writing melodies out on a keyboard, then writing lyrics to fit the melody, then recording the…

A few thoughts on this one.... First.. does that... could it... do you think... Reggae? I wasn't planning on that but it just sort of happened. I'm not sure how but... I think... I think I might like it. In a spur of the moment thing…

I don't know what to make of this one. Is it good? I can't tell. I sort of dig the not-quite-funky or maybe more like wannabe-funky vibe to it. Sort of. Almost. I don't know. The lyrics are about social distance, just like everything…

When I tell people I am a terrible singer, this is what I'm talking about. Listening to myself here is making my teeth ache. This was the first idea I had for the April 2020 RPM Challenge - Social Distance Edition. I used a 1x12 combo amp…

The drums in the chorus are in 4/4 time. Everything else is in 7/4 time. Polyrhythms, people! Welcome to the 20th century! (sorry... that's kind of a music school joke. Even I'm not sure I get it... just like most 20th century classical music…

The rhythm guitar part for this was originally written on an electric piano, but given that I can barely play piano I think it turned out better this way. The title describes the lyrics. I was trying to write something coherent but I gave up…

I am so tired right now I can't keep my eyes open. Does this mix sound okay? I have no idea. On the day the RPM Challenge website opens up for sign ups for a COVID-19 April Challenge I finish the bonus album in a month challenge I set for…

I had this song worked out pretty much completely but it was only about a minute long. What to do? I just repeated the whole thing and stuck an extra phrase at the end to wrap it up. Boom, two and a half minutes. Rhythm guitar is my SG…

Literally everything I've done this month could be titled "Social Distance" or "Shelter in Place" or "Holy shit this is scary as hell". I don't think I ever really plan to write a big dumb sludgy rock song, but they always show up and here…

Another one with an attempt to sort of improvise the rhythm guitar part. Some of it at least. Also, another one with a melody that... well... seemed like a good idea at the time. The rhythm guitar is a Gibson SG, the lead is a Gibson Les…

I've been writing melodies and lyrics earlier in the process than I'm really used to. Normally I sit at the mic and write and record everything at once. Lately I've been writing a melody with a piano track, then writing lyrics that fit, and…

There are a few things from this month's batch of songs that I tried to kind of improvise the rhythm guitar part. I looped a section of the song and without figuring out what I wanted to do ahead of time I hit record and saw what happened. This…

So... I usually try to come up with a little story about each song when I post. This time... I got nothing. It's in 7/8 and there was one section that I screwed up the guitar part about a million times. Other than that? I got nothing. The…

The third song of my socially distant RPM ii: RPMarch 2020 thing or whatever it is. I have this need to try and make 3/4 time rock. This one is okay. Recording the vocals in the car on a Friday morning before work is even weirder than usual…

The second song for my ridiculous post-RPM Challenge album in a month yet again thing. I was working on a guitar part for another song when I played the riff for this by accident. I dropped everything and made sure I had it recorded. I was…

My post-RPM Challenge plan is to just keep going. Here's my first March 2020 Challenge song. I am trying to go much more raw and low-fi than usual. One guitar straight into one amp. No doubling, not extensive overdubs. Same with the vocals…

This is the band mix of this song: https://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/playlists/rpm2020---finished-mixes,-so-far/good-people-(coffee-shoppe-mix) The only note worth making is that unlike almost every other song I worked on this year, the…

Sweet Christmas, this puppy is a mess.... ....and I LOVE it! There is actually two mixes going on at once here. I set everything for the beginning and end sections without even listening to the middle. Once I had the two mixed where I could…

This is a last minute bit of guitar goofiness. I own three Gibson guitars and have been wanting to write a silly instrumental that includes all of them. This is it. The rhythm guitar is my '79 ES 335 Pro, the lead on the left is my '18 SG Standard…

This one is a turd and a half. I knew it was a loser from the word go but my February rule is everything that can be completed will be. As a result we have a song where the guitars are half assed, the lyrics are half assed, the vocals are half…