RPM Challenge January 27, 2010

Being forced to make music brings me back to fifth grade when I was forced to
practice piano for my weekly piano lessons. Forced is probably a strong word,
but the desire to climb trees and ride my bike far outweighed any desire to sit
in front of the piano.

So the premise of the RPM Challenge, to write and
record an album during the month of February, was not very appealing. My husband
Ian first broached the idea with me in 2007. Our daughter had just turned three
and to be sure, the majority of our free time since her birth was spent keeping
her fed, clothed, safe, and happy. The usual parent stuff. Spending time in the
studio was not on the top of my to do list.

Ian figured the RPM Challenge would be a good way to reignite my interest in
making music. It would be good discipline, like band practice. It would
force us to sit in front of our instruments and create. Given that our only
previous recorded album took three years to finish, I sort of thought he was
joking, but half heartedly agreed anyway. In January 2008, he signed us up.

The plan was to record during every waking hour that our daughter was sleeping.
The challenge guidelines state 10 original songs or 35 minutes of original
music. They encourage all music to be new for the challenge rather than
regurgitating old ideas. What had I agreed to?!

Nicole Lagace of Twin Goat rocking at full speed.

I'm not going to lie, motivating for the first few sessions was hard, especially
after a long day of work when a cozy couch beckoned. But I soon realized that
the beauty of the RPM Challenge, other than forcing me to make music, was that
it prevented the dreaded self-editing that prolonged the production of our last
album. Does part A sound good with part B? Does this riff make sense? Do you
like how this distortion sounds? These are all questions we still had to answer,
but we didn't labor over the decisions and minute details. The focus switched
from perfecting a particular chord progression to creating interesting sounds
and music. It was liberating to experiment with unusual guitar chords, rhythms,
and effects pedals. It challenged me to venture out of my usual bass and
keyboard comfort zones.

I remember asking Ian what the prize was for winning the challenge and he
responded "the satisfaction of knowing you made an album in a month." Duh! Like
I would need any other motivation. I'm sure I rolled my eyes. In the end though,
he was right. Despite countless roadblocks (hard drive meltdown, head-colds, a
daughter's refusal to nap) that first RPM Challenge was so rewarding I couldn't
wait to do it again, and I'm not alone. 2010 marks the 5th year for the RPM
challenge and close to 1,100 bands are signed up.

Will you be one of them?

Check out the Twin Goat RPM Challenge page to hear the fruits of our labor.

-N.L.