So I’ve had this idea kicking around in my head ever since I thought of starting this little weekly feature, and what the hell, I’m going to give it a shot.

Back in 2007, I came across this thing called the RPM Challenge. The idea is to write and record an album in the month of February, and then everyone uploads their album to a community jukebox and there are listening parties and much rejoicing. They get hundreds of submissions from around the globe, and a lot of people end up collaborating on each other’s projects…it’s pretty neat.

My first year’s entry had its ups and downs, but I had so much fun doing it that I ended up participating for five years in a row. A lot of what I wrote and recorded was crap, but a few of the songs turned out pretty well and I’m still proud of them. And having a strong deadline to meet was particularly helpful in making sure that I completed some songs and they didn’t remain unfinished like so many of my other projects.

Now the RPM Challenge is to write and record ten songs (or 35 minutes) in 28 days, which is pretty damn ambitious and I am not nearly that sadistic. The Avocado JAMS! first challenge is to record one original song over the next eight weeks. Then we’ll upload our songs to Soundcloud or YouTube or Bandcamp or whatever and we’ll share them here!

There are no rules other than it has to be an original work, and the deadline is May 10, 2021. Other than that, feel free to go nuts. Don’t worry about it if you don’t sing or whatever…this isn’t a competition, it’s just meant to be a creative jumpstart and general kick in the pants.

Honestly I don’t know if anyone will even be up for this, but I figure there’s nothing to lose so it’s worth taking the chance. So plug in your gear, start recording, and don’t leave me hanging!

And as always, general conversation about making music is always more than welcome at The Avocado JAMS!

Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels