2009 RPM Challenge participants step forward to host global listening parties

Every month or so, multi-instrumentalist Taylor Weston clears out all the furniture from his living room in Seattle and hosts a concert for area artists. Weston lives with the three other members of his metal band, Gladiators Eat Fire. Their spacious living room has capacity for up to 60 people, and they have hosted as many as four bands on a single night, sometimes expanding their jams to the rooftop or the backyard.

“We’ve had bands all the way from England,” Weston said.

On Saturday, March 28, Weston will host a different kind of musical house party in the Emerald City. His home will serve as one of at least 16 venues for RPM Challenge listening parties taking place around North America and beyond.

For Weston, who completed a CD under the endearing band name B!tch McGrueger and the Sunshine Stallions, the listening party offers an opportunity to mingle with other RPM participants and, perhaps, learn a few tricks of the recording trade.

“By doing the RPM Challenge, the only thing you can do is learn, and it will be great to get to hear insights and hear about the other stresses that went on,” he said.

The Portsmouth regional listening party begins at The Music Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Following an opening reception in the 900-seat opera house, guests can move to the theater’s recently restored Founder’s Lobby and listen to newly recorded RPM CDs, or fan out to other downtown parties at The Press Room, The Loaf & Ladle or RiverRun Bookstore. 

While local participants celebrate in Portsmouth, other RPM graduates will attend parties in—take a deep breath—Philadelphia, Penn.; Oakland, Calif.; Chicago, Ill.; Athens, Ga.; Jackson, Miss.; Seattle, Wash.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.; Boston, Mass.; St. John’s, Newfoundland; and Leicester, England. Meanwhile, RPMers everywhere can tap into a cyberspace listening party in the virtual world of Second Life at Native Lands sim’s Red Rock Mesa.

There is, indeed, cause for celebration. A total of 830 participants in the fourth annual challenge recorded albums of at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material during the month of February. The listening parties will allow fellow participants to exchange war stories and share the fruits of their labor with a receptive audience. 

“It’ll be a chance to wind down and celebrate our taking time out of our normal lives to do something special,” said Andy Jenkinson, host of the listening party in England, in an e-mail. “That’s something everyone should do once in a while, and deserves raising a glass to.”

A self-proclaimed “RPM virgin” prior to this year, Jenkinson recorded a solo project under the name Uglifruit. Like most RPM artists, he invested himself completely in his music for the month of February, working through a myriad of daily obstacles.

“I just threw myself into it, reasoning that if I worked on it every spare moment I had, I would either complete it, or fail with a clear conscience,” he said.

Jenkinson mailed off his finished CD, called “Presents,” on Feb. 28. When the RPM organizers began seeking volunteers to host listening parties around the world, Jenkinson was quick to get onboard. He managed to reserve space at The Leicester EcoHouse, an environmental charity show-home where his girlfriend lives and works. “It seemed far more appropriate than some faceless multinational chain venue,” he said.

Jenkinson said he convinced several friends and acquaintances to sign up for the challenge this year, and several of them saw it through. At the listening party, they will share their newly found RPM bond.

“I’m expecting to trade CDs, put some faces to voices, and share some celebratory cake and drinkypoos,” he said. “We’ve all come through our personal RPM journeys and have done something slightly arbitrary and creative. I am looking forward to meeting other people who think this kind of behavior is normal, and take photographs with them.”

Joshua Wentz said he plans to prepare a play-list in advance of his listening party in Chicago. Wentz participated in the challenge for his third time and contributed on three different albums this year. He will celebrate by hosting a party at his friend’s roomy suite, called OrangeBeautiful Studio.

Wentz, whose 2009 RPM projects included a solo album called “Obverse,” said the listening party will serve as both a celebration and a networking opportunity for musicians with varying backgrounds.

“I really love the fact that RPM brings in solo artists and full bands, and people who have studio access and people who don’t,” he said.

In 2008, the RPM Challenge inspired Wentz to launch his own record label, Sidedown Audio. He has since released albums by several former RPM artists, and he said he would like to work with some of the 2009 participants.

“There’s some really, really excellent music out there,” Wentz said. “I just heard so much good stuff during the challenge.”

Chicago’s 2008 listening party was held at a bar, and Wentz said it was difficult to distinguish fellow musicians from ordinary bar-goers. The comfortable studio should offer a more focused venue, with only other RPM artists in attendance, he said.

Sandro Pelligrini has a different idea for his listening party in Los Angeles. “We are going to try and hold it outdoors,” Pelligrini said in an e-mail. “L.A.’s rainy season is pretty much over and hopefully it won’t be too cold. We have a small backyard and a deck with great views of Griffith Park.”

A first-time RPM participant this year, Pelligrini said the biggest challenge to completing his CD was juggling music with his demanding job as a Telecom analyst at NBC Universal, while also spending time with his wife and three-year-old son. He did not have much time leftover to connect with the broader RPM community. 

“I felt unconnected somewhat to the other RPM participants, and when the opportunity arose to host a party, I thought it would be fun,” he said. “It would be interesting to hear what process they went through to create and record their music.”

Jenkinson, by contrast, said he frequently tapped into the online RPM community at www.rpmchallenge.com for feedback and support. He said RPM participants were eager to help one another achieve their common goal. “The forum has been brilliant, very friendly and supportive,” he said. “Seemingly, no matter what question was posed, someone would step forward and offer advice or opinion.”  

Jason Rosenbaum, too, blogged regularly on the RPM discussion board, communicating with other musicians from around the world. “It was nice to know, when you were in the middle of the project, that there were a bunch of other people doing it with you,” he said. 

Rosenbaum completed a solo album called “The Rise,” working under the name Underground Dub Institute. He is hosting a listening party in his apartment in Washington, D.C., where guests will bring their CDs and listen to the finished products together. “It’ll be kind of a place to trade war stories, shoot the shit a little bit,” he said.

Rosenbaum, who writes for an online political magazine by day, said he has heard back from a handful of other musicians interested in attending the party. “Even if only a few folks show up, it should be a good time,” he said.

Francis Secada expects around 25 people to attend his listening party in Brooklyn. Helming a heavy guitar-driven metal band called Belarus Tremor, Secada spent February deeply engaged in the task of completing his album, “Nemesis—Supermoral.” He has not met any other RPM participants, which is part of the reason he decided to throw a party.

“People were really eager to have one, but no one had the means to host. I had the means, and I figured it’d be the least I could do,” Secada said in an e-mail. “Those guys deserve to pat themselves on the back (and me too!), and my place is decent.”

Secada touted the unique location of his home as an additional draw. “I live across from a cemetery. They make the best neighbors,” he said. “And since our music is so kick-ass, we really wanted to see if we can wake the dead.”

Secada plans to play at least two tracks from each guest’s album. Guests are invited to exchange extra CDs and business cards, potentially sparking future collaborations. “I’m also offering beer and liquor, so I hope to get the social lubrication thing going,” he said, adding that everyone will shift to a nearby bar later in the night.

Secada looks forward to seeing what happens when a bunch of intensely driven and inventive musicians are thrown into a room together.

“Creative minds need to be stuck together sometimes. The greatest thing to witness is two-plus minds bouncing off each other, pulling in all weird directions and angles. You get amazing results,” he said. “It’s almost like science occurring right in front of your face, and sometimes in your face.”

The challenge has already helped present Taylor Weston with some opportunities to expand his musical career. An RPM contact has connected him with members of popular progressive rock band The Fall of Troy, and they have since jammed together. Weston expects to record with Troy in the future.

Weston recently embarked on a small tour of Washington and Oregon with Gladiators Eat Fire. He plays a variety of instruments, including guitar, bass, piano, violin, viola and cello. But he’ll be back in time for the Seattle listening party on Saturday, ready to mark the conclusion of the 2009 RPM Challenge.

“I had a blast,” Weston said. “I loved it. To have that one-month deadline really set me off.”

For a full schedule of events in Portsmouth, see the program on pages 12 and 13 of The Wire or check the article below this one on the homepage online.