RPM Challenge 2008 is right around the corner

When The Music Hall screened “Before the Music Dies” in October, guests saw a parade of popular musicians and critics gripe about the current state of the music industry. Major labels have crushed the creative spirit, they said, manufacturing squeaky-clean boy bands and no-talent Barbie dolls to rack in millions with their powder puff rip-offs. Meanwhile, talented and spirited songwriters dangle in the void of obscurity, deprived of an outlet for their diverse musical wares. The audience was left to ponder a grim question: Is there anything pure left in music?

For the last three years, the RPM Challenge has striven to prove that there is. Not in the corporate world of mainstream radio and record deals, perhaps, but certainly in the hearts and minds of passionate musicians. The Challenge has shown that those who really care about their art don’t have to make millions at it. They’ll wash dishes or wait tables for 40 hours a week just to keep a roof over their heads and put food on their tables, and use any leftover pocket change to save up for new amps and guitar strings. They’ll sacrifice sleep on weeknights to devote time to music, and they’ll be satisfied with creating something genuine. 

The RPM Challenge encourages musicians, whether experienced professionals or novice rookies, to write and record an entire album in February. That’s at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music on compact disc, all produced in one month—Record Production Month.

There is no financial compensation. No trophy. No certificate. No winner or loser. It is not a competition. The only reward is the personal gratification that comes with achieving a goal, and the collective gratification that comes with being part of a movement. Could there be anything more pure than that?

For those not familiar with the RPM story, it was born in Portsmouth early in 2006. That year, the challenge was opened to musicians in the New Hampshire area. The response surprised even the organizers, who did not know what to expect when they unveiled their idea for Record Production Month. By the time February rolled around, 220 area participants had signed up for the challenge, and by the end of the month, 165 full-length albums had been produced. The Seacoast celebrated in March with a multi-venue listening party in downtown Portsmouth, during which at least one track from every new CD was played. All 165 albums were later made available for listening on the 2006 RPM Jukebox.

The following year, RPM organizers decided to go for something bigger. Instead of confining participation to the Granite State, they opened the challenge to musicians around the world. The results were staggering. By the time the RPM kickoff party took place at Bourbon’s on Jan. 30, 2007, more than 2,000 participants from all seven continents had signed up. There were acts from Japan, Finland, Australia, Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Alaska—even McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Musicians signed up from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, London, Paris, Tokyo, Oslo, Pretoria, Oaxaca and other cities across the globe. 

Before February 2007 was over, more than 2,400 bands had registered to participate in the RPM Challenge. And, by March 1, more than 850 newly completed CDs had arrived at The Wire office in Portsmouth.

The music encompassed every imaginable genre, from rock to hip-hop to folk to jazz to electronic to heavy metal to downright unclassifiable. There was adventure rock, ambient noise, comedy and spoken word set to background music. And the participants came from all walks of life, from full-time musicians to waiters to clerks to doctors to middle schoolers.

The 2007 celebration, of course, was much more expansive than the previous year’s. In fact, at least nine different cities hosted listening parties on March 30, including New York, Denver, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Austin, Seattle and Courtenay, British Columbia. In Portsmouth, parties were held at The Music Hall, The Portsmouth Brewery, AK’s Bar & Bistro, The Press Room, Bourbon’s and RiverRun Bookstore. Opening festivities at The Music Hall featured a guest appearance, via an Internet video stream, from RPM participant Bob Boilen, director of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “All Songs Considered.”

“I encourage you all to make great art and make great friends through your art, because that’s what this is all about,” Boilen told the crowd. 

It took months of work to get the 2007 RPM Jukebox up and running online. But, the Jukebox is now posted at www.rpmchallenge.com, loaded with some 8,500 songs from 2007. It is one of the largest free jukeboxes on the Internet.

The Web site also includes footage from the RPM Challenge 2007 video, rife with music samples, interviews with participating artists and a dizzying, rapid fire slideshow of album covers. Visitors can also check out profiles of past participants with photographs and online journals documenting the creative process.

Most importantly, the RPM ’08 Web site, launched on Jan. 2, is where participants can sign up for this year’s challenge. As of Monday, Jan. 21, about 500 bands had already signed up, and there is still a full week remaining before Record Production Month begins. Even after Feb. 1, participants are welcome to join the fray, as long as the CD is completed by March 1. Whether you are a return participant or an RPM first-timer, you are encouraged to accept the challenge. No experience is necessary.

All bands must postmark their RPM 2008 CDs by March 1 to the RPM office at 10 Vaughan Mall, Suite 1, Portsmouth, N.H. 03801. The full text of the challenge can be viewed on the Web site. Put simply, independent musicians are challenged to set aside all obstacles and devote the month of February to making music. And, since February has 29 days this year, you get an extra 24 hours.

If nothing else, the pressures imposed by the 29-day time limit are bound to help any artist, no matter how experienced, learn new aspects of music production. In the last two years, hundreds of musicians transformed their bedrooms, basements or garages into studios and dug up makeshift instruments and technological gadgets to record original sounds. For many, RPM has changed their approach to recording. For those who had never recorded before, the challenge forced them to dive in headfirst.

Several of the registered 2008 participants have cataloged their thoughts on the RPM discussion board or with blog entries.

“I went into the challenge last year with no experience for recording an album with actual songs,” 19-year-old participant Mian Laisa, of Littleton, Colorado, said in a recent blog entry. “I came out of the challenge with a new understanding of how the process worked.”

So, go to www.rpmchallenge.com, click on the icon that says “sign up!” and let the challenge begin. There is no penalty for failure, but the rewards of success are immeasurable.

Check in with The Wire every week through February for RPM updates.