After our first RPM jam session, Nick Syman and I went off on our own to do some songwriting. I came up with 3 half-songs. Here’s one of them, filmed by Jeffrey Schwinghammer:

This is a totally different vocal style than anything I’ve done before. Where I’d normally sing phrases that have the same meter in every line (usually 4/4),  this one is totally based on the lyrics:

Down by the ocean I’ll be (7 beats)
Breathing in warm sea breeze (6 beats)
Laying out on an endless shore (13 beats)
Then when the reaper comes for me (8 beats)
I’ll beg and I’ll plead (6 beats)
I’ll trade any day for just one more (18 beats, until the next strong beat)

Something that helped me write in this strange style was that I just played the same chord over and over (a D7, if you’re curious). For me anyways, it seems like the more I limit myself musically, the more expressive my songs turn out.

I’m happy with where this one is going. We’ll just have to see how it fits into the grand scheme of the album. Check back soon for a video of Nick and my second RPM session.