N.L. musicians take RPM Challenge by making albums
The Scope magazine in St. John's is calling on singers and songwriters to enter its annual RPM Challenge and create an entire album during the month of February.
Erin Power, Krista Penney, and Laura Winter have decided to make an entry for the 2013 RPM Challenge. They all have day jobs, but they get together once a week to make music.
"It takes a lot of effort, especially at the end," said Power. "There is a lot of work that goes into it to try to get the recording done."
"To get the CDs burned off, get the artwork done and everything put together and sent in by the 28th, so it comes down to the crunch"
RPM Challenge started in 2008
Elling Lien, The Scope's editor, said the RPM Challenge started in 2008, and that year, he received 22 albums of original music. By 2012, the RPM Challenge brought in 139 albums from all over Newfoundland and Labrador.
"It really speaks to how musical the people are here," said Lien. "And how much people really love music and really love spending time with music, and writing their own music and making their own music."
The RPM Challenge has strict rules. Albums must contain 10 songs of 35 minutes of music that must be recorded in the month of February.
Musicians do it for the fun of it
Power admitted the RPM Challenge is, well, a challenge.
"We do it as a challenge, I guess, to see if — to challenge ourselves to write and record 10 songs in the month of February. It kind of gets us outside of our comfort zone and into something a little bit different."
"I love getting together with two of my best friends every week and kind of sitting down and hashing out the songs and I love the end," said Winter.
"I love the listening party that The Scope has."
There are no awards, no prizes, and no money in the RPM Challenge, but Lien said that doesn't seem to matter.
"You have an album of your own music at the end of February. I think that is prize enough for a lot of people."
The deadline for submissions to the RPM Challenge is March 1.