RPM 2020 - DISAPPEAR/REAPPEAR

I finished the goal of writing an album in the month of February. Wouldn't have happened without the encouragement from my wife and friends - Katyraven, Particle Dots, Smokey VW, Bud, Mungo and a few others. 

The original album concept was to create a musical soundscape based on a diptych that my artist/painter wife Katyraven created for her most recent exhibition "Portals Unseen". I wanted to create a soundtrack for her installation and the soundtrack project grew as her work continued to develop. 

I wanted to replicate her two canvases that were staged in a corner at 90 degrees from one another, touching at the edge of two separate canvases, as if folded and pulled apart. It has a symmetry somewhat similar to a Rorschach Test with ink blobs folded on a sheet of paper, not perfectly symmetrical, not even close to a mirror reflexion, but intententionally alike. They're entangled. I planned to entangle the soundtrack to her canvases. 

I began my soundtrack ideas with an intro and an outro that mimicked her two canvases. First track and the last track of the project were written in that order. Disappear and Reappear were written next.

DISAPPEAR/REAPPEAR (RPM 2020)

RPM Challenge 2021 is the reason for this Signal Interference. Anne Cozean is my wonderful friend who sang so beautifully and took this project to a higher level.

Signal Interference - RPM 2021 w/Anne Cozean

8 songs quickly written for the 2022 RPM Challenge. Originally a Country Album, but not sure from which country.

Witch Country - RPM 2022

My girl asked me to write some Country Songs. I asked "Which Country?" She said "Witch Country"

Witch Country

My world is perfect
My body's perfect
my life is perfect

My girl is perfect
Her body's perfect
Her life is perfect
She is perfect

Inspired by so many FaceBook posts

Perfect World

She Screams
Bad Dreams
Fight Bears
Night Terrors

She dreams
Bad dreams
Flights of stairs
Broken chairs

Alligators in the ocean
Coyotes, Wolves
In slow motion

In the streets
Kicking sheets

Night Terrors

Mule

Password

Shovel:Dig It

A trip to Greece to find your family, turned dark.

Nostalgia

My girl asked me to write some Country Songs. I asked "Which Country?"

Blue Door

Foil Shields track stripped down. 

A few minutes of an experiment for an upcoming sound project...

FOIL SHIELDS KRYSTAL - 5:11:22,

Krystal Audition

A few minutes of an experiment for an upcoming sound project...

U1.U2.Krystal - 5:13:22

A few minutes of an experiment for an upcoming sound project...

HCMR.KRYSTAL - 5:13:22

ENTANGLED.KRYSTAL

Samuel was a Blacksmith. His wife Nancy died soon after their 11th child. I can only imagine that Myram, his second wife was probably mostly concerned about the 11 kids being taken care of than being his wife. 

Morse Code was invented while Nancy was alive, so I imagined that Sam tried to use this new technology to reach his dead wife. Listen for his message to her.

I hope you understand
You left us so alone
A busy working man
With 11 kids in a 1 room home

A lovely friend of mine
I think you knew her, dear.
She fed the kids
And she sent them to school
In clean clothes,
On time,
And she slept near

He’s a strong man
With a sun tan
And a sweating hand
A big hammer that goes Bam Bam!!

Hammer!
Nail!
Horse Shoe!
Pail!

Blacksmith

My GG Grandfather Samuel W was known to be a famous horse trader. During their days, the telephone was invented.

Oh Mary,
Leave them boys alone.
They wanna buy a horse
Don’t want no telephone

Horsetrader - Oh Mary

My Great Grandfather asked the kids to call him "Uncle Ben". He moved from WV to Pittsburgh ca 1900. I used the vocal powers of my kids on this track. Hondo and Ruby Dorsey.

Cobbler - Uncle Ben
“What’s my name?”
You say, “Uncle Ben”
“Here’s a nickel!”
“Thank you Uncle Ben!”
“Time for dinner,
Better wash your hands”
“We love coming out
to Uncle Ben’s!”

The first proud fans
of the Terrible Towel,
Leaving the Wilderness
and it’s great horned owl,
You’re a Street Car Conductor
with a Scottish wife
selling shoe machines
with a Bowie knife.

Everything is fun and games
and every kid has a cute nickname
you wear an ear to ear smile on your face
“Uncle Ben and Libby - Can we live at your place?

Cobbler - Uncle Ben

Grandpa worked as an Accountant for Union Carbide in Charleston, WV. When I was little, he and Grandma moved to Brownsville, TX.

I GOT MY NAME FROM YOU
BUT NOT YOUR EYES OF BLUE
I HAVE YOUR FOREHEAD AND 
YOUR SMILE
THEY SAY I LOOK LIKE YOU

YOU LIVED SO FAR AWAY
I STILL REMEMBER THE DAY
YOU CAME FROM BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
FOR A HOLIDAY

YOU BROUGHT ALL OF YOUR LOVE
AND ALL YOUR AFFECTION
YOU BROUGHT GRANDMA AND NOODLES
AND YOUR COIN COLLECTION

I WAS POPPIN’ A WHEELIE
FOUND A ’44 STEELIE!!
IT WAS THE ONLY PENNY MISSING
YES! A ’44 STEELIE!!

OH! THE LAST BLANK SPACE
IN YOUR PENNY COLLECTION
YOU LET ME PUT IT IN THE SPACE
WITH NO OBJECTION

I GOT MY NAME FROM YOU
AND PASSED YOUR EYES OF BLUE
TO THE NEXT GENERATION
WITH YOUR “DOUBLE YOU”

HWD RWD TOO
EVERY TIME I SEE A PENNY
IT MAKES ME THINK OF YOU.


Coin Collector

My good friend Particle Dots offered this incredible song for the album and I was so inspired by it, that I immediately started writing the song about Katy and I - The Artists. He wrote all the beautiful parts, I added guitars, vocals and the noisy parts that sound the worst.

Bob (Me) and Katy

I STARTED PLANNING
YOUR ENTIRE LIFE
LONG BEFORE
I KNEW YOU’D BE MY WIFE

“WE’LL BE TOGETHER
DOING EVERYTHING”
IS WHAT I TOLD MYSELF
BEFORE I BOUGHT YOUR RING

ONLY TIME WILL TELL
THAT WE WERE RIGHT
WHEN YOU KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME
EVERY SINGLE NIGHT
BEFORE I TURN OUT THE LIGHT

I WANNA PAINT YOUR PORTRAIT
CUZ I LOVE YOUR ACE
AND I WANNA HAVE YOUR PICTURES
ALL OVER THE PLACE
I WANNA SEE YOUR FACE...

YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FACE!!

ONLY TIME WILL TELL
THAT WE WERE RIGHT
WHEN YOU KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME....

The Artists

Boy With A Mechanical Arm

Marky Mashed Potato

RPM 2020 - An album dedicated to Michael Marquesen. A friend we lost but will forever be entangled with. Hope to see you in the after life.

Installation Soundtrack for Katyraven Hernandez Dorsey's "Portals Unseen" exhibition.

I can't explain this properly, but this track originated as a conversation between the hammer and the nail at the crucifixion on Jesus. Two inanimate objects trying to comprehend God's plan for them. His plan for the course of humanity. His plan for them to work together, not as enemies, but working together to do the unthinkable and crucify Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. In my story, they knew the plan, they knew their roles, but how could they understand the why?

Entanglement was the theme and, as usual, I dug deep.

Enjoy

THE NAIL IS THE HAMMER'S FRIEND

RPM 2020 - An album dedicated to Michael Marquesen. A friend we lost but will forever be entangled with. Hope to see you in the after life.

Installation Soundtrack for Katyraven Hernandez Dorsey's "Portals Unseen" exhibition.

THE BROOMS STAND

DISAPPEAR

ENTANGLED INTRO

REAPPEAR

April RPM Challenge 2020 - Love song for my wife - Kinda 3/4 Blues Riff.

(Always looking for a vocalist, and a guitarist)

I woke up
This morning
I thought you were gone
Went into the kitchen
The light was still on 

I ground up the coffee
I filled up the pot
With cold filtered water
The caffeine 
I sought

Was done with my first cup
The second one too
Was pouring my third cup
That's when I heard you

A spoonful of honey
Some sweet cream for you
Go back to the bedroom
Make coffee for you

COFFEE

Borrowed a verse from a famous His Boy Sherman toon.

(Always looking for a vocalist)

April 2020 RPM Challenge

Lily of the Nile
I would walk a mile 
Like a crocodile 
Just to see you smile

Heartbeat
Repeat
I'll take the window seat 
You can have the aisle 

His Boy Sherman
Said in 1973
“You are the one
The one, the one,
The one for me”

Are you a Cherokee?
Are you a wild banshee?
Are you the one for me?

Maybe be a minute or two 
Passes by when I'm not thinking of you 
Your artistic style 
And your perfect smile

Don't need no Vitamin C
Don't need no Master's Degree
I'm so versatile 
I wanna see you smile

Don't need technology 
Don't need no caller ID
All I wanna see
Is your perfect smile

Perfect Smile

April 2020 RPM Challenge

(Always looking for a vocalist)


Went to your studio
Out in New Mexico
Chili's and jalapeños 

Saw what you you did today 
Prussian Blue overlay
White orbs that seem to glow

Canvas stacked three feet thick 
You're a prolific chick
Are you a Navajo?

Swimming ducks outside
A branded cow hide
Prince on the stereo

Female Expressionist 
With a Post Modern twist
A Quantum Rococo 

Pastel on paper
Some new sandpaper
Went to your studio

Is that a tumbleweed?
Oh yes, it is indeed
Went to your studio

All those paint brushes
All those sage brushes
Went to your studio

Studio

Possibly the second track of my 2021 RPM Challenge- the album "Signal Interference"

Signal Interference

Static Noise Can Be Prevented  By Shielding  The Full Circuit

A potential track for the 2021 RPM Challenge.

Foil Shields Must Be Grounded

Coil Whine - It's Noise - It's Not Sound

Undesired, capacitive, inductive or conductive...

Cross Talk - Superposition

Twisted Pair, or Disturbing Pair. The Disturbed Pair.

The Disturbing Pair

High Common Mode Rejection

Revisiting the Foil Shields track with the intention of adding vocals. Played with the vocoders in an old version of GB and attempted to "sing" some lyrics. Disatisfied with the results, I decided to scramble the 3 vocoder tracks and use the tracks to create a noise rather than singing.

Ends Of The Circuit

Currents Flowing
From Different Grounds
At Different Points
Within A System

Cause This Type Of Interference

U1.U2.

My first time working with the phenomenal singer/songwriter Anne Cozean. She chose this track, wrote and performed these amazing vocals, and I'm so very glad.

Enjoy.

This Is Distortion - I'm So Glad w/Anne Cozean

Anne Cozean changed my life with her vocals for this track. This is our collaboration for the 2021 RPM Challenge.

Five Extra Arms

Pinned to spotlight

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