Randy Interviewed on The Intrepid Songwriter Show

Randy, our band's sax player, recently got interviewed by The Intrepid Songwriter Show and in part two talks about our band's songwriting approach, TheSongOfTheDay.com project, and more.

In the first part he plugs his and Jason's newest book, the second edition to The Indie Band Survival Guide: Remixed & Remastered (St. Martin's Press). You know, he's an author and "the band writes books" so he's gotta plug it! :-)

Beatnik Turtle is Splitting Up

Yep, you heard right. Beatnik Turtle is officially splitting up.

But, not in the way you might think. That is, we're not breaking up as a band. There's no Yoko Ono, hotel room trashing, band member back-stabbing going on.

But, we are splitting up. About 3600 miles apart, actually.

What, you say?

Well, come Saturday, me (um, Jason, who uh, founded the band) and Tom (who plays all the complicated guitar parts) are moving overseas to Dublin, Ireland. It's a very long story involving our dayjobs, but we'll be over there for a few years while the rest of the band stays here in Chicago. (Hey, someone's gotta watch the place.)

So, after 13 years, Beatnik Turtle will now enter a new chapter and it'll be interesting to see where it leads.

It's a bit sad in that we had big plans to return to the stage and play live. In fact, we did a super double-secret show to an audience of friends a while back to test out some of the (tons) of new material we created during TheSongOfTheDay.com. The show went over well for something thrown together very, very quickly and got us excited about playing live again. But, then well, the Ireland thing soon became a reality and so we had to scrap our any touring plans.



But it's not all sad. It's actually a pretty cool opportunity in that if there's one thing our band has down pat, it's writing music and recording virtually. Just check out TheSongOfTheDay.com and you'll know what we mean. We couldn't have pulled all that off it it wasn't for technology helping a bit.

And now technology will just have to help a bit more.

As a band, we've already worked out how we'll continue forward -- how we'll continue to work together while two of us are across the ocean (email, Skype, Google Docs, etc.), how we'll record overseas in Dublin (Tom and I will be rebuilding our studios over there), and how we'll continue to record the rest of the band here in Chicago (thanks to our good friend, John who's got a state-of-the-art studio just blocks away from our TurtleShell Studios...which is now all boxed up.

So, Beatnik Turtle will be even more virtual than ever before. It's yet another challenge for us, but then it's totally up our alley. We're the "Indie Band Survival Guide" and IndieGuide.com guys as you know. The stuff we learn in collaborating and working remotely across two continents and 6 time zones will definitely find it's way in our writing and the tons of How To's over at IndieGuide.com.

And just so you know what we have planned, we're busy putting the final touches on 3 new albums, all of which should be coming out over the next year:

(1) a reissue and second printing (!) of "Sham Rock";
(2) "When I Was Your Age" (our album from last year's RPMChallenge); and
(3) "The Best Of TheSongOfTheDay.com" (which looks to be a double disc).

And then there's the latest album -- "So Much To Rock About" -- which we just completed in February**. Our plans are to use this album as a test to see how we work together virtually using the interweb. We have plans to record additional songs and material for that album so it's ready for release sometime in 2011.

So, there it is. We're splitting up. But not breaking up!

And so, if you're in Dublin or know people in Dublin, please give Tom and me a shout! We'll be looking for some open mic nights to play...!

**By the way, starting this Monday we'll be posting the songs from "So Much To Rock About" at TheSongOfTheDay.com. So, get ready for 11 weeks of fresh, new music!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Beatnik Turtle's Music Video Played On SpikeTV

Last May our video for "Star Wars (A Film Like No Other)" was played on SpikeTV. For months the videotape we had of its airing sat on my shelf above the TV. My brother thankfully recorded it, handed me the videotape, and said something about seeing the video and how it was actually "pretty good" which was the biggest compliment he's ever given us. Anyway, I went to watch it, but then realized I didn't have a VCR anymore and so there it sat, on the shelf.

Well, I finally borrowed a VCR and digitized it.

How'd it get on SpikeTV?

Well, it's a long story but basically Tom and I made a video mashup for the song using the great tools at StarWars.com the year before. It got something like 15,000 views and was one of the top videos at the time. That led to Atom.com asking to post  it at their site where we became a Fan Movie Challenge Finalist. Then, a few months later, SpikeTV called and asked to play it to help celebrate the 32nd anniversary and promote the Fan Movie Challenge.

It's how things happen nowadays.

Enjoy the video and I'll pass on my thanks to my brother for you.

Working Hard on Our Next Album (RPM 2010!)

In a whirlwind recording session not seen since we did TheSongOfTheDay.com, we managed to record the basic tracks  to 11 songs.  While that may seem impressive, it's really just drums, bass, and scratch guitars/vocals (which get recorded over). ***

All 11 the songs revolve around music, being in a band, and of course making an album (RPM!).

Working titles to the songs are:

"Earworm" -- about that song you can't get out of your head.

"Dude From Indiana" -- about a guy who's "Rockin' Real Hard To Carlos Santana"

"Hello Guitar" -- about getting back into songwriting and playing after a long time away.

"All The Pretty Girls" -- about girls of course -- the best type of groupies!

"Yesterday's New Today (Get Me Movin')" -- we wrote this song kind of as an anthem for musicians. It's all about how you don't want to work, you'd rather play all day.

"Never Be The Front Man" --  this one's pretty obvious, it's about being second to the front man (think: Oates of Hall & Oates, the poor guy).

"We're Getting The Band Back Together" -- since our album's about music, there was no way in hell we weren't going to write a song based on the classic Blues Brothers line!

"11" -- and speaking of famous movie lines, we realized pretty quickly we needed to have a nod to Spinal Tap.

"Jump The Shark" -- we decided to tempt fate and write about you know, jumping the shark -- the exact moment when you were really good, but now you went downhill.

"Don't Quit Your Day Job" -- now, how could we NOT write this one given what the album's all about?!?

The eleventh song is a different rendition of "Don't Quit Your Day Job". So, that's all we have so far, but we've been known to come up with something at the spur of the moment, so we'll see what develops and what doesn't...

Oh and we're still trying to come up with a name for the album since it's about music. We were thinking "Don't Quit Your Day Job" but that's been done to death.

Other ideas so far include:

"So Much To Rock About"

"Rock and/or Roll"

But, um...that's all we got. If you have any ideas for an album title that fits the theme, we're all ears! Leave a comment, tweet us, email us, whatever...it'll get to us!

***Our record recording session as a band is 14 songs tracked out in one day -- one of which was Pizza: The Rock Opera, so it's actually more than 14, since that song is our 10 minute opus to ordering, waiting, and receiving a pizza. (BTW, you can download Pizza: The Rock Opera here or stream it here at TheSongOfTheDay.com.)

Um, and the record for our drummer -- just recording drums to tracks -- is 36. Yep. John's pretty amazing!

Gearing up to Make a New Album this February - RPMChallenge 2010!

It's that time of the year again.

Our band is gearing up for our 4th RPMChallenge. That's where we make up and record an entire new album of original material in 28 days.

This is our 4th one, so we're excited as ever. But the pre-challenge to the challenge for us is coming up with a theme for the album. Something that can guide all the individual songwriters in the band and help us focus on a coherent whole.

As many of you know, our 3 prior RPM albums have been based on:

- Writing an album looking back to when we were kids which produced songs like My Cereal (which features friends, fans, and many other RPMers on the "Coco Chorus" )!

- Updating traditional Irish pub songs and cranking them to "11" which produced songs like Tell Me Ma which was featured on NPR's All Songs Considered Second Stage.

- Writing an album about work and technology which produced songs like Mason Rocket (Spy Extraordinaire).

Now the question becomes, what will we end up creating this year?

We're working on it!

Now, if you're a musician that follows us because of IndieGuide.com and our books The Indie Band Survival Guide, and/or The DIY Music Manual, then we strongly encourage you to sign up at RPMChallenge and give it a shot.

RPM is not a contest. There's no prizes. It's completely a motivational thing. 1000s of musicians worldwide signup. Many make it to the end. But the community is amazing throughout the process as everyone works to complete their album. It's a great reason to get the creative juices flowing, make an album of new material, and get some helpful feedback along the way by other musicians.

And honestly, what would you be doing in February anyways? It's a crappy month. The weather blows...at least it does here in Chicago.

Housing Bubble

Looks like we're not the only band that has a housing bubble song. Dave from Blimp sent us a link to their video. Damn funny.

Command Line, Back Again

Last weekend at Dragon*Con, BT, represented by our own Randy Chertkow, had its third TCLP Interview with the Command Line himself, Thomas Gideon. To give it a listen, just click here.

By the way, as Randy clearly states, some members of the band are not wimps for not making it to Dragon*Con. However some might be Bedwetters.

Drunk Man's Junk

This week's song at TheSongOfTheDay.com tells the tale of the "Drunk Man's Junk," based on actual events. It goes back to Dragon*Con 2008 when it was told to us at a party by Dave Slusher, one of the world's first podcasters and the mastermind behind The Evil Genius Chronicles Podcast. Apparently an individual in a kilt drank one too many beverages and passed out in a public spot displaying his, er...um..."junk" until a fellow party-goer took the initiative to, uh..."fix" the problem.

Dave wondered if he wrote the lyrics, could we write the music? We of course agreed and so Dave penned the lyrics to the tune and handed it off to us to record as soon as we had the time. We recently grabbed our guitars, cranked our amps, and did a few lyrical touch-ups (adding the moral of the story). So, here it is, one year later, our collaboration in "all its glory." Enjoy!*

*Remember to drink responsibly (that is, don't wear a kilt and decide to go commando when you decide to party all day, okay?)

DragonCon, Just Plain Folks, and Best of TSOTD

Lots going on lately. If you've been following our Twitter Tweets, you know our away team hit the JPF Awards last weekend where Sham Rock was a finalist in the Celtic music category. This week-end, Randy Chertkow is going commando into the very heart of Atlanta at Dragon-con. We hope to hear many Tweets and see lots of twitter pics.

Also this weekend, Jason and Tom are making a big push to get Best of TheSongOfTheDay.com albums ready for this fall. Which of the 365 songs made the cut? Stay tuned to find out.

Sham Rock Nominated for JPF Award

Beantik Turtle's album, Sham Rock (A compilation of rocked-out irish drinking songs made for RPM) was nominated for the Just Plain Folks (JPF) Music Awards in the Celtic category.

This is a peer-reviewed award. And we were one of over 42,000 albums submitted. Less than 1/3 of 1% get nominated: that's some kind of crazy fraction I can't figure out using Verizon Math.

Obviously, we're pretty floored and appreciative. Thanks to JPF and to all our BT Fans!

The Silence Will Be Broken - LIVE Show on 5/14/09

Hey all, long time no Blog. But we have something newsworthy... A Beatnik Turtle Away Team is being assembled to beam down to Mahoney's (551 Ogden Ave. Chicago, IL) at 8:30pm, Thursday, May 14, 2009. The team will encounter Silvergirl and Absinthe & The Dirty Floors while playing songs from each of their 2009 RPM Challenge albums and more. Accompanying the BT Away Team, from the band Fourth Half, will be Dave Siegel on drums and Marc Ilsanto on rhythm guitar.

Be there or kindly be square.

We Did It - Album Done

One thing about making an album in a month is you end up crashing hard the day it's over.

That was today.

And now my sleep cycle is completely off. But, we did it. The new album is entitled "When I Was Your Age" as it's a look back at ourselves when we were kids. But then, if you've been listening to the Songs Under Construction Kasts, you know that.



We were able to get everyone's handclaps and vocals into the songs! We ended up running out of time to try the clock intro, so that album just starts with the first song. Also, the kid interviews that were submitted we couldn't get to as well. We were able to sneak 3 kids in the album, however. But it certainly wasn't what we planned to do. We wanted to weave kid dialog throughout the album. But, once again we ran out of time.

Worse, our trombonist came up with a great song called "I Don't Need To Try It To Know I Won't Like It" which we regretted not having time to add to the pile either. So, we're going to spend the rest of March putting the final touches on the album and the album artwork for it's "official" release later this year (just as we did with Sham Rock and All In A Day's Work before this one).

Of course, all 13 songs on the album will all debut at TheSongOfTheDay.com starting next week. So, subscribe to that podcast if you haven't already!

Thanks again to all those who sent in handclaps, singing, clocks, and interviews for the album!

We'd like you on our album!

Hey - we'd like you on our album.

As you may know, our band is in the middle of recording a new album and we'd love for all of you to be a part of it. Consider this the invitation. All we're asking is if you'd record something (dialog, hand claps, singing) and email it to us by Thursday Feb 26th, and we'll do our best to include you on our album.

 

WHAT TO RECORD - HAND CLAPS, KIDS, SINGING

1. Hand claps!
All we need is a few. Don't worry about timing, we'll work the magic to get you in time...

--

2. Shouting out the following lyrics from the bridge in "My Cereal":
What's an album about kids without a nod to cereal?

We could use a chorus of shouts on the bridge of "My Cereal". Here's the deep and meaningful lyrics:

"Coco Crisps! Coco Roos! Coco Wheat! Coco Puffs!
Coco Crunch! Coco Pops! Coco Hoots! Trix!"

Here's a guide track to the song so far so you can hear the rhythm:
http://beatnikturtle.com/2009/02/09/songs-under-construction-kast-episode-16/

It's gotta be shouting/chanting. We can work the magic to fit you into time. Doing multiple voices is always a plus. We'll use what we get...

--

3. Interview Kids!
If you have access to kids (i.e. you know of some or you made some of your own) we're wondering if you can record yourself interviewing them.

We drafted a questionnaire to help elicit responses in the spirit of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon". We're planning on weaving the best kid responses between songs on the album...

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR KIDS

a. What time do you have to go to bed?
b. What's your favorite cereal? Why is it your favorite cereal? Etc.
c. Are you a tattletale? Do you know of any tattletales? What do you think of people who tattle? Etc.
d. Do you have a favorite teacher? What's his/her name? Why is he/she your favorite teacher? Etc.
e. Do you like school? If so, what's your favorite thing about school?
f. What's your favorite subject and why? What is your least favorite subject and why?
g. What do you think of bullies? Have you ever been bullied? What happened to the bully? Did he/she ever get in trouble?
h. Do you believe in monsters? Have you ever seen a monster? What do you think of them? Etc.
i. Do you like to go on car trips? What's the longest car trip you've ever been on? How long did it take?

These are just our suggestions, feel free to tackle more topics. These are simply based on some of the song subjects.

Beyond creating something for the album, being a parent myself, this interview would just be a good "snapshot" to have of your child's thoughts to enjoy when they're older (or to spring on them when they least expect it).

--

4. Clocks!
We're looking for people to record their clocks. It can be anything - grandfather, alarm, kitchen clock, wristwatch. Whatever. As long as it ticks, chimes, and bongs. The album will begin with this. We got some in already. We need more...

--

5. Singing "Hey Joe (Joe Bully)"
Can you sing? No? It doesn't matter. You can now...and we'd like you on the chorus to this sing-a-long.

The chorus is simply, "Hey Joe, Joe Bully". Again, deep and thought-provoking lyrics that will touch all our souls and resonate for years...

Here's a guide track so you can hear the rhythm and melody:
http://beatnikturtle.com/2009/02/13/songs-under-construction-kast-episode-21/

Do your best to sing in time, but know that we have the NASA technology to make it all fit together in the song. We're good like that.

Here's a tip: have the MP3 play in the background and sing to that. It's okay if it bleeds a bit (but not a lot!).

That's all we have at the moment (deadlines will do that), but know we're up on "the Facebook" and created a collaboration page so if you have any ideas for additional things to contribute, please join us there: http://tinyurl.com/bt-terrarium

We're all ears.

--
 
WHERE TO EMAIL YOUR RECORDINGS
Please just send it to "collaborate (at) beatnikturtle.com". We prefer a WAV file for the shorter stuff, but will take MP3s as well (especially for longer items like interviews....). Whatever works for you...

 

DEADLINE
Thursday Feb 26. But that's only because the album is due March 2nd! We have to start mixing and mastering by that date, so we'll need things locked in by then.

 

QUESTIONS
Contact us.

 

SPREAD THE WORD
The more the merrier. If you know oothers who would be up for this, please feel free tolink to this page or send them to our Facebook Collaboration page: http://tinyurl.com/bt-terrarium

Thanks and hope to have you become part of the album!!!

Dilemma: Kid's Album or Songs About Being A Kid?

Ah...we uncovered a dilemma!

We always said we're going to write a kid's album. However, in working on songs last night, we realized the songs we've created fall into two distinct camps:

- An album for kids

- An album about being a kid

There is a difference!

If we went the "album for kids" route we'd develop many of our sing-a-longs and nonsensical story songs that kid's may enjoy. For example, we can go with developing "Chicken Pad Thai", a nonsensical sing-a-long about food (SUCKast #8), "Put It In The Stew", a song about one person's quest for "the answer" a la Uncle Schelby (SUCkast #7), and "Tap Your Feet" - an instrumental encouraging the listener - kid - to dance, etc. (SUCkast #14)

If we went the "album about being a kid" route then we'd develop many of our songs that reflect on our own memories and have more adult-oriented takes on what it's like being a kid. For example, "Joe Bully" a song that in the 3rd verse tells how the bully grew up and is still bullying people as he sells cars (SUCKast #6), "Going To School" a song that tells the story of a kid with OCD as he travels to and from school (SUCKast #4), or "I Like The Way She Cleans Erasers", a song about having a crush on a teacher (just wrote last night!). In other words, an album that explores the state of being a kid (or as John, our drummer, coined, "Kid-dom"!) -- something less interactive and that kid's actually may not "get" (but adults our age would).

We didn't realize there were two ways to go about this when we said as a band "let's do a kid's album" and are now going through our list of songs to see which ones "fit" together and which ones don't.

So far, we're leaning on doing what we usually do - writing songs about our take on being a kid.

Should be interesting to see what happens. One of the best things about RPM is you need to make the decision, cut, and run. There's no time to get stuck and stall. March 1st is fast approaching!

An Album in 28 Days

Today's the day and we're starting to record because there's no time to lose.

We've got some song ideas, lyrics, and demos. We've got the studio fired up. And, we've got a plan o' attack.

Now the hard part: concepting the album.

Our first RPM album was recorded during our TheSongOfTheDay.com project and ended up being about work and technology. Last year we decided to reinvent traditional Irish songs (and crankthem to "11").

This year we decided to try our hand at creating a kid's album, Beatnik Turtle style.

Basically, what the "Beatnik Turtle style" thing means is we'll be writing songs that we normally write, but just drawing on our own memories of being a kid. In other words, this won't be about learning ABC's or 123's, but rather songs about bullies, going to school, and asking repeatedly, "are we there yet?"

We're seeing the album as a sort of "day in the life" of a kid. We've got a song called "Get Up & Outta Bed" and a reprise envisioned called "Go To Bed" which could bookend the album. In fact, we put the call out for clock sound effects and alarms cuz we think that might be the best way to start the album. Sort of like a Dark Side of The Moon album but, you know, for kids! (If you got any clock/alarms you can record, please contact us at our collaboration site!)

So, as of Feb 1, all the pieces are in place. We'll see how many are still standing come March 1...

You're invited to collaborate with us.

It's easy.

Subscribe to our latest podcast: all our demos and songs-in-progress will be released as we make them via our "Songs Under Construction 'Kast" .

Don't forget to check our Studio Webcams.

And, most importantly, join us as we work, write lyrics, and manage the entire project out in the open at our Facebook collaboration page.

Loadin' The Hard Drives

Loadin' The Hard Drives,
originally uploaded by Beatnik Turtle.

Multitrack song files sure take up a lot of space!