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?)

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…

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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…

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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).

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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…

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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.

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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!!!

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.

Hey – we just made you a part of our band. Starting now. And we want you to help us write/record a new album this February. We’re gonna release it March 1st, so we gotta get crackin’.

Yep, we’re participating in RPM Challenge once again! This will be our third time making an entire album within the month of February. But this year we want to do something different. We’re opening up the entire creation process to everyone. So, join us! We set up a collaboration site at Facebook just so we have a homebase for the project. So if you’re on Facebook, join us!

You = Create. Converse. Collaborate. Boss Beatnik Turtle Around!

We originally dubbed the Facebook collaboration site “The Fishbowl” until someone noted turtles live in terrariums. So join us at “The Terrarium“!

Got a microphone? Know how to record? We’d like to get you on the album – whether recording handclaps, playing a instrument, or singing along (to a song we have yet to write…)! We’ll coordinate all this through The Terrarium and our forthcoming Songs-In-Progress podcast.

A podcast, you say? Yes, if you’re going to be a part of it, you gotta hear everything we record on our way to completing the album by March 1st. More on that below…

All you have to do to participate is head here and become a fan of the band. It’s one-click if you’re on Facebook already and if you’re not, it’s a few additional clicks as you create your account (it’s easy, fun, and free to join). Plus, all your friends are on Facebook already, wondering where you are

Together, We’re Making a Kid’s Album

We’ve been wanting to record a kid’s album for awhile now and there’s no better time than the present. If you have song ideas, post them at the forum on the Facebook site. If you have any album title suggestions, post them to the Facebook site.

Make Sure We’re Not Slacking – See Us Record At The Studio!

Our main studio’s webcams just went live here at TurtleShell. Click here to see the feed. We’ll likely leave these cameras going until March 1st, so check back in, keep tabs on your Facebook account, or follow us on Twitter so we can tell you when we’re on.

Songs-In-Progress Podcast Coming Soon

Like we said above, we’ll be releasing everything we record – song ideas, demos, scratch mixes – EVERYTHING – as we rush to complete the yet-to-be-named-by-you album by RPM Challenge’s deadline this February 28th at 11:59pm.

We’ll have the first one out late tomorrow (January 11th) as we’ll be setting things up here in the studio. Which you can watch. How wild is that? Who invented this internet?

The more the better the album will be. Spread the word and join us now!

A year really isn’t a very long period of time. This last one blasted past in a blink. Right now, I’m working on re-mixing and mastering songs for our forthcoming Best Of TheSongOfTheDay.com album. For several of the songs on the collection, we have gone back and added bits and pieces that we would have if we had time during The Song Of The Day project. We’ve been able to take care of those always-present “oh man – I wish I would have added that guitar riff” regrets. I’ve also been working with new mastering tools (iZotope Ozone) and really learning how to do the sound justice.

As I adjust some things in the mix and master of So Long, Goodbye I can’t help but reflect on the fact that one year ago I sat in this same spot finishing the song so I could post it to the site before December 31 so we could take off and head up to our Studio North facility in Lake Geneva for New Years. Right now I’m doing the exact same thing – finishing up So Long, Goodbye (with a couple of new surprises in store). Listening to the coda of the song, I can’t help but get a bit teary-eyed nostalgic for that end of those long days of recording, mixing, and mastering that kept us SO busy during 2007.

I can’t WAIT to get started on the 2009 RPM Challenge so I can have that taste of constant frantic music production once again!