WFF 17 Day Challenge | Riley Jordan Song Girl

Woodford Folk Festival or bust 17 Day Challenge – Days 15 to 17

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May 232010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

The 17 Day challenge is over and I do have two new songs but only one is near completion as a demo. The application to perform at the Woodford folk festival was sent off but as they will look at my website for any demos it actually buys me a little bit more time.

Considering how long it can take me to write and arrange new material and with all the hiccups along the way, I’ll give myself a 8/10 for this one.

The second new song is a fun little quirky number… a bit like Bobby McFerrin meets Joni Mitchell. I’ll be able to perform all the vocal parts with the loop machine at the next gig. It’s interesting how even my fun numbers always come out a little bit dark. The lyric of this one is cute but the character in the song is a little out of control.

Annie and I have continued to work on the video with a lovely outing driving around the hills shooting stock footage. The poor darling is currently suffering from a cow fetish so every time we passed a field of cattle we had to stop so she could take photos. Naturally I had to cow-tow to her wishes.

We made a stomach based decision to stop at the Kallista deli for coffee and my favourite macaroons. Here is a picture of Annie as she rises over a cappuccino.

Annie Watkins - Coffee surprize...

I hope to have the new tunes up a listen for those people on the mailing list soon…. you know… soon as in Riley soon…..

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Woodford Folk Festival or bust 17 Day Challenge – Days 11 to 14

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May 172010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

A report from the Department of excuses:

Please select the appropriate excuse for not making sufficient progress in the 17 day challenge from the following:
1. The dog ate my homework
2. There was an all-night marathon of ‘Greenacres’ on the telly.
3. It was sunny outside and the garden called me like a wanton siren in the night.
4. Crikey you’ve got to eat!!

PS: Progress is slow due to the unexpected roadworks in my life. I still reckon I can get one song finished because it’s nearly there.

On the good side, the actual application to perform at the Woodford folk Festival has been sent, so the primary mission is accomplished.

The whole process has fired me up to get a bit of work out….huzzah!!

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Woodford Folk Festival or bust 17 Day Challenge – Days 9 & 10

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May 132010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

Day 9:

Spent the afternoon at Annie’s working through the storyboard for the video for Wailing Wall. We explored a number of effects that might be used in the video including the Ken Burns technique. Annie is quite knowledgeable about the Ken Burns technique and I was regaled with an in-depth explanation. See the picture below:

Annie Watkins has extensive knowledge of the 'Ken Burns Effect'

Day 10:
The application form is complete. Now I need to finish these two songs. But first, I need food in the cupboard, then in my stomach and clean clothing.

Later:

It’s 8:30 PM and I’ve just finished with the shopping, the cleaning and the laundry. Day 10 ka-put-nick!!!

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Woodford Folk Festival or bust 17 Day Challenge – Day 8

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May 112010

I’m starting the Woodford Folk Festival application process today. All application processes needs to be a catered appropriately so I think because it’s Woodford FF that breakfast today will be muslie and chai tea. Step 1: Read general directions for performers (sip sip) I have been to the festival a few times and it looks like nothing is changed. NEXT>>

Download a form as long as the arm of a person with incredibly long arms. (sip sip) Print off form and add something a little stronger to chai…

HHmmm, describe your act… Blah,blah, blah (is fantagalistic a word??) blah blah blah. Maybe it’s the chai kicking in but I’m starting to enjoy this..I’ve been meaning to work on this (artist description) stuff for my web site and this gets the job well and truly done (sip sip gulp)

Later:
Well, that wasn’t quite the ‘root canal’ experience as I thought it might be. I’ve nutted out the descriptions for the performances and a workshop – which will be a kitchen garden self-sufficiency workshop – under the ‘environmental workshop’ category. (I know this sounds counter-intuitive for a music festival, but Woodford is a number of huge festivals within the one – including art, writing and even a fully dedicated Childrens Festival)

The rest of the application is all academic now, boring details…

Ooops, look at the time, I’m off to Annies to talk video stuff. More soon…

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Woodford Folk Festival or bust 17 Day Challenge – Days 5, 6 & 7

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May 102010

Finally got down to some recording today after a busy weekend. Laid down bass parts for the new song and got halfway through putting down the final vocal before realizing that it wasn’t quite sitting right so it’s back to the coalface tomorrow to start the vocal from scratch again. I think I need to look at plan B just in case these two songs aren’t done in time and I also need to start looking filling in he application form. Not sure plan B is yet, but I’ll use my ‘Spidey sense’ and come up with something. PS I would just like it is noted for the record, that I resisted the urge to get out into the garden today, even though it was probably the last warm day for many months. As most of you know I’m a mad keen gardener and while this self denial is nowhere near the equivalent of Van Gogh cutting off an ear (artistic suffering), it did drive me quietly around the bend. (OK I did get out for an hour or so, but that was purely therapeutic and doesn’t count)

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Woodford Folk Festival or Bust 17 Day Challenge – Days 3 & 4

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May 072010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

Day 3

I woke up this morning and I wrote myself a lyric
I woke up this morning and I wrote myself a lyric YEAAAAAA
If the the lyrics not right, the end is never near..(sung to the tune of the first verse of roadhouse blues)
You know, I’m finding that it takes a lot of time and commitment to fritter ones life away…
I’m happy with the new lyric as it’s got a bit of sass about it and it’s a bit funny, but still dark as is my wont.

I’ve had some time out this afternoon to catch up with my good friend Gwen who I haven’t seen in ages. After coffee, cake and goss I ducked into Gills place (Woods Sherbrooke Restaurant) to drop off a couple things and ended up having a cup of tea there too. I arrived home, only to find Christie ringing to say that she was in the area and droping in for a visit. She had in her hot little hand, the finished mix of a couple of songs that Cres and I had worked on and they sounded great. My one-hour break turned into about 5 hours of socializing. What’s a girl to do? After bit of dinner I was back in the studio till about two in the morning before crashing into bed for a few well-deserved zzzzzzzzs.

Riley and Gwen

The upshot of all this is that I’ve done a fair bit of arrangement on the first tune and am pretty happy with it, which is a shock even to me. I still think it’s going to take a fair bit of work to finish it and with the other bits and bobs I’ve got to do around the place, it’s going to be a tight finish.

Day 4

Woke up this morning feeling like I’m coming down with a bit of a lurgy. Can’t afford to lose too much time so I decide on a quick visit to the doctor.
Back at home it into bedby-by for a nap. Haven’t listened to yesterdays mix is yet. I’ve learned from experience that it’s better to nip a lurgy in the bud (with rest) rather than trying to work through it.

There is also the small issue of laundry building up, food needing to be cooked and a bit of a tidy up wouldn’t hurt either.

That doesn’t worry me as much as I’ve had to miss my friends party. She and others are celebrating the opening of Digital Eyes art studio – in Dandenong. It’s a groovy little art studio/shared space where you can watch artists work as well as a gallery for viewing their art. Still, now that it’s open I guess I can go anytime…hate to miss party time though….

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Woodford folk Festival or bust – The 17 day challenge – Day 2

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May 072010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

For someone like myself who has never written and arranged a song in less than three months, this is a pretty scary scenario. It’s not so much that I’m a prima donna, it’s just that after so many years of songwriting, I’ve got a really narrow band of what I feel works for me as a live act and as an artist.
For instance, day two of the challenge and am already thinking I’d be happy to finish one song let alone two.
I’ve got the new song up and running but it is really tricky to arrange it in such a way that I can still play it live. It needs more than I can give it. Now I’m thinking of pulling out the electric guitar and billing myself as an electric female solo act rather than an acoustic solo act.
See? I told you wouldn’t would get tricky. It’s not panic stations yet, but I do know where the button is….

Laying down a little vocal percussion....

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Woodford Folk Festival or bust – The 17 day challenge – Day1

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May 072010

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

After missing the application dates for the Woodford Folk Festival for two years in a row I have decided to make it public and make myself accountable. Yes folks I’ve decided to make a ‘core’ promise, which is politician talk for ‘something I hope like hell I can do’. So here’s the poop, the scoop, the plan the ‘don’t have a cow man’. The idea is that I chronicle each day, with what I’ve done towards completing the application. I’d like to have two new songs written and demo-ed as well as some snippets of recent releases for the application. I’ll also need some photos, a compelling description of what it is that I actually do and some kind of workshop idea that I can offer to make them pick me from the literally thousands of solo singer songwriters who apply.

Day 1

: The Ritual Known as ‘Reading the Manual’

The first step is to start songwriting again. I’ve spent the past couple of years getting myself into a position where I might have some time to return to the craft and here I am starting over…again…. I’m using a boss RC 50 digital loop machine as I want to be able to recreate rhythms and harmonies on stage. I’ve had a little play with this beast but there’s a lot more to learn so I started with the ritual known as ‘reading the manual’. The other benefit of this little black box is that it’s a good rough sketch songwriting tool. After a bit of a play, I laid down a couple of wicked loops and Voila – a new song idea. Unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as that. Now I have to record the song properly in the studio and see if it gets past the inner ‘door bitch critic’. I’ll know when you do..in a couple of days.

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Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

On the good side, the actual application to perform at the Woodford folk Festival has been sent, so the primary mission is accomplished.

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

Day 3

Day 4

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

My mission: to write, arrange and demo two new songs and finish my application for the Woodford Folk Festival which needs to be in by 22 May.

Day 1

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