SamChristie.me

a blog by sam christie. former home of "12 Months of Stuff"

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February’s Stuff Recap! What I Did, and What I Learned

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On March 5, 2015

In February

Me, performing at the Spilled Milk Open Mic at the Corner House.

Me, performing at the Spilled Milk Open Mic at the Corner House.

Whoa! February flew by. They call it the shortest month for a reason! (Because it is…)
Let’s do a recap.

February’s project was releasing a split EP with my buddy Brian in A Day Without Love. We dubbed it the Young Professionals EP. The EP was recorded over Christmas break, so there wasn’t much to be done as far as mixing. This project was about promotion, building some buzz, and releasing music I’m proud of. And of course, I aimed to learn as much as possible along the way.

Week over week, here’s what I crossed off my to-do list:

Week 1
Posted announcement video
Began to gather blog contacts for outreach

Week 2
Posted a live video of an alternate version of “Kim”

Week 3
Posted a live video of a cover of A Day Without Love’s “Pity”
Wrote press release for the split
Sent press release/early review info to blogs

Week 4
Released the EP!
Posted lyric videos for every song on the split
Posted song meaning videos for every song on the split
Played an open mic 

That breaks down to 9 YouTube videos, 6 blog posts, 3 of my songs on iTunes, Spotify, and Bandcamp, and other digital services, 1 open mic, and a lot of hard work :). Overall, I’m pleased with my first month of stuff. I haven’t focused on music so exclusively for a long time, and it felt good to put some time into it. The response to the EP surpassed my expectations, particularly the feedback on a lot of my video content. There will be more musical months to come in this, the 12 Months of Stuff. But I have a feeling even after 2015 is done, I’ll still be working music into my daily routine, from songwriting to performing.

I learned a lot over this past month, and I’ll expand on that in depth recap on specific topics. But for now, my key takeaway from my first month of stuff is this: I have much more time than I think. There’s no doubt I lost sleep over some of these videos, posts, and parts of this EP. The week of release with six YouTube videos and an open mic was particularly challenging. So much so that as you may notice, I took a few days off from March’s project. But at the end of the day, I got it all done. I silenced the small voice in the back of my head that constantly chattered about running out of time. Looking towards future projects with this in mind is one of the most rewarding parts of this project so far.

Lastly, if you’re reading this, thank you! Thank you to everyone who listened to my EP (even if you didn’t dig it 😛 ), posted on socials about it, watched and shared my videos, and gave me words of encouragement on the EP and project as a whole. It means a lot to have my hard work recognized, and I hope I can keep you coming back for more cool stuff in March and beyond. 

And remember, if you want to get to where you want to be, it starts with that first step :). Subscribe to the blog, my YouTube channel, or follow me on Twitter to keep up with my 12 Months of Stuff! I’ll have more info on March’s project tomorrow.

Here’s What My Songs Mean…

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On February 28, 2015

In February

I love music and often times I’ll take it at face value. What it means to me isn’t going to be what it means to everyone else. But I always enjoy getting inside the head of my favorite songwriters, whether it’s via their own explanations or something like Rap Genius.

So, hot on the heels of my recent lyric videos, I’m posting song meaning videos over the next few days so listeners can get inside my head.

Remember, the Young Professionals split EP is available now on all your favorite services, including:

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1wjSDHb
Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/18hphyC
Spotify: http://bit.ly/1acEaTv

–If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

Listen to my split EP “Young Professionals” now!

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On February 24, 2015

In February

My split EP with A Day Without Love, Young Professionals, is out now on all major services. Please give a listen and let me know what you think. Stay tuned for more video content this week.

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1wjSDHb
Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/18hphyC
Spotify: http://bit.ly/1acEaTv

This EP is a big deal for me. It marks the first music I released formally in 3 years and I got to do it with one of my good friends, Brian Walker of A Day Without Love. We mixed it up on this EP – my songs are acoustic and his are electric  – but there’s still something for everyone. 

I’ll be blogging and doing videos featuring the lyrics and meanings behind my songs, so stay tuned here or subscribe on YouTube. Throw this on while you’re doing laundry, working out, or driving around. Whichever way you decide to consume these tunes, please give them a full listen :). Enjoy.

If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

I’m Posting 3 Lyric Videos This Week (+ more)

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On February 23, 2015

In February

This week is huge. It marks the release of my first public tune-age (read: a listenable, promoted music release) since 2011 (!). On February 24, I’m releasing the split EP Young Professionals with A Day Without Love. It’s coming out on all your favorite digital services. 

To celebrate, I’m posting a lyric video per day on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and videos on song meanings from Friday – Sunday. I’ll edit this post to include each lyric video so they all have one cozy post roof over their digital heads. 

Today’s video includes my first song on the Young Professionals EP, and the fourth song overall, “Kim”. This is the EP version (obviously), not the alt version I posted earlier this month. Enjoy, and check this post over the next few days for the other two lyric videos. And hey, this may be a good time to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

—

If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

Hear My Cover of “Pity” By A Day Without Love

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On February 16, 2015

In February

On ‘Young Professionals’, there’s a special audio dichotomy that can only exist when two friends miscommunicate. Namely, A Day Without Love’s songs are electric, and mine are acoustic. If you watched the Split Announcement Video you’ll hear me allude to the fact that Brian told me we were doing an acoustic EP, yet he recorded all his songs as full band, in-your-face electric jams. I was initially surprised when I came in with acoustic tracks, but it ended up working in our favor. What we created speaks to how Brian and I are as music fans and as artists — we wanted to create something cool together, so we did. Neither of us feel it’s necessary to release a split with an artist that sounds exactly like you, so we rolled with the miscommunication, and Young Professionals stands tall, half acoustic and half electric.

That said, I decided to take an acoustic spin on the hardest song on the EP, ADWL’s opener, “Pity”. Think of it as what could have been had we gone all acoustic :). Hear my take below, and hear the finished version on February 24th when Young Professionals releases on all your favorite streaming services.

If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

Hear An Alternate Version of A Song From the Split EP

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On February 9, 2015

In February

Here’s an alternate version of a song that’s on the Young Professionals split EP that I’m releasing on February 24. It’s called “Kim”. 

The EP version is very light hearted and bouncy. There’s a capo on the third fret and it’s much faster than this one. There’s even some parts that may leave you laughing (seriously), but I’m not giving anything away just yet. That isn’t this version. So, don’t be alarmed if you don’t like this alternate take, because it’s nothing like what’s on the EP :).

This version is in standard tuning and slowed down, which gives it a darker tone. Watching the video back, this version of “Kim” is actually pretty ominous and a tad depressing, but I still like it. It’s a much different vibe than the EP cut. The darker tinge and lower octave opens up the melody a bit, allowing me to riff vocally here and there. That’s fun. Plus since the song is slowed down there are some interesting lyrical patterns that I can fit into each verse.

Hope you enjoyed this alternate take of what is usually a happy-go-lucky jam :D.

If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

 

I’m Releasing A Split EP On February 24 – February’s Stuff

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On February 2, 2015

In February

Music is like, the best thing. I love listening to it, writing it, playing it, and submersing myself in all its beat-dropping, hook-singing, chord-strumming glory. It’s been almost 4 years since I released any music, so I’m proud to announce for February’s month of stuff, I’m releasing a split EP with my friend Brian Walker of A Day Without Love. Watch the video below for more info, and subscribe on YouTube for lyric videos, music videos, and more, all month long. 

If you haven’t heard, I’m tackling a project per month for a year and calling it 12 Months of Stuff. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates as well, and follow me on Twitter. Use the hash tag #12MonthsOfStuff to let me know the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

-Sam

How I’m Organizing A Project Per Month For A Year

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On February 1, 2015

In January

Although chaos in my task management stresses me out, my strong suit has never been organization. This year I decided to kick it into high gear and figure out a system that would keep my to-do’s in check. Get a peek at how I’m organizing 12 Months of Stuff in the video below, as well as how I came to the decision to use good ol’ Squarespace to build the site.

January is over, and today marks a new month. Keep your eyes on the blog for the announcement of February’s project.

P.S. Keep in touch! Sign up for my monthly recap newsletter, subscribe on YouTube for weekly update videos, or follow me on Twitter. Use the hashtag #12MonthsOfStuff to keep me posted on the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

– Sam

#12MonthsOfStuff – An Introduction

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On January 26, 2015

In January

Hi, I’m Sam. And I feel stuck. To get un-stuck, I’m tackling a new idea or project every month for the next year. And I’m calling it #12MonthsOfStuff. 

Watch the video below to learn more.

You can keep in touch by: signing up for my monthly recap newsletter, subscribing on YouTube for weekly recap videos, or following me on Twitter @samchristie. Use the hashtag #12MonthsOfStuff to keep me posted on the small steps you’re taking to get to where you want to be.

See you next week.

-Sam 

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