Speak Into My Good Eye Just Released Their 58-Song, 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge Comp. Come Party with Them Tomorrow at AP Brewery for Freaksgiving.

The 4th Annual...

I'm just gonna be straight with you here. There are 58 songs on Speak Into My Good Eye's 4th Annual 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge compilation. It only came out a short time ago; and, well, I haven't had a chance to listen to all of it. That doesn't matter, though, because I will.

We've heard the contributions from Lowlight, No Wine For Kittens (ft. Jon Stewart), Brian Erickson, and Yawn Mower in the form of track premieres. I've bopped around the comp and listened to fantastic songs from Jackson Pines ("Bay Ridge," the birthplace of my parents, my brother, and me), Francie Moon, NO ICE, The Brixton Riot, Ben Pagano, and Firemaid. I can't wait to start digging through the rest of it.

You can start your own exploration by heading over to Speak Into My Good Eye's Bandcamp page. That's where you can purchase either the whole thing or individual tracks knowing that your contributions will go to support the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).

Tomorrow, November 18th, Speak Into My Good Eye will be celebrating the release of this year's compilation when they join us for our Freaksgiving Fuzz Fest, presented by the Garden State Beard and Mustache Society, Little Dickman Records, and CoolDad Music, at Asbury Park Brewery.

24-Hour Songwriting Challenge participants, Yawn Mower and Dentist (whose members participated as No Wine For Kittens), will be joining The RockNRoll HiFives for a Friendsgiving celebration that will be remembered for generations to come. There will be beards. There will be beers. Oh... ...just come. It's only 5 bucks, and it all benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

If you can't make it to the show, please think about purchasing some portion of this year's SIMGE comp. And... just some financial advice... I've done the math; and, at $1 a track for 58 tracks individually, the $10 full comp purchase option is a STEAL!

Premiere: 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge Contribution from No Wine For Kittens (w/ Jon Stewart)

No Wine For Kittens at their final performance in 2012 by Kristen Driscoll, courtesy of Speak Into My Good Eye

"Catastrophes"

No Wine For Kittens were an award-winning and much-loved Asbury Park band who played their last official show in December of 2012, about two years before the first-ever Speak Into My Good Eye 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge. Since then, NWFK members Justin and Emily Bornemann and Andy Bova went on to form Dentist, one of the most vital and important acts to come out of the current Asbury Park music scene. Rick Barry released an EP and a stunning LP, Curses, Maledictions and Harsh Reiterations, that took him all the way to a performance at Lincoln Center as part of the "American Songbook" series. Andy Bova eventually left as Dentist's full-time drummer to focus on the production and engineering side of things with his Simple Sound Studio in Oceanport.

Speak Into My Good Eye's 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge has a way of making interesting things happen. After almost five years of focusing on other projects, the members of No Wine For Kittens got together for one 24-hour period to write and record a new song, "Catastrophes." Oh, and joining them for the session was up-and-coming drummer and van owner, Jon Stewart.

With "Catastrophes," No Wine For Kittens have gone for something a little more sprawling and wide open than the sometimes jittery indie pop of their early work. The trademark vocal harmonies between Rick Barry and Emily Bornemann are still there making this one a treat, especially for anyone who's been missing this band. And the drums are spot on.

For "Catastrophes," No Wine For Kittens are:

Rick Barry - guitar / vocals
Justin Bornemann - guitars
Emily Bornemann - vocals
Andy Bova - keys / synths
Jon Stewart - drums / has a van



"Catastrophes" will appear on Speak Into My Good Eye's 4th Annual 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge compilation, available on November 17th at the SIMGE Bandcamp page. All proceeds from sales of the compilation will benefit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK).

SIMGE will be celebrating the release of the compilation when they join us for Freaksgiving: A Friendsgiving Fuzz Fest at Asbury Park Brewery on November 18th. That show also features a beard and mustache competition, music from The RockNRoll HiFives, Yawn Mower, and NWFK alums Dentist. It benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as well as 1-800-273-TALK.

Speak Into My Good Eye Releasing Their 4th Annual 24-Hour Songwriting Comp on 11/17. Hear Lowlight's Contribution.

Album art by Sarah Ver Hoeve

To Benefit The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

We should all know the drill at this point. That's because it's been such a fun and successful drill for the last several years. Speak Into My Good Eye invites artists to write and record a brand new song over the course of 24 hours (This year's challenge happened on October 21st). SIMGE puts all of the contributions together into a great, big compilation and makes that available on Bandcamp on a "Pay What You Want" basis for either the whole thing or for individual tracks. All proceeds go to a charitable cause.

This year, the project's 4th, SIMGE got contributions from over 50 artists. Proceeds from the sale of the songs will go to benefit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK). This all goes live on Friday, November 17th, at SIMGE's Bandcamp page.

And, as an example of just the kind of magic that can happen in 24 short hours, we've got the premiere of "Kenosha," the contribution from the ever evolving and always brilliant Lowlight.

Lowlight show a constant willingness to step outside any kind of comfort zone, and "Kenosha" is another example of that. The fact that the band -- or any artist -- could do something like this in a day is amazing.



And that's not all.

The Garden State Beard and Mustache Society, Little Dickman Records, and CoolDad Music are holding their own benefit for both the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and 1-800-273-TALK on November 18th at Asbury Park Brewery. Freaksgiving: A Friendsgiving Fuzz Fest features Dentist, The RockNRoll HiFives, and 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge contributors, Yawn Mower.

There was no prior planning between SIMGE and us. The timing and the cause just happened to line up perfectly. So screw it. It's Friendsgiving. We invited SIMGE to join us on November 18th and to make our party the release celebration for the compilation. We are thrilled to announce that they've accepted!

Look for Speak Into My Good Eye's 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge compilation on Friday November 17th. Then come party with us at Asbury Park Brewery on November 18th.

Speak Into My Good Eye Announce Their 4th Annual 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge. It's 10/21.

We had the honor of premiering Fruit & Flowers' contribution to last year's 24-hour Songwriting Challenge.

To Benefit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Well, our friends from way back, Speak Into My Good Eye, are coming back for another go 'round with their always fun 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge. This is that thing where artists create a completely original work over the course of a specific 24-hour period.

Previous challenges have resulted in songs that ended up on albums or EPs like The Vansaders' "Ripped It Apart" or Hot Blood's "Cop in a Tank." We've gotten to premiere a couple of tracks here like the Rick Barry / Andy Bova collaboration, "All Is Well," and Fruit & Flowers' great live-set staple, "Way Out." There have been those unexpected contributions like Rick Barry's 27.5-minute "Prisoners" on the first-ever challenge and Roy Orbitron's first-date-story-set-to-music, "#tinderfail," back in 2015.

Each year, the comp has attracted great artists, and sales have benefited a worthy charity. This year's challenge will begin at the stroke of midnight on October 21st with proceeds from the sale of the final compilation going to support the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Speak Into My Good Eye have tapped uber-talented individual and tireless supporter of local music, Nicole Calascibetta (fka, Nikki Black), for an as-yet-to-be-determined role; but her involvement can do nothing but enhance an already successful tradition.

SIMGE and Nicole have decided that they'd like to open the challenge up to artists in all media, and they're in the process of trying to come up with some type of combined art show / concert to coincide with this year's release. If you're interested in participating in any artistic capacity, you can get in touch at speakimge@gmail.com.

So, mark your calendars; and, remember, no cheating. Everything needs to be done in 24 hours starting on October 21st. Keep your eyes on speakimge.com for details as they develop.

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Premiere: Fruit & Flowers' 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge Submission

"Way Out"

On October 1st, I was at Wonder Bar to see Tacocat, Dude York, and Sharkmuffin. The members of Fruit & Flowers had made their way down to Asbury Park from Brooklyn to see the show. They were there to see Tacocat and to support their buds in Sharkmuffin even as the clock was ticking down to the deadline for their Speak Into My Good Eye 24-hour Songwriting Challenge submission. At various times throughout the night, guitarist Ana Becker and bassist Caroline Yoder had to excuse themselves from conversation to head out to the parking lot and put some finishing touches on the song in their tour van.

Today, you can hear the final product of all of their efforts in the form of "Way Out." The song starts off with an opening slightly reminiscent of Nirvana before it transforms into Fruit & Flowers' trademark, retro-inspired "surf noir." The voices of Yoder, Becker, and guitarist Lyzi Wakefield combine in a haze of reverb. There's a nice, little bit of guitar freakout just before we get to the outro.

The stuff that comes out of the 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge amazes me every year. I'm a person that has never written a single song (if you don't count the dad-joke type things I make up in the car for the kids), so it's just mind-blowing to me to see people come up with things like this in such a short time. To kind of have witnessed just a little bit of the process makes this one all the more amazing to me.

Have a listen to "Way Out" below.



You can see Fruit & Flowers this Friday at Brooklyn's Sunnyvale when they are part of a bill that also includes Lost Boy ?, Sharkmuffin, Fraidycat, and Dan Francia. That one is a benefit for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation for Louisiana flood relief. Next month, Fruit & Flowers are my pick for the Blox Cord 1 showcase (presented by Speak Into My Good Eye) at the Footlight in Ridgewood, Queens on November 3rd. That's an excellent bill that also features Slonk Donkerson, Leland Sundries, and The Vaughns.

Third Annual SIMGE 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge Starts Saturday, October 1st, at Midnight

ThreePeat

Our good friends over at Speak Into My Good Eye have run their 24-hour songwriting challenge for the last two years. It's been a wonderful showcase of talent from the NJ / NY / PA area, and the event has raised money for some very worthwhile charities. The site is kicking off its third installment of the challenge at the stroke of midnight, just as the calendar flips to October 1st.

Just like prior years, participants have 24 hours to write and record an original song to be featured in the Speak Into My Good Eye 24-hour Songwriting Challenge Compilation. So far this year, over 50 artists have stepped up to contribute something; and there's still time for anyone to get involved. Just shoot a message over to speakimge@gmail.com and let them know that you'll be turning something in by the deadline, which is midnight on October 2nd.

This year's charity is City of Angels NJ, an organization that offers help and resources to those affected by the addiction epidemic that has been ravaging our communities.

So, if you're a musician or just someone with a song in your heart and a smartphone, get in touch with the good folks over at SIMGE and show us all what you've got.

2nd Annual Speak Into My Good Eye 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge

The Vansaders were one of many contributors to the 2014 SIMGE 24-hour Songwriting Challenge.

Expanded Reach for 2015

Last year, our friends at Speak Into My Good Eye challenged New Jersey songwriters to write and record a new, original composition in one 24-hour period. The resulting compilation consisted of 33 songs and included submissions from a wide range of NJ artists like John Muccino, Son Of Dov, Paper Streets, A Halo Called Fred, Joe Makoviecki, The Battery Electric, Glycerine Queens, Deal Casino, The Clydes, and more. A few of the songs, like Hot Blood's "Cop in a Tank" and The Vansaders' "Ripped It Apart," even ended up on official releases. All proceeds from the 2014 compilation went to benefit the Monmouth & Ocean Counties Arts Council.

SIMGE are doing it all again this year; and, this time, they're expanding the scope of the challenge to New York and Pennsylvania as well. I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you over there in Alabama or you over there in Colorado wanted to submit something, you wouldn't be turned away either.

Anyway, the date for this year's challenge is Saturday, September 12th; and the 2015 beneficiary will be the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Songwriters interested in participating can send an email to speakimge@gmail.com, and you'll be added to a list to receive updates as they're released. I'm even hearing rumors of a celebratory concert associated with this year's challenge, so keep it tuned here for updates on that.

As a little bonus, here's The Vansaders' re-worked version of their 2014 contribution, "Ripped It Apart." It will show up on the band's Jumping At Shadows EP to be released tomorrow, August 22nd, when they play a pre-Social Distortion set at The Stone Pony. Who knows? Maybe you'll write something this year and end up playing it on that big stage somewhere down the line.