For those of you not familiar with the exploits with the exploits of YouTube musicians Rob Scallon and Andrew Huang, October is a special month.
Since 2018, every year on October 1 the duo have formed a one-day-a-year band, First Of October, and challenged themselves to produce an album in a single 12-hour recording session. The results have been pretty spectacular, from the 2018’s Woo to last year’s Rage-inspired nu-metal slammer, Bookmobile – an ode to Rob’s mom.
2022 is a little different, though. The muse-some two-some have reportedly got their fourth album in a day in the can, but also took the time to come up with 100 riffs in a single six-hour session.
As Huang explains in the intro, the riff focus was inspired by some disbelieving comments that they’d been banking riffs for their album in a day projects, as well as a natural sense of curiosity in seeing what happens when, well… you try to write 100 riffs in six hours.
How do they get on? Annoyingly well is the simple answer. Scallon is a great player himself, but sticks to drum duties here. Huang, meanwhile, seems to drop inspiring riffs like loose change.
Perhaps the most compelling thing about the clip, though, is seeing two musicians and friends working together so seamlessly. For anyone who’s sat through considerably more agonising writing/recording sessions, it’s a nice template for actually having (incredibly productive) fun in the studios – and a great document of what real musical shorthand looks like.
Scallon deserves credit, too – not just as a thundering sticksman, but also for his off-the-cuff song titles, all of which nail their musical subject matter. Expired Chicken Sandwich, Ear Bud, Marmite Trilobite, the list goes on. Though for Guitar World’s money, Riding A Boat In The Sewer Shooting Missiles probably takes the top spot.
Indeed, the hardest part of the challenge for them seems to be simply keeping count…
Watch the full video above and keep an eye on Andrew Huang’s YouTube channel for the results of 2022’s Album In A Day.
