FAME by FUNK AF

This track was written in one take with Van Amq playing an old 
Lowrey church organ that has an 18" speaker as its only source and the giant wooden pedals for more sub and our friend Thomas whom we heard singing in the street and asked him to come and lay down a song, and this was what he came up with on the fly, with Van writing the chords as he was playing them. No edits of any kind have been made except to shorten thirty seconds off of the end, the guitars and bass were recorded by Van Amq after the first take, and both were completed on the first attempt.

THE BITTER END by Van Amq/ Thomas on vocals

This was written by a Skid Row resident for the Tokat University CHoir in Tokat, Turkey under the direction of Ozlem Onuk, PhD. Tokat castle was where Prince Wallachia was held by the Sultan of Turkey as insurance against war from the king of Hungary. Prince Wallachia of course grew up to be forever known as Vlad the Impaler, and Vampire lore is strong with people and students who live and study there.

The Prince by Ivan Damico

This song was brought in by a girl who had been through a very painful relationship with an abusive partner. The song she sang into the microphone sounded nothing like this one, but after changing the tempo, the rhythm, and the structure of the melody, we finally were able to complete the track here, which we were all absolutely thrilled with. It's out of real pain that great songs like this get written, and the words are as much a confession as they are a poem. This is Elyssa's first song and we are very proud of it. Van Amq played acoustic guitar and bass, BZB added the keys later, we liked the organic feel of the guitars and wanted to avoid sounding sequenced or computerized, so we left the guitars the way they were and simply built up the track around them. Artwork by Van Amq

Where's my heart? by Van Amq/ Elyssa

Featuring Mike Dunlap of the Commodores on Vocals, Van Amq of Gearwhore on everything else except Bass, and Carl Zephyr from the famous Stone City (Rick James' band) on Bass guitar, this all star collaboration was originally intended for a film that starred Lebron James. We were hired to write the title track to the film, however, LeBron's new production company decided on a remake of "Space Jam" instead, leaving this track without a movie, but ....it would go very well in a sneaker commercial, if any music supervisors are listening!

WE CAME TO PLAY by Mike Dunlap/Commodores, Van Amq/Gearwhore, Carl Zephyr/(Rick James' Bass Player)

The girl who sang this was brougnt into the studio one day by Z, Rick James' bass player. She is a homeless prostitute and crack addict, her clothes hung off her in filthy layers of whatever she came across in the street. Her feet were blackened with grime and she had no shoes on. I had the microphone on and was playing guitar, immediately she started to sing along and this was the result of that session. She wrote the song as she sang it, and after about twelve minutes of recording I was able to edit down the strongest parts and then layered synths and drums over it all within an hour. This was recorded January of 2018  and the track has changed little since that day in the studio.

Shining Down by Van Amq and Chaneli

This is Chairman Michael McWilliams first release. He came into the studio, and I was expecting another rapper wanting a 90's 808 beat, instead, he had composed and written the melody and lyrics for a very smart, complex love song between a man and a friend who is also a love in his life, offering her an opportunity to escape from an abusive relationship. The line between friendship and romance is blurred, and the answer is never given, but it shows complex emotions and a great vocal range from a brand new star on the music scene.

WE CAME TO PLAY by Mike Dunlap/Commodores, Van Amq/Gearwhore, Carl Zephyr/(Rick James' Bass Player)

Skid Row Records

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