"Gone" is the sixth song that I've worked on with AVLI Music, a music producer based in Reseda, CA and it's a slightly paradoxically uptempo pop song with subject matter largely surrounding the death of my best friend of nearly 11 years in September 2016, as well as the longing, nostalgia, and homesickness I experienced when I was living in Los Angeles, CA without a car almost exactly a year later. The first four lines of the first verse were first recorded in a voice memo on my iPhone and weren't originally conceived as being about this subject matter, and more just about staying up late with my friend and collaborator Devin Johnson a.k.a. DejaVu at his house in Mashpee, MA. Incorporating the name of the band "Rage Against the Machine" as part of the lyrics in that verse was just something sort of funny and random that I felt like doing.
Lyrics:
Verse 1:
Got us crawlin’ around all night with each other
And nothing’s even sacred here, got your eyes seein’ double,
Oh yeah yeah yeah we rage against the machine,
But we don’t know what it means
And there's a definite sense of before and after
Finally reached the epilogue of the chapter
And as with everything else there were moments left uncaptured
But baby in the end you know I’ll be following after
Chorus:
Almost been a year since you've been gone
Try to find a way to carry on
Memories they fade and fade away
No past or present friend could take your place
Verse 2:
I would hang up the phone and soon hear you comin’
Bumpin’ with the windows down just right for the summer
A caravan of kids up to no good, I would go back if I could
and I wouldn’t be so scared of you
Chorus:
Almost been a year since you've been gone
Try to find a way to carry on
Memories they fade and fade away
No past or present friend could take your place
Bridge:
I miss my home
I miss my friends
This type of sadness never ends
Can't seem to get it together
I wish that you'd come back to me
Comin' up on your anniversary
I guess I'll see you in heaven
Chorus:
Almost been a year since you've been gone
Try to find a way to carry on
Memories they fade and fade away
No past or present friend could take your place
All that's left are pictures of your face
Whether in a box or in a frame
Let their colors shine in light of day
You're a mark upon my life that always stays
Verse 3:
We were gonna grow old together,
laugh and joke together,
rock and roll take over the world together
and share each other's success
Baby girl nothin’’s been the same since I was layin' in bed and I got that call
Vocals by Reuben Walton
Background vocals by Reuben Walton
Vocal production by AVLI Music and Reuben Walton
Lyrics by Reuben Walton
Composed by Reuben Walton, Jordan Siwek, and AVLI Music
Programming by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Arranged by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Produced by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Recorded by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Mixed by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Edited by Reuben Walton and AVLI Music
Mastered by Erick Labson at United Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA
This is my self-titled EP containing seven tracks I worked on with AVLI Music, a music producer based in Reseda, CA, who I met in 2015 at the ASCAP I Create Music EXPO at the Loew's Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. There are also musical and lyrical contributions from Jordan Siwek and Maryland upcoming rapper Questt. Creating this EP has been a labor of love and I'm so happy to see it finally come to fruition after almost four years. The EP is a raw emotional journey through personal songs, vibey tracks and danceable midtempos. It was mastered by Erick Labson at United Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
