After recording Hard Times Come Again No More in April of 2020, several members of the AHO expressed the desire to record another song. A few ideas were bandied about: Should we do something uplifting? Do we keep to the public domain? Write something of our own? However, after George Floyd was murdered, we felt like we wanted to respond and voice our support to those who face racism everyday in our country. We chose a to record a medley of songs that express where we stand. It has taken months to complete, but here is our take on some songs by They Might Be Giants, The Special AKA and Bob Marley. What seemed like a blending of a couple of pop songs grew to a symphonic movement through the hard work of all AHO members, but especially the mixing, editing, and lyric video of Russell Bartholomee. We were a little worried that too much time had passed since the murder of George Floyd from when we began recording and the underlying messages of the songs would no longer be relevant, but ; sadly, as murders of people of color at the hands of police continue even after protests and outcries for justice, the relevance for recording these songs together has only grown. We can’t sing Hard Times Come Again No More with sincerity if the hard times are created by those in our country that are sworn to protect all of its citizens.
We ask that all register to vote and vote for politicians who see the repeated murder of black people at the hands of police for the horror that it is.
In addition, call out your friends and your friends of friends on their racist behavior.
“Your Racist Friend” Copyright 1990 by They Might Be Giants with additional Lyrics by Russell Bartholomee
“Racist Friend” Copyright 1984 by The Special AKA
“Get Up Stand Up” Copyright 1973 by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh
It is our sincere hope that the copyright holders of these songs see this recording as an homage to their work that continues the discussion sparked by their artistry and musicianship.
On this, the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, we declare, loudly and twice for the people in the back:
BLACK LIVES MATTER. BLACK LIVES MATTER.
| Last Name | First Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Alves | Michael | Electric Bass |
| B. | Bonnie | Vocals |
| Bee | Jack | Addtional Snare and Vibraslap |
| Bartholomee | Lucy | Vocals |
| Bartholomee | Russell | Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Funky Solo, Rhythm Guitar, and Theremin |
| Bryan-Wilson | D’Arcy | Tin Whistle |
| Hill | Michael | Final Guitar Solo |
| Kautz | Steve | Drums and Percussion |
| O’Padrick | Ian | Angry Solo and Rhythm Guitar |
| Stillo | Chris | Keyboards |
| Traveling Murphys, The | Vocals | |
| Voellinger | Chuck | Electric Guitar |
| Winchester | Joanna | Harmony Vocals |
Arrangement by Russell Bartholomee and Michael Alves. Recorded at the various homes of the AHO from June to August 2020. Mixed and edited by Russell Bartholomee. Lyric video by Russell Bartholomee.
More information about the musicians can be found on the Musician Bios page.