Tim Rose is a music artist, producer, and songwriter currently living in his mobile recording studio “Vanna White” on the streets of Los Angeles. Driven by an insatiable passion for music, he shed a normal life in order to more effectively pursue his dreams. He moved out of his apartment in Hawaii and started living van life full time in 2015. He was transforming; the inverse of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. He was moving into a cocoon — one with wheels and build for speed. This vehicle guides him, and every morning he meditates; devoutly praying to the gods of funk and soul to deliver him from temptation. His passion is a force of nature, driving him to divinity or insanity— whichever comes first.
He wasn’t always this way. He started playing music in high school. A rowdy young drunk, a lost soul trying to be like Jimmy Page in more ways than one. He got so good so quick that less than two years after picking up his instrument— he was accepted to the University of Hawaii on a scholarship. He studied music theory half-time, he was more interested in studying narcotic chemistry. After an unsuccessful run, he bottomed out in a ditch in Tacoma, Washington.
After getting out of rehab, one of Tim’s best friends died from drugs. His guitar was his only friend. Music was the light at the end of the tunnel. It got him through the darkness. His guardian angels were Bill Withers, D’angelo, J Dilla, Stevie Wonder, Prince. They sang from on high, where he climbed out of his ditch and got sober. Music is his salvation — and it saved his life.
In 2014, without any recordings released, we was chosen to perform at the ASCAP expo in Hollywood. In 2015, Tim recorded his debut album on a chocolate farm in the eastern jungles of Kauai. His debut release was received with critical acclaim and was nominated for two Na Hoku Hanohano awards in 2016. His debut music video "Be Myself" won Best Music Video at the Yosemite Film Festival, and his follow up music video for "Sirens" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2017 Na Hoku Hanohano awards. He was chosen to perform at the 2017 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. This is striking considering this is only his first project.
Greater ambitions emerged. After the death of Prince and Maurice White in the same year, it seemed to Tim that life was considerably less funky. He got an idea; Create a classic Funk EP with a modern production style in New York, then crowdfund a short film visual album around that project. It was funded to the tune of $65,000, and the visual album released to a sold out movie theatre of patrons and kickstarters in 2018.
After more awards and more sold out shows in Hawaii, it was time to cross the pond to LA. in 2019 he put his van in the hull of a Boeing 747 (ask him how) and flew that dream with him to Inglewood. Since then, he’s performed full time all over the country. His last show before the pandemic was a successful gathering of artists local to Hawaii in the legendary Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.
The pandemic hit Tim hard. No income, an unfinished van studio, an no public places to shower or go to the bathroom. A deep depression set in. He needed a job — and God intervened. 2020 gifted tim a job fundamentally impacting climate change through selling residential solar for Alchemy Solar. This allows Tim to help people save money on their electricity bills whilst helping the climate— and the money funds new music projects. Let the games begin!