It was a dark and frigid night. There was no moon.
Strange &
beautiful sounds rose from the bowels of Clark Street. Steamed windows
without, a warm and cozy meeting place within. Several species of
assorted art gypsies, musos, and unsuspecting diners gathered in a cafe
and grooved to the sound. This was only one of hundreds of events
happening on a cold Winter night in Chicago.
Many
were waiting upstairs during the { sold out } first half hoping they might
find a seat for the second half. Curiosity and the ever elusive "buzz"
were quickly forming around this collective calling itself
Art Fiction.
Consisting of former members of Dot Dot Dot, ONO, De Paul University
alum, storytellers, folkies, magicians, classical musicians, punkers, proggers, & poets - questions about Art Fiction were on many people's minds
that night. And if this unique blend was not already enticing enough:
tonight they were being joined by none other than the
drum drake and wizard of wonder himself, the esteemed Hamid
Drake...
Those who witnessed Art Fiction knew there were easily 2 or 3 bands within the band. Throughout the night the stage was occupied by subset duos, trios & quartets. The { nearly } entire ensemble assembled toward the beginning and the end. In order to experience the full enchilada you had to see the whole show from beginning to end.
Well my fellow listener, the questions
of what Art Fiction was and would never be are answered - if at all, in
the tapes that remain.
Step with me now across the millennium into another time. Down the wooden stairs to the cellar of the long vanished
Cafe Voltaire on a cold January night. As you descend, you feel the contrasting sense of ascending.
Your eyes adjust as you behold a cavern, lit by a single
candle ...
1) story 1:21
2) The Golden Grotto 10:06
3) Ruins I 5:41
4) Ruins II 3:06
5) Ruins III / WindRiders 8:55
6) drums 1:09
7) Fanfare / The Gate 9:00
8) SleepWakers / cello 5:51
9) cello 1:59
10) Don't Forget What You Came Here For /
Cry Forever ... 5:08
11) ... Cry Forever 4:20
12) Picture Of The Future 5:55
13) Lifting The Mists 8:07
14) No Change Takes Time / The Big Bang pt. IV 14:30