'I see a light above you, a circle that glows when you walk by me'
'Sleepless Angels'
(Originally titled-Walking with the Dialogue)
An Audio Film
Must have Windows Media Player to listen
Sleepless Angels Part 1-15 minutesSleepless Angels Part 2-13 minutes Written and directed by
Dan Sherrill and Wooden Box Theater
Produced by Kilton Hopkins, Jamie Burd, and Dan Sherrill. 1996, 1998, 2005.
Originally released on cassette on French Love Journal Records and Circus Records. 1998.
Filmed live on location on Michigan Avenue-Chicago, IL. February, 1996.
Original cassette mastering done by Kilton Hopkins.
Backward masking recorded February of 1998 at Common Press Studios DeKalb, IL.
Burned to CD by Jamie Burd. November 2005.
The cassette originally came with the following in its insert-
'This is an open air recording, if you appear on it for any reason, and it goes to the top of the charts, you'll be a star. Inspired by the music videos for Natalie Merchant's 'Carnival,' and 'Anybody Seen My Baby,' by the Rolling Stones.
Without these people, this record would not be here-The music of Harry Connick Jr, Pink Floyd, Jeff Lynne, and Van Dyke Parks. Natalie Merchant, Peter Bergman, and Rudy Galindo.
The original thank you list included in the cassette insert-
Special thanks for guidance and support and secret keeping-Jennifer Richards, Ashley Mason, The Circus(all 9 of us), Portishead, the band Reggie, Tara McCabe, Tricia Heron, Roger Waters, Tori Amos, Belinda Maureen Short, M. Liszka, Chris, Nick and Paula from Downtown Discs, Sue, C. Magnusson, Amanda and Dawayne from John St. Violet, Jewel Kilcher, A. Morrissette, Fiona Apple, R. Gianino, Van Dyke Parks, Ben Evans, Leo, Cole, A.J. and Caitlin Deschanel, Kami, Matt Carlson, Ben, and Time Campbell, and Rachel Petty.
The Original Poems included in the liner notes-
The Last Ballad
The director makes this the last ballad, but no ones wants to leave the dance, as they have all found true love, under the shadow of our heritage. So the music stops and everyone goes home, but out of the shadows of the people leaving, she walks by him. She suddenly remembers his name. Alone and quiet, he asks her to dance, and for the first time she says, 'Yes.' So without music or an audience, they dance together...
Lady Violet
"While you persist in preventing
me from dancing with the lady
she walks further away. Further
away from me. I don't understand
why this is happeneing. I don't know
an answer to give to her. Tomorrow
she will look at me and wonder just
who I am and why I wanted so much
to be with her. We never talk, she
doesn't know my name. We have
never spoken to each other, but
she is in my thoughts and in my
world. That's something you can
never take away. The way our
eyes meet. If you try to turn
off the lights, the lady will never
leave my heart." A. Deschanel-1998
'Sleepless Angels' Facts
This was the second release on Circus Records out of Sycamore, IL. It was also mentioned, under it's original title, 'Walking with the Dialogue,' in an article about the label in the DeKalb Chronicle around the time of preparing for its cassette release. The first release on the label was, of course, The Circus' own 'Transients Welcome.'
The walk path for the film was from the Hilton Towers in Chicago to the Tribune Towers. Both on Michigan Avenue. Some scenes were captured very close to a tour boat on the Chicago river. And close to an awesome set of drummers who just felt like setting up outside at about 11pm! That's Chicago for you.
The tape was sold at Northern Lights Bookstore, where 'Alia and the Boy' was performed live, Record Revolution, where I'd made a huge poster advertising it, and Hemispheres, which sold the most copies of anywhere they were taken to. The tape set a new standard for store catagorization. Where do you catagorize an audio film? Suddenly a new genre was born!
Another trip to Chicago with the handheld recorder actually enabled me to tape record a street peddler stealing $75 from me. The police that night said I couldn't use it to get the guy who did it, since it's technically illegal to record people without them knowing about it. Even though I had the guy's voice on tape. But I still got to ride in the front seat of a Chicago Police car trying to pick out a few suspects they'd caught. None of them were the guy who stole from me. Imagine that! I kept it for ages, the footage on tape. I wanted The Circus to include it on their CD. Just in case, of course, the idiot happened to own it and press play on his CD player just to hear his own voice. That would've been a wake up call!
Recording the backward masking for the poetry opening and closing of the movie was one of the funnest things I've ever done. It took a few takes to get it right, and luckily the producer, Kilton Hopkins, was patient. I was researching the secret message craze of the heavy metal explosion of the 70's and 80's and how all these bands from Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd had hidden messages on their CD's. If you play ours backwards there's a few poems, that in all honesty I've heard played forwards maybe twice ever. It's be interesting to find a way to play the tape backwards again. Maybe the people on the street are passing each other coded messages...You never know.
Stay tuned for more!
