Visions of Half Sleep
A dreamscape of Bill Gillard's poetry and fiction that rides musical waves from a community of musicians in northeastern Wisconsin.
All poems and stories written and performed by Bill Gillard.
billgillard.com
Broadcast on Wednesdays at 10pm on WOCT 101.9 FM Oshkosh.
Art by Judith Waller.
Music by:
- Nani Agbeli, drums, Lawrence University
- Greg Cebulski, piano, Appleton
- Joanna Dane, flute, Appleton
- Loren Dempster, cello, Lawrence University
- Paul Dietrich, trumpet, Ripon College
- Bill Gillard, Appleton
- Tony Knuppel, piano, Appleton
- Ed Martin, piano, UW Oshkosh
- Tad Neuhaus, guitar and percussion, Appleton
- Nadje Noordhuis, trumpet, Lawrence University
- Offsite, music producer, Appleton
- Wilson Poffenberger, saxophone, UW Stevens Point
- Tom Washatka, many instruments, UW Oshkosh
- Drew Whiting, saxophone, UW Oshkosh
Visions of Half Sleep
A Million Years 'til Morning
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
It is hard enough to close one’s eyes at the end of a day thinking about the missed opportunities, the moments when our weakness was demonstrated beyond doubt, without bringing other people into the frame. Once we allow others in, we risk them hurting us or, even worse, us hurting them. “Breakwater Serenade” is about forgiveness unearned, which is the only kind of forgiveness any of us is likely to find. “Decomposition” and “Dream” are about tearing down the structures we build each day so that we can sleep under the night sky. Late at night, when our heads find the pillow, ideas begin to flow, as if they were free of gravity common to the upright world. “Make Every Day Your Last” is a song that gets conceived and crafted in these moments. Make sire you have something to write on next to your bed: you will most certainly lose the idea before morning no matter how memorable it seems at the time. “A Million Years till Morning” shows a lifetime of guilt accruing to us like dust, as if we are chunks of ice hurtling through the Oort Cloud, one day to be majestically and mercifully disintegrated by the solar wind. More poems follow—we can escape neither into language or far-flung locales. We are still us and the others in our lives stay with us for no good reason. “Morning Dove” is the first dream of the night: incoherent, fragmented, and vivid.
Story | Music Track Listing
Opening | "Cyberfrogs" by Bill Gillard
Breakwater Serenade | "Chill Pill" by Offsite
MEDYL Synths | Bill Gillard
Decomposition | "Journey 1" by Ed Martin
MEDYL Guitar Vox by Bill Gillard
Dream | "Something of Mine" by Bill Gillard
A Million Years 'til Morning | "Dread" by Bill Gillard
Crawled She New Booming Bed | "Cool Saturday" by Bill Gillard
Make Every Day Your Last by Bill Gillard
Baguette et Brie, S'il Vous Plaît | "Ambient Ideas" by Bill Gillard
Her Squid Uncooked | "A Minor Run" by Bill Gillard
Morning Dove | "Unconscious Now" by Bill Gillard
Closing | "Cyberfrogs" by Bill Gillard
"Visions of Half Sleep" is a dreamlike soundscape, a collaboration among artists in northeast Wisconsin. It is Bill Gillard's words and voice along with music by many.
More from Bill Gillard
Website: www.billgillard.com
Instagram: billgillard3