Visions of Half Sleep

Incident at the Vulcan Mill

Bill Gillard

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The Great Peshtigo Fire swept through Northeast Wisconsin on October 8, 1871 — the same night as the far more famous Great Chicago Fire. Chicago lost something like 300 souls. Peshtigo lost 2,500. A managed burn for clearing brush and timber was caught by fierce autumn winds and became an inferno no person could outrun, a firestorm with convection currents reaching thousands of feet and ground winds exceeding 110 miles per hour. Not everything that perished in that fire died that day. There are ghosts. There are always ghosts.


Track Listing

“Father Jack and the Book of Death” — with "Children Singing in Heaven" by Offsite

“Incident at the Vulcan Mill” — with "Peshtigo Dance" by Bill Gillard

“Labor for What Purpose?” — with "Drift" by Ed Martin

“Avalon” — a song by Bill Gillard

“Home” — with Oct Sweep" by Bill Gillard

“Your Love Suffuses” — with "Suffusion" 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