“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” is a fitting way to close the series, as I think it sums up what the band meant to a lot of its members. Our singer, Deadre Chase, suggested the song, & Eberle came up with the arrangement. This particular recording was made at a 2003 performance at the Alpine Playhouse in McCall, Idaho.
To refresh your memory—or for those who haven’t been following the whole series—the Alice in Wonder Band was formed in 2001, with its original members being Art Troutner, Barb Dixon, Eberle Umbach, Kati Sheldon, Lois Fry & yours truly, John Hayes. The band was formed originally to provide background music for a high school drama troupe’s production of “Antigone”(!), which was performed in December 01. A sort of proto-Alice in Wonder Band consisted of Eberle, Lois & myself, when we provided background music for the same drama troupe’s productions of “Alice in Wonderland” in 98 (hence the band name) & “Under Milkwood” in 99. The band began performing on its own in 2002, with our first show being at the Roseberry Folk Festival in July of that year. By this point, Deadre Chase had joined the band as a second vocalist, & when Kati Sheldon left the band in the fall of 02 in order to focus on school, Deadre became the main singer. Deb Cahill & Bob George joined the band in 03. The band’s final show was December 17th 2004 (not the 18th, as I said in an earlier post).
The line-up for any given show varied from four to eight, not counting assorted dancers, performers & guest stars. Here are the members of the band & the instruments they played:
- Deb Cahill: Doumbek, Djembe, Conga, Percussion, Kazoo, Boomwhackers
- Deadre Chase: Vocals
- Barb Dixon: Djembe, Conga, Percussion, Police Whistle, Washboard
- Lois Fry: Violin, Viola, Vocals, Slide Whistle
- Bob George: Clarinet, Mandolin, Guitar
- John Hayes: Bass, Plectrum & 5-String Banjos, Guitar, Assorted Ukuleles
- Kati Sheldon: Vocals, Percussion
- Art Troutner: Oboe, Soprano & Tenor Recorder, Mandolin
- Eberle Umbach: Marimba, Piano, Djembe, Melodica, Glockenspiel, Flute, Bass, Concert Ukulele
The band laid down tracks for a studio album in June 2004. The album was called Elephant Cloudland. While the final mixing was never completed on the tracks, they are available for free as a download from BandCamp here.
Hope you enjoy the song, & best wishes for 2011.
Photos used in the video are by: Earl Brockman, Tim Hohs, Michael Richardson, Dani Leone, Chris Leone, Wayne Brandon