Live CD Set
Liner Notes

   When I was asked to write some liner notes, I thought it meant an ocean cruise service needed a sea chantey...

   Mad Fables, 1973-1978, was not just another rock band which blended youthful expectations and idealism in their original songs for the pop market. (If you remember your pop music history, this 1970's period was the dawn and heyday of the disco beat.) Their impact on the professional music scene was negligible. However, their total significance was not nil (say "not nil" five times fast to simulate talking to one of the members)-- indeed, there had to be some kind of magic for these songs to be trotted out some twenty-five years later.

    Unlike other bands of their caliber in this musical era, Mad Fables did have local success at maintaining a modest schedule of bookings -- usually twice a week, but as many as six nights a week at their peak. They also performed several concerts, some presented as public events, some in the great outdoors and some in concert halls. At one time, their recording endeavors carried the weight of a reputable music publishing company, TRO, The Richmond Organization, the Pink Floyd publishers made infamous by Have a Cigar. On the other hand, they never hooked that elusive contract. All their recordings but one were self-produced.

   The key element which lifted the Fables above a garage band fate was their following. The collection of listeners and dancers and friends who sojourned to Mad Fable performances --they turned a band gig into a social experience. In some ways, going to see Mad Fables was like going to the neighborhood cafe -- you never knew what old friend you would meet (or who would spill something on you).

    This music came from a musical era when everything had a slang name and all people had at least two nicknames. I remember our names: Farkus, Quagmire, Doogs, Racky, Spanky, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc and Bashful. The Hi-ho guys.

   The first set of stage lights were made from automobile headlights, a transformer and standard house wiring dimmers. When the lights came up and down, a loud hum followed in intensity.

    The five musicians were the core members. The supporting members were involved with the sound, lights and management aspects. The hardest jobs to keep filled comprised the road crew - carrying the equipment before each gig from the Rheinerously decorated Mad Fables truck to set up the stage. Then they would breakdown and pack up at the end of the performance...For no pay, or little pay, or free beers, or a kind word. The band experimented with several methods of achieving blissful deployment. For a period of time, performances were scheduled, so that each of the band members had to participate in the physical labor of moving the electronics. In another stretch of time, those who unpacked the truck received a $10 bonus.

   Some regular people filled in duties to become fixtures in the band history: Dennis Alichwer became the soundman. He handled the electronics and brought a sophisticated balance to the mixing job. For a brief chapter, he lived in a farmhouse which he turned into a spacious outdoor recording studio -- you'll hear several cuts on these CDs from the Porch Recordings . At gigs, when the band members were up on stage and pointed to their ears, this was direct communication with Dennis. Then again, he might not be looking at you. Bruce Warren, Russ Allison, Mike Angelo, Sarge, the Burke brothers -- all were official and unofficial roadies, lightmen and backstage bouncers. If the music was jeopardized, they would tie your shoe from offstage, so as not to be seen, by using two bamboo shoots and scotch tape...dedicated? You bet.

   The first sound system was purchased with a loan arranged by the first unofficial manager of Fables. The investor was a Paterson policeman who owned a coin shop, so he had some extra money to play around with, so to speak. In the back of the shop, there were some old porn movies that had been confiscated from a frat stag party.

   The group tried hard to find a manager who was sympathetic with their ideals. I don't think anyone really ever got the manager title officially via a signed contract. The most successful of the managers were people who actually listened to and enjoyed the music. Barry Friedman helped the band through the TRO contract period (and was responsible for the coin shop connection). John "Baron"Rothchild lived on a gentleman's farm in Pennsylvania (with Dennis, where the Porch Recordings took place). John bought the Yamaha mixing board which was permanently loaned to the band for their gigs. He is also believed to be the owner of the master tapes from the Get Off album. Another entrepreneur, who was referred to as Max-Man, helped print some nice promotional materials.

    For the most part, the band booked themselves. Mike Dugan did the lion's share of the booking work. In the early days, Marge Siscone used her college contacts to get gigs at campus and County Park events. Some booking agents tried to get us work - I remember arriving for a job at a bar where we were sold as "high-energy heavy metal rock from New York".

    The time-consuming mailing list was passed around from person to person - me to Marge to Gwen Tinsman. And sometimes, at gigs, you could find Mary Claire or Debbie or anyone else addressing each mailer by hand. This was pre-PC computing: a master list of names was xerographed onto labels which were then peeled and stuck on flyers.

    A typical Florida sudden downpour forced us into our hotel room for an hour, so we sat around and tossed about possible names for a group. Not any of us knew when starting that summer trip to Fort Lauderdale in the "vibe-mobile", that we were beginning a much different journey.

    How does an original band get started? When we first got together we jammed. The only thing on our minds then was that the chemistry of the players didn't cause mold. Dugan was in a cover band with Spence. Jeff and Rich had been together in a high school rock band. I had been performing original songs for several years in coffee houses.

   Jeff and Mike Radtke jammed. Rich, Jeff and Mike Radtke jammed. Mike Dugan, Rich, Jeff and Mike Radtke jammed. Et cetera. We recorded our jammin'and listened to it, hearing some potential, but mostly having fun. The lure of playing original music seduced us all.

   The oldest of the original songs was either Woman or Following You-- I forget which was written first. But, I never expected or intended for them to be played by anyone other than me. The first song we jammed on was Born under a Bad Sign. The first original song jammed on was Sea Hunt.

   Eventually, Calliope the muse touched all of us, such that we had to schedule the introduction of new songs in practice sessions.} The more complicated songs took longer to learn (Autumn Song, Peon Song, Three Chord Rock, etc).

    At a performance, someone would approach a Mad-man and say something like, "Hey, that song reminds me of the Moody Blues."Or, "You guys play that just like the Dead." This never bothered me. Listeners plugged into the band on whatever channel that they could use to relate to the music. Once, though, there was a falling out about sounding like the Grateful Dead. A decision-making meeting (nicknamed "Skull Session") was called. The outcome was that the Grateful Dead's songs were banished from our repertoire. This decision lasted a full year.

    In January of 1998, at a practice in the Stockton house, I announced to the group that I would be leaving in March after our last advanced booking. We mutually decided to keep it a secret from our fans, so that new material, without me, could be assembled. With hindsight, I would not agree to this arrangement again. Little could I foresee that I would receive angry letters from fans who thought I abruptly left. I apologize for that lack of closure.

   Spence soon left the group after me, but the Fables continued to play on for another year and a half with a new keyboard player and drummer. I know that some people have been left out of these liner notes, but how does one fit in all the people who made the experience worthwhile? These are only liner notes, not a novel! I also believe that any one of the Mad Fables would have a totally different recollection of our musical life. On the next gig, guys, you can be Rex Doyle.

Racky,