[this is such a geeky thread - i love it more than i'm prepared to admit!] ok, so i wasn't stabbed in the neck or anything as dramatic as that, but i was living in England in the early 90s, and my pal whipped out the Patterns and Textures video while we were tripping at his house - i've been in love with Perpetual Dawn ever since! (that bass and funny/creepy laugh - who can resist it?) some time later, i went to the shops and managed to get the two disc UF Orb by mere fluke (i wasn't as obsessive as i am now, and thought the cover art looked good) and proceeded to play it for just about everyone i knew (and then some). my excitement over the music quickly developed into an insatiable passion! my first live Orb experience was actually in Japan (osaka) at this tiny club in maybe 93? i was studying abroad there, and grabbed an English language paper for some relief, only to discover the orb was playing *that night* for the bargain price of the equivalent of $50 (US)! after negotiating everything with my host family (no easy task - how the hell do you say "my absolute favourite band in the whole world is playing here tonight, and i know its tuesday and i haven't done my homework, but i *have* to go!!" in japanese?!?) i took a Japanese friend to this tiny place for a fantastic show (i guess supporting the Tong Poo/Technodon releases, as i picked those up a few days later). it opened and closed with DJ Lewis, so the boyz could come out and dance after their set! i was pretty much the only non-Japanese person there, so i went up and had a rather inane conversation with Andy (still in his long-haired days - thrash'll have a go at me for mentioning that, i'm sure) who was incredibly nice and we both basically talked about how much we enjoyed the show - him playing, me listening/dancing. i've been to maybe 6 or 7 live Orb gigs, and that was the only one i did sober, and it was incredible nonetheless. though i think my fave show was the last one here in SF on the last tour - i swear, Perpetual Dawn went on *forever*... (the sound system was amazing and Simon on the live bass is such a treat! that more than compensated for the Coachella disaster that followed) whatever happened to DJ Lewis, anyways? =) rachel ------------------------------------ Rachel's Orb Discography http://www.migoto.com/orb