''The Transit Rider'' is the fourth album by Faun Fables and the theatrical production on which it was based.

Track listing

# "Birth" – 2:10 # "Transit Theme" – 4:46 # "The House Carpenter" – 5:05 # "In Speed" – 3:51 # "Taki Pejzaz" – 8:12 # "Roadkill" – 4:32 # "Earth's Kiss" – 5:05 # "Fire & Castration" – 4:51 # "The Questioning" – 2:01 # "I No Longer Wish To" – 1:13 # "The Corwith Brothers" – 3:18 # "Dream on a Train" – 6:51 # "I'd Like to Be" – 4:11

Background information

''The Transit Rider'' began as a theatrical production. The inspiration for the show was McCarthy's experiences on the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

from when she relocated there in 1994. As a live performance, ''The Transit Rider'' premiered as a full-length theater show in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 2002. In April through June 2006, the four-member version of Faun Fables including Jenya Chernoff and Matt Lebofsky toured North America. The tour culminated in a large-scale performance at th
Oakland Metro Opera House
in Oakland, California on May 26 and 27. The stage was set to resemble a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

train, with a row of chairs along the upstage wall. Behind the actors portraying the riders, three large windows showed projected images which are the work of visual artis
Eric S. Koziel
The first act began with the performers entering the stage as if entering a rail car. As each character reached his or her stop (announced with increasingly cryptic commentary by Frykdahl as The Train

Conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

) he or she moved to a microphone near the door of the train car, performed a song, and then exited the stage. Performers include
Sean LeeMick Runolfsson
and others. Following this portion of the performance
Moe! Staiano
entered downstage and played an improvised piece on

78 RPM records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

in which he developed rhythmic motifs while beating the 78's with

mallets A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

until they broke into pieces; as the pieces get smaller, the pitch rises, and Staiano used this as a motive to increase the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

and intensity until the fragments of the records flew off the stage under the power of his mallet-strokes. Meanwhile, as McCarthy's interactions with the Train Conductor become more psychomimetic, Frykdahl enters in the guise of a travelling salesman, who offers McCarthy

elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...

s or charms which offer protection from various things including

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and

castration Castration is any action, surgery, surgical, chemical substance, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical cas ...

, foreshadowing a song from the second act. At the end of the trip, McCarthy was left alone on the rail car, with only the disembodied Train Conductor (Frykdahl), veiled in shadow and making cryptic announcements over the public address system. McCarthy attempts to comply to rigorous regulations as intoned by the Train Conductor, as she tries in vain to try to find an appropriate stop along the rail line to have a

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

. This concluded act one, which was followed by an

intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a break between parts of a performance or production, such as for a play (theatre), theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with ...

. The second act consisted of the four-member Faun Fables performing ''The Transit Rider'' song cycle in a faithful reproduction of the music as it appears on the Drag City CD.

Reviews

The Transit Rider, Live, Oberlin, OH 2006-05-01The Transit Rider, Live, Seattle, WA 2006-06-05

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transit Rider, The Faun Fables albums 2006 albums Drag City (record label) albums 2002 musicals