by the Beard of

..LEE GROBAN    (gesture pound chest and give the Rest in Power gesture 3x) …it’s a drag..

LEE GROBAN SPEAKS-YOUTUBE NBECHTOL

(above is a short, not the “official trailer for the upcoming movie, but you have a bit of a taste)

If I could write across the sky, for all to see it would be this:

“Legendary Artist,/Poet, LEE GROBAN, fnally finds the “CURE for INSOMNIA!”

…And the word is, there was a ripple in the fabric of the Cosmos, embracing LEE into infinity..enjoying,

 experiencing the ultimate trip.

To describe Lee is to indeed, describe the indescribable…an artist, a scholarly researcher of obscure names, a Chicago Icon. A very interesting being. A good man.

You did not just know Lee, You Experienced him. Truly. What I ..and I am sure many can relate to, the “Lee Groban Experience”i

…at this point every one of you can fill the blank space,with the stories, the memories you have of Lee,

And they may pop in your mind, in most unusual ways, to remind you of your connection with him as Indelible tattoos on our souls.

I first met Lee in the late 70s—Lee was performing spoken word, poetry, with his amazing ,body gyrations and stunning vocals at the Omega Center, a hip Chicago Venue using Laser lights and psychedelic multimedia Time arts, with his artist friends, Frank Garvey, (of OmniCircus, San Francisco) and Michael Markowski (Director/ musician/Video artist)

it was intensely overwhelming attack of all your senses—in a good way.

Decades of Art and Poetry..

Lee was at I believe at every festival that existed,  including his art wanderings to places like the Rainbow Festival, New York, Calif, and Canada and beyond, which he reveled in, as he would say, “getting exposure” for his work. A fixture at the Chicago Art Scene. (and banned by some of the “best” galleries in River North”

Lee loved an audience, he intensely embraced the Poetry Scene (and the poets really understood him), as he would say they dug me..Lee was an enthusiastic performer live and on videos –And in his daily life as an artist.

The last art show Lee collaborated with me on was at the Zhou Bros Art Center, at the 4Art Inc , “Somnambulist” curated by Jenny Lam. (under the auspices of Robin Rios, artist, director and mentor)

The subject was an art/installation tribute I made of Lee, 2010, the title,

“at second glance, you notice something is different, Lee is dreaming…”

The Lee Groban Experience wove into the fabric of the Chicago Art Scene for over 4 decades. With his unique and personal visions. It was a gift to know him.

Finally, a quote, I stole off a video interview on poets– by the artist Wes Heine,

Lee said:

I DANCE WILD DANCES, AND MAKE WEIRD WILD FACES,

BUT WE ALL WERE DOING THAT TOGETHER, SO

I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE DOING IT

By the beard of.. Lee Groban

 PEACE

As spoken by

…Nancy Bechtol

at the Memorial tribute

 held at Packer Schopf Gallery

942 W. Lake Street. Chicago    December 17, 2011