BY 1997, CHICAGO'S loft heroes had come a long way from the nitrous tanks and sweaty bricks of Milwaukee Avenue and were headlining clubs around the world. Prior to a DJ set in Ireland, a local publication called Hot Press titled their write-up on Spencer "A STAR IS BORN!" The painfully ironic subtitle:

As Long As Gemini is on the Case, House Music Will Never Die.

But Gemini is nowhere to be found.

For many years, there have been rumors circulating about what happened to Spencer. He made a well-publicized move to the Bay Area prior to 2000, giving Chicago - or at least some people in the industry back home - a kiss-off with the acrid track "Swimmin' Wit' Sharks". And so far as anyone knows what happened, that's when something went terribly, terribly wrong.

Gemini was back in Chicago not long after, minus his studio equipment, his DJ gear, or any visible means of support. To the few he encountered, he didn't seem himself. He cut almost all ties, even with people who had known him for years. On one occasion when he was recognized, he vowed revenge on a couple of well-known Chicago House Music producers who he claimed had stolen his music from a laptop. At the time, according to someone who talked with him, he was panhandling - staying in an SRO when he had a good day, a shelter when he didn't.

What had gone wrong? Spencer was still giving interviews as late as 2001, but within a year or two, it all ended. No more tracks, no more gigs, and lifelong friends worried that something was seriously wrong. They couldn't do more than worry: most of them have never seen him again.

THAT'S WHERE THE story went cold. There's been some speculation in the foreign press about Spencer - the half-assed "Where Are They Now?" stories that the British music press especially seems to delight in - but few have come up with any answers.

Informing the world that Spencer is in a bad way isn't the point of this article. And you have to understand one thing, and I understand it very clearly: people loved Spencer. Years later, that loyalty is still strong.

And that's where things stood until now.

Someone - I don't know who - has been sending me enormous files containing just about all of Gemini's tracks, mixes, and a handful of photographs. I don't think any of these tracks are unreleased - at least judging by the file names, all have been out for years. The sets too seem to have been circulating for awhile.

In other words: it's proof of nothing.

Sometimes a cryptic message was included with the files. "If u listen in order, you'll find out where," one read. All were sent via a remailer service - no reply is possible. The person sending this undoubtedly had that intention in mind.

Again: proof of nothing. Creepy, but proof of nothing.

But whether this is from a devout fan, a prankster or - a longshot - from Spencer himself, someone really wants this story to be written. And so do I. Because going through these tracks, through Spencer's entire catalog or at least a huge part of it, made me appreciate, for the first time in years, what an amazing talent he was. Scattered throughout his back catalog, amid many tracks that evoke the era they were created in, are brilliant gems that have never been equaled. Many are so unique that I don't think anyone would get it in their mind to try to copy them. (Note: For what it's worth, one of Spencer's closest friends suggested after reading this story in the print edition of 5 Magazine that this sounds "just like something Spencer would do." Sadly, I haven't heard from the mystery man since the last file - a giant, multi-gigabyte zip with about four dozen tracks, mixes and photos - arrived.)