The Reclines regularly played Edmonton's popular Sidetrack Cafe, a local venue that featured live bands six nights a week. In 1983, lang presented a performance-art piece, a seven-hour re-enactment of the transplantation of an artificial heart for Barney Clark, a retired American dentist. "A Truly Western Experience" was released in 1984 and received strong reviews and led to national attention in Canada. In August 1984, lang was one of three Canadian artists to be selected to perform at the World Science Fair in Tsukuba, Japan (along with other performing and recording contracts throughout Japan).