All about the band The Residents: the history of emergence, mystery and style
There are many musicians in the music industry who have become popular because of their of originality. Such performers usually stand out for their musical style or appearance, but there are guys who hide their appearance to achieve a greater effect of singularity.
Today we are going to talk about a group called The ResidentsThe first of these is the famous musician who is known not only for her innovations in the field of music, but also for her absolute secrecy team members.
Unique creativity hidden beneath the cylinders
The band's history begins in the middle 60s, when a group of artists from Louisiana decides to try their hand at art. A little later, the still nameless band moved to San Francisco, where they began to make a living and promote themselves through photography, painting, and other things. In 1969 the guitarist joins the band. Philip Litman. Then, too, the work of the performers was influenced by Nigel Sinatra or The Mysterious Senada. His teachings are the essence of the band's songs.
Initial attempts to advance were unsuccessful, however case determined the name of the band. In 1971 the musicians sent a demo tape to Warner Bros. studios without giving a return address to preserve the mystery. The tape was returned to the performers, who were listed as Residents. Later the band decided to keep the name. In the same year the debut performance on stage, during which Litman was nicknamed Snakefinger for their specific playing. A little later the next studio recording of the band came out, which included excerpts from their live performance.
From 1972 to 1980, The Residents founded a record company, through which they released an EP Santa Dog. Second album The Third Reich 'n Roll was a record in which the group played with the popularity of rock music. After the record's release, the Residents were joined by Homer Flynn, Hardy Fox, Jay Clem and John Kennedy, who later founded Cryptic Corporation.
In the late 1970s, the guys are releasing albums Fingerprince and the EP Duck Stab!, attracting the attention of the press. In order to maintain the interest, it was decided to make a release of the previously recorded Not Available. Also in 1979 the band released Eskimofeaturing first The image of the participants was black tuxedos, cylinders, and eyeball masks. These costumes began to be used by the members for further live performances. The release of the next Commercial Album in 1980 was the most unusual, because it had 40 songs of one minute each, and to listen to a full pop track you had to play all the songs three times in a row.
In the '80s and '90s, the band became famous for its alive performances. The second part of the musical trilogy Mark of the Mole The idea was to create a concert show, which soon came to fruition. The debut performance took place in April 1982. After a while the band went on tour.
The Mole Project was interrupted, but the group took on the development of the American Composers Series, which was intended as a tribute to the great pop artists. The album that followed The Big Bubble was realized by the Japanese label Wave Records, which sponsored their tour in the mid-80s. Next, the band played a concert to celebrate the band's thirteenth anniversary with Snakefinger.
One of the band's acknowledged masterpieces is God in Three Persons, an album in rock operaswhich did not bring the band much success. The next show was the most powerful in the band's history. Cube-Ewhich was like a theatrical performance, very carefully thought out by the musicians. This performance had large The first time we saw it, it was a commercial success and also drew the attention of the critics.
In the early 1990s, The Residents release their new records on discs, which was an innovation in their work. In addition to the laserdisc recordings Twenty Twisted Questions and Our Finest Flowers, the band created a game called Bad Day on the Midway in collaboration with the artist Jimmy Ludtke. This brought the band even more success and good reviews from the critics, only later the popularity waned due to the obsolescence of the CD-format.
Some time later the band went on tour, in which The Residents did not change their theatrical orientation. They invited session artists to perform, one of them being a future member of the band Nolan Cook. At the beginning of the new millennium, the musicians will release a combined DVD and CD, which will be supplemented on subsequent tours by video while the band is playing on stage.
In 2010-2011, The Residents slightly lifted the veil of mystery, Reforming group and creating trio "Randy, Chuck and Bob." Drummer Carlos was sometimes mentioned, but it is not known if he was a real member of the band. Randy, introduced by frontman groups, had the most contact with the audience, and after a while had blog social network. This concept of the band evolved practically until the 40th anniversary tour of the band.
In 2017, there were another changes in the lineup: Tyrone, Icky and Erky and Cha-cha-cha were now included. After a while, the guys released about five records and made extensive shows for the In Between Dreams and Dog Stab! tour. The latter is positioned as the band's fiftieth anniversary performance.
Musical style and top hits
In many ways, their style was shaped by the teachings of the already mentioned The Mysterious Senadwho admonished that art can only be expressed when the external aspect does not take into account. This is how the musicians of The Residents hid their identities, making conceptual, difficult to understand works. There is no canonization in their music: the musical tradition is most often simply ignored. The band is most often referred to as pioneers of the art-rock, punk and techno genres.
The Residents have borrowed much from the Senad, which also remains an undisclosed personality. His greatest influence can be seen in the early works of Residents.
To understand a little bit more about The Residents' musical focus, it's worth diving into the atmosphere of their most famous tracks.
Satisfaction
The track was released on the 1976 album The Third Reich 'n Roll. The composition is revised version an imperishable composition by the mastodons of rock, The Rolling Stones, deliberately distorted and unrecognizable. Satisfaction was released as single, and re-released as early as 1978 to attract even more media interest in the group.
Numb Erone
A composition originally intended to be performed in a project The Number One Bandwhich was never realized. An abridged instrumental version was released on the debut album Meet The Residents.
Hello Skinny
This composition was recorded in 1978 for the EP Buster & Glenwhich was released as a second side to the full-length album Duck Stab! It was born from the merger of two EPs: Duck Stab! and Buster & Glen. Two years later, the band released video clip for a song that featured Brigitte Terris, a mentally ill person who thinks she is a French model.
Who hides beneath the masks?
So far, the group has not announced their real names. When The Residents first started entering pop music, there was speculation about the members hiding under their costumes. The Beatles, who went into the avant-garde. This was because of the similarity to the name of the band's first studio recording, Meet The Residents, which was a mirror image of the 1964 release Meet The Beatles! 1964.
Since the formation of Cryptic Corporation, some names have become are known. Thus, most fans believe that the "friends" who created the corporation are themselves active persons of the group. This is evidenced by the mention after the death of Hardy Fox, who had been with The Residents throughout his life, that he was recognized founder groups. Other co-founders of Cryptic Corporation refute rumors about their participation in the project.
Many also consider the drummer Nolan Cook member of the band, as he performed as Bob on stage with the Residents during their little "declassification." He also wore branded costumes of the ensemble.
It is assumed that the character named Chuck, who left the group, has been replaced by Eric Drew Feldman under the nickname Rico. Philip Perkins also claims to have been in the band during the '80s era and to have been on The Mole Show.
During the recording of some sessions, The Residents invited musicians who also may have consisted of in the team. Among them: James Whittaker, Bob Tagni, Don Jakovich, Laurie Amat, Molly Harvey, Laurie Hall and Peter Whitehead, among others.
