居民乐队

The Residents are an American art collective, music and visual arts group best known for their avant-garde and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Santa Dog (1972) they have released over 60 albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, and ten DVDs over the course of over half a century. They have undertaken seven major world tours and scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. They founded Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, in 1972.

Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to work anonymously, preferring to have attention focused on their art. Much speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, they appear silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a costume now recognized as their signature iconography. In 2017, Hardy Fox, long known to be associated with the Residents, identified himself as the band's co-founder and primary composer; he died in 2018. The Residents have remained active and have been regarded as one of the longest running bands in popular music history.

History

1969–1972: Origins and Residents Unincorporated

In 1969, Texas born Hardy Fox moved from Louisiana to an apartment in San Mateo, California where he lived with his fellow Louisiana Tech University graduate and visual artist Homer Flynn, as well as two of the latter's high school friends, from Shreveport. Although the name would not be adopted until 1974, the earliest recordings credited to The Residents were made during this period.

While attempting to make a living, the group purchased crude recording equipment and began to refine their recording and editing skills, as well as photography, painting, and other affordable artistic endeavors. The Residents have acknowledged the existence of at least two unreleased reel-to-reel items from this era, titled The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger and Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor.

In 1971, the group, now accompanied by pianist James Whitaker and bassist Bob Tangney, sent a reel-to-reel demo tape, The Warner Bros. Album, to Hal Halverstadt at Warner Bros. Although the tape did not lead to a record deal, it did originate a name; as they had not included one on the return address, the rejection slip was addressed to "Residents", which led to them adopting the name Residents Uninc., and later, The Residents.

As Residents Uninc. the group began to make live appearances at open mic events, radio stations, and parties, most notably between October 18th and 31st, 1971, whilst they were working on a second demo tape for Warner, titled Baby Sex. The cover art for the tape box was a silk-screened copy of an old photo depicting a woman fellating a small child, an example of the extremely confrontational and deliberately puerile visual and lyrical style the group adopted during this period. These appearances and recordings were all accompanied by Philip 'Snakefinger' Lithman.

During this period the group also began to incorporate myth making and kayfabe into their work, when N. Senada became a prominent figure, appearing on stage, making radio appearances, even crediting him as the primary songwriter and performer on Baby Sex, merely accompanied by Residents Uninc.

1972–1980: "Classic" era

Santa Dog, Meet the Residents, Not Available and The Third Reich 'n Roll (1972–1976)

In 1972, Residents Uninc. relocated to 20 Sycamore St, San Francisco; a studio they named "El Ralpho", which boasted a completely open ground floor (seemingly ideal for a sound stage), allowing the group to expand their operations and also begin preliminary work on their most ambitious project up to that point, a full-length film entitled Vileness Fats, which consumed most of their attention for the next four years. Intended to be the first-ever long form music video, the Residents saw this project as an opportunity to create the ultimate cult film. After four years of filming (from 1972 to 1976) the project was reluctantly cancelled because of time, space, and monetary constraints. Fifteen hours of footage was shot for the project, yet only approximately 35 minutes of that footage has ever been released.

The group also formed Ralph Records at this time, as a small, independent label to release and promote their own work. In 1972, to inaugurate the new business, the group recorded and pressed the Santa Dog EP, their first recorded output to be released to the public. Designed to resemble a Christmas card from an insurance company, the EP consisted of two 7" singles, one song on each side. The four songs were presented as being by four different bands (Ivory & the Braineaters, Delta Nudes, the College Walkers, and Arf & Omega featuring the Singing Lawnchairs), with only a small note on the interior of the gatefold sleeve mentioning the participation of "Residents, Uninc."