The Residents are one of the most enigmatic bands on the modern music scene. The mystery lies in the fact that the names of all members of the group are still unknown to fans and music critics. Moreover, no one saw their faces, as they perform on stage in masks.
Since the creation of the band, the musicians have stuck to their image. There were only a few significant changes. The first change was in the mid-1980s when one of the band members had their mask stolen. Actually, this is how a new hero with a skull named Mr. Skull.
In 2010, the musicians got excited and decided to present part of the line-up to the public. The audience finally saw vocalist Randy Rose, as well as the one who was responsible for the sound of the guitar and keyboards.
Fans fell in love with the band through The Cryptic Corparation. At first, the created group included only four managers. Some of the "fans" suggested that these were the band's musicians. However, members of The Residents denied this fact.
The group has a rich heritage. Over a long creative career, they have released a significant number of LPs. In addition, the group has presented many films, developed three CD-ROMs and played several grandiose tours.
The team managed to contribute to the development of underground music. They became the foundation for the emergence of teams: Primus, The KLF, Yello, Tuxedomoon, etc.
They weren't limited to one style. Their repertoire included avant-garde, free jazz, noise rock, post-punk. The group loved musical experiments. Perhaps this was precisely the attention of music lovers to the works of The Residents. The interest of the public, undoubtedly, is increased by bright stage performances using the favorite images of "evil anonymous".
Music by The Residents
The team was founded in 1969. The band's discography was opened by the record Eskimo. This event took place in the late 1970s. The record consists of non-musical sounds, percussion and wordless voices.
It is noteworthy that they even wanted to nominate the disc for a diamond disc. The musicians attended the annual Grammy Awards ceremony, but as a result, fortune did not smile at the singers. As a result of this, the band released remix collections of LP tracks, which were included on the Diskomo EP.
The collection The Commercial Album deserves considerable attention. The disc includes 40 tracks. Interestingly, each track consisted of only one verse and chorus. They offered to repeat each song several times in a row, so that the result would be a pop composition.
The group purchased 50 individual minutes of commercial time on KFRC. For three days the radio station played songs from The Commercial Album. The Billboard edition commented on this trick of the guys, focusing on the fact that they just laughed at their work.
In 2008, the group's discography was replenished with a new album. We are talking about the collection The Bunny Boy. The record continued the general mood of the previous albums: Duck Stab, The Commercial Album and Demons Dance Alone. The new disc included compositions that foreshadowed the Apocalypse.
According to the old tradition, the group went on a large-scale tour. In addition, interesting videos about The Bunny Boy, who is the author of the video, appeared on the official YouTube channel three times a week. In the videos, he asks the audience to find his friend, brother Harvey, who disappeared on the island of Patmos. Those who had creative ideas shared The Bunny Boy mail.
Some time later, information was posted on the official website of the band that Bunny Boy wanted the videos with his participation to be deleted. Thus ended the first season of this crazy series, and the second began two years later.
Group Style Changes
In 2010, the musicians went on a large-scale Talking Light tour. The guys toured North America and European countries. By the way, one of the participants left the band on this tour. The team leader finally commented on this situation:
“Unexpectedly for our team, one of the musicians left the group. He was 40 years old and suddenly he realized that the rock party was not for him. He left to look after his seriously ill mother.”
In the same period of time, the soloists tried on new images and masks. Such a change only increased genuine interest in the group. Vocalist Randy put on an old man's mask. Keyboardist Chuck and guitarist Bob wore black dreadlock wigs and what appeared to be optics on their faces.
In 2012, the presentation of the next disc Coochie Brake took place. The tracks of the compilation were focused on ethnic sound. The lyrics in Spanish were clearly audible in the compositions. This approach was not inherent in the team. Therefore, fans assumed that the vocal parts were performed by a new member.
After that, the musicians of the group The Residents announced the start of a tour, which was organized in honor of the 40th anniversary since the creation of the project. The tour lasted until 2016. As a result of the tour, the musicians released several live records, namely The Wonder of Weird and Shadowland.
The Residents team at present
In 2016, the team officially informed fans about the end of the Randy, Bob and Chuck trilogy. The last part of the trilogy was the Shadowland tour. On stage, Charles Bobak said that he wanted to say goodbye to the stage with this. Charles left the group due to deteriorating health.
Charles wasn't as "transparent" as fans wanted him to be. As a result, it turned out that he took up a solo career. But one way or another, Charles appeared on stage with the band until his death (until 2018). The place of the musician was taken by Rico.
Since 2016, the team has collaborated with the Cherry Red Records label. At the same time, information appeared that the presentation of the next studio album The Ghost of Hope would soon take place.
A year later, a new tour became known. In Between Dreams debuted at the Blue Note Club in Tokyo. Soon the band's discography was replenished with a new album, The Ghost of Hope. The concept of the longplay is based on historical research on railway accidents in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries.
In 2018, the musicians presented the Intruders disc to music lovers. The collection was warmly received by fans and music critics. The soloists of the group held a number of concerts.
Two years later, the album Metal, Meat & Bone The Songs of Dyin' Dog was released, the presentation of which took place in 2020. Part of the concerts the musicians were forced to reschedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
