Legendary art rock group The Residents officially announce FACELESS FOREVER, their 50th Anniversary Tour commencing March 16 at Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR) and criss-crossing 22 cities before embarking on a three-day tour beginning in April at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco , California) culminating on 17 – 19, 2023. The Residents are celebrating their strange and unlikely 50th anniversary in glory, performing selections from their legendary 1978 DUCK STAB! Album plus spotlight music from recent release METAL, MEAT & BONE along with an eclectic collection of fan favourites. Always unpredictable, The Residents bring their debut feature film, Triple Trouble, to live audiences nationwide at every FACELESS FOREVERtour venue. Triple Trouble is shown at 8:00 p.m., the concert time at 9:30 p.m.
Following its New York theatrical premiere on March 7, Triple Trouble will stream March 9-23, 2023 on MoMA (NYC)’s members-only Virtual Cinema platform (CLICK to join).
Detailed information on DUCK STAB!; METAL, FLESH & BONES; and Triple Trouble, see below:
DUCK BAR!
Released in 1978, DUCK STAB! was an EP of seven cleanly sung songs with understandable (if nonsensical) lyrics – a first for The Residents. The EP was a resounding success. After the first pressing quickly sold out, The Cryptic Corporation soon released a second pressing. Unfortunately the sound quality of the EP was poor because The Residents tried to squeeze sixteen minutes of music onto the disc. The band decided to re-release the songs in an album to improve the sound. They took a similar unreleased EP called Buster & Glen and made it onto side two of the new album. DUCK ROD! / Buster & Glen was released the following November and later renamed simply DUCK STAB. The album was a huge critical hit thanks to the music’s accessibility and sly, Lewis Carroll-inspired lyrics (not to mention Snakefinger’s amazing guitar work).
To get a little insight into the DUCK STAB! Live set, watch the exclusive performance by DUCK STAB! LIVELY! directed by acclaimed video artist John Sanborn: https://vimeo.com/557609428/b6c4031145 (FOR MEDIA USE ONLY, DO NOT POST). Rolling Stone reported on DUCK STAB! LIVELY! (SHORTCUT).
METAL, FLESH & BONES
The Residents released a new double CD recording, METAL, MEAT & BONE, based on newly discovered recordings by Alvin Snow (aka Dyin’ Dog). METAL, MEAT & BONE includes 10 Dyin’ Dog demos, 10 renditions of The Residents demos and six new Dyin’ Dog-inspired works. Black Francis of the Pixies is featured on the track “DIE! DIE! DIE!” to see. Rolling Stone released the music video for DIE! THE! DIE!“, which can be seen HERE.
For more information on Alvin Snow aka Dyin’ Dog, visit: youtube.com/watch?v=trE_SmrngbM&feature=youtu.be
Triple Trouble:
Written and directed by Homer Flynn and The Residents and produced by Starr Sutherland, Triple Trouble premiered at the 2022 Chicago Underground Film Festival and has since made guest appearances at the 45th Mill Valley Film Festival and other prestigious festivals. Triple Trouble is set in the near future after the death of Randy Rose, former lead singer of The Residents. His son Randy Junior discovers his father’s ashes have been stolen and put up for sale on eBay by a mysterious perpetrator. During his research, Junior discovers the footage for the group’s unfinished feature film, Vileness Fats, in a locker in his mother’s basement. Vileness Fats remained unfinished after initial filming in the 1970s – and was never released due to its format on half-inch “industrial” videotape. The Residents resurrect Vileness Fats with a rewritten script for Triple Trouble and feature an all-star cast of independent actors including Dustin York, Gerri Lawlor, Isabelle Ellingson and Isabelle Barbier.
Triple trouble synopsis:
Randall “Junior” Rose, a former priest who has lost faith in the church, has become a plumber, and instead of the easy life he had envisioned, Junior’s new job unveils an unexpected danger: an alien fungus that can destroy the whole city congested. Convinced that the fungus poses a threat to humanity, Junior records a series of accounts detailing the origin of the strange white growth. Accompanied by his only companion, Cherry, an AI-powered drone, the plumber slowly gathers evidence to support his bizarre theory: an epidemic of white vans, a repeating pattern of black-and-white sidewalk drawings, a ubiquitous communications tower, and a massive increase in stops -Drains high. He is further provoked by news of a “white flu” infiltrating the culture.
The death of his mother and a recent divorce have left Junior emotionally isolated, a victim of his own deep-rooted fears, but despite warnings from Cherry and Suzi, his ex-wife, his obsession continues to swell at an alarming rate. Encouraged by his father’s spirit, Junior spirals out of control while being plagued by a mysterious figure that threatens the edges of his lonely world. Panicked, the plumber retreats to his apartment and starts drinking.
Drunk and beside himself, Junior staggers through his apartment, neurotically longing for his dead mother’s company. Desperate for fresh air, he opens his patio door when an ominous figure bursts in. It’s Al Gump, the former guard at the crematorium where Junior’s father was cremated. Five years earlier, Gump and his brother Ollie had kidnapped his ex-wife Suzi; As a result, Junior’s mother shot and killed Ollie and the enraged Al demanded revenge. But as the brute’s fingers tighten around the hapless plumber’s neck, Gump suddenly gurgles, snorts and staggers across the room and falls to the floor with a massive thud as a foamy white substance oozes and oozes from his mouth.
Staring in amazement, Junior can only utter one word: “FUNGUS!”.
About the residents
The Residents (band, writer, artist; she/they) are an American artist collective best known for creating avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Santa Dog (1972), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs. You have done ten major tours and made several films. As pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have received multiple awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focused on avant-garde music, was founded by the band. Throughout the group’s existence, the individual members have reportedly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to draw attention to their artistic production. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and in costume, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats, and tails—an enduring costume now recognized as its distinctive iconography. His albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music and complex conceptual pieces composed around a theme, theory or plot. The group is known for surrealistic lyrics and sounds, disregard for conventional musical composition, and the over-the-top theatrical spectacle of their live performances. In addition to their pioneering work in trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group is also considered one of the founders of performance art and music video. Two of her videos are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and her Freak Show CD-ROM was recently featured in MoMA’s Looking at Music 3.0 exhibit. The Theory of Obscurity, a documentary about The Residents, premiered at SXSW in 2015.
In January 2020, while reviving their critically acclaimed 1988 album God in 3 Persons, The Residents collaborated with noted video artist John Sanborn to create a major multimedia performance at the Museum of Modern Art. Based on Alvin’s newly discovered footage Snow, also known as Dyin’ Dog, the group completed their 49th studio album, METAL, MEAT & BONE. In August 2021, The Residents performed select concerts featuring Snow’s music, reviving The Third Reich ‘n’ Roll and Duck Stab, two seminal Residents albums. In Winter/Spring 2023, The Residents will embark on their FACELESS FOREVER 50th Anniversary Tour of Europe and North America. residents. com
The Residents – FACELESS FOREVER – 50th Anniversary Tour 2023
Thu 3/16/23 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Free. 3/17/23 – Seattle, WA – Fremont Abbey Arts Center
Sat. 3/18/23 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theater
Mon. 3/20/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – City Lounge
Tue. 3/21/23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Thu 3/23/23 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar
Fri. 3/24/23 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Sat 3/25/23 – Detroit, MI – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Mon 3/27/23 – South Burlington – Higher ground
Tue 3/28/23 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Thu 3/30/23 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge
Fri 3/31/23 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry at the Fillmore
Sat 4/1/23 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Sun. 4/2/23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Mon. 4/3/23 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Marry. 04/05/23 – New Orleans, LA – The Broadside
Fri 4/7/23 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler
Sat 4/8/23 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
Sun. 04/09/23 – Austin, TX – The community
Marry. 4/12/23 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole
Sat 4/15/23 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
Mon. 04/17/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
Tue. 04/18/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
Marry. 04/19/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
