I don't know if it's The Residents or the audience that's changing, but their appeal seems to be broadening. At this point I think The Residents have something of value to offer that either wasn't there or maybe wasn't needed in the past. It could be attitude, style, intelligence or just the fact that The Residents are different, but in this time when more and more product is homogenized and dumbed down for the mass market, I think The Residents have something unique to offer, and people want that.
I loved the Freak Show CD-ROM ... how do you feel about the CD-ROM format now? Do you still like that one? I am aware of, but have not "used" Gingerbread Man or Bad Day On the Midway. Do you/they have any new multimedia projects planned?
At this point the CD-Rom format, at least in terms of The Residents and what they do, is totally dead. It's interesting that you should mention Freak Show - The Residents are preparing a special release of the CD that will contain a book of images from various versions of the project plus an extra disc of music that was created at diferent points along the Freak Show timline. Organizing the images for the project caused me to look at the CD-ROm for the first time in a few years and my feelings were that, despite it's obivous technical shortcomings, the disc has held up well. It's still an intriguing world with interesting characters.
As for other projects, The Residents are moving as far and fast as they can towards DVD as a new mediudm to explore. While it obviously doesn't offer the interactivity of CD-Rom, DVD offers a much more stable platform and not nearly as many authoring and compatibility problems. I think there will be a lot of really interesting, independently produced DVDs released in the next few years - and I expect The Residents will be releasing their share.
Why so persistent with the anonymity? Others have "come out" over time - why not the Residents?
To me, and I think The Residents too, the question is "why?" Why would they want to do that - what is there to gain by showing the world that The Residents are just ordinary people beneath their masks. If KISS served as an example, obviously nothing more needs to be said (other than maybe "PUT IT BACK ON!")
Article comments
1 - Mr Parsons
they have allways been here.
The residents were that life changing band for i, that made i seem okaye.
If anyone would like a "copy" of the Blender CDROM magazine mid90's featuring
The Residents, incl' short history, film clips, interviews with Cryptic Corporation and makers of the Cdrom Adventures, drop me a line -who would stop us.
2 - andrealayne
the residents seem somewhat "masonic" in their anonimity, are they?
3 - Eric Olsen
HI Andrea, I think of them more as "totemic"