The Talk of Creatures

So what are they using now, recording- wise? Software?

You can only ask what they used on a specific project. It's rare for them to use the same from project to project. They aren't really big on repeating themselves.

So each album is like, "Let's do something completely different across the board..."

The albums generally tend to be conceptual-based, so it tends to launch the bigger picture of how it's going to be done and how it's going to work — the process.

So if they do albums that are based on, say, emerging technologies that have still have a lot of bugs, what would be an album that had become a really big challenge that they had problems making?

Eskimo.

That involved the Emulator II's?

No, that was before those were invented. It was hard to come up with the 'ideas' for Eskimo. Because, the basic concept of it was to exploit an ethnic group that had not yet been exploited.

Ah, right — people and ideas are 'equipment' as well, which is what you were saying before.

It was really difficult to figure out how to do that. Eskimos aren't that interesting, so it took about four years to record.

I notice that often there are somewhat reworked versions of albums, like Eskimo, be it expanded ones for new media like DVD and beyond.

Albums are completely a '70s concept. There is no reason that any idea needs to be nailed to a cross and told to never change.

Any other experiences on other records involving my previous question?

We had to work in a studio once where they didn't have Macintosh [computers]. We just couldn't make those other things work. We always had to call somebody. It got easier as we went along, but at first it was a complete nightmare to work in an unfamiliar OS. The problems of modern life are different than in the old days.

Well, does anything stay constant? Er... microphones?

Originally the microphone — (there was only one), a U87. Later we signed an agreement with Shure on behalf of The Residents and now The Residents use only Shure microphones and prefer them to the U87 anyway. There are lots of different ones. They all have numbers.

Would you be able to recreate what went on with the Third Reich 'N' Roll album with today's modern equipment? Could they? That album is quite a feat in terms of analog tape splicing, bouncing and whatnot.

It's a totally different world now. It'd be impossible to recreate that but it's not a technological problem, it's a problem with being naïve because if there is one thing you can't do, it's that you can't be innocent once you aren't. A lot of early projects, I think, only exist because of being naïve. And as The Residents lost their innocence, like most people do, they had to evolve and reinvent themselves as a less naïve entity.

Once again, that's a machine element or factor — the 'naïve'‚ thing — it's like a setting or energy source.

Yeah, you don't know that until you lose it, and you don't want to stay naïve either. That's something that plagues all musicians or artists overall. It plagues all media, I think. And life itself. It may be the point that once you've had an orgasm, you may never know what it's like to not have one, or could you not want to have another one.

And without it, development would be hindered, right? There are stages one must go through to get to another level.

As an imprint — the ability to crawl is an important step. And the ability to walk is another. Basically you realize these abilities to be in new places. Like getting a car, you drive and you can be in a new place. And then you hit the orgasm, and for the first time you not only go to a new place, you go to a place in a way you never knew you could go to before. Death is probably one of those things, too.

So given this whole thing about 'anonymity' and the Residents- something that people focus more on about the group than the music — have there ever been people who tried to crash a recording session, to seek them out that way?

So you're asking if people care who the Residents are? I don't think so. Why would they?

I don't know. Well, when someone doesn't want to be known down to the level of a name and face — people tend to get more curious, and of course with the Residents, it's partly about making a statement that it's really unnecessary to know who they are, and that the music should then be given clearer attention...

If you wanted to publish names and pictures I doubt that at this point it would corrupt their quality as a group, but it would have when they were younger. They're pretty well adjusted to their status and likely not to be led astray by the temptations of individuality.

Why is it that people always want to know about 'process'? Like little technical specifics that aren't necessary to be known because the end result is what really matters? Besides trying to find some 'magic', maybe it's also because they don't want to discover something for themselves, by themselves?

I'm not all that interested in the technical aspects, unfortunately. I think that that technology can be summed up with the concept of pressing 'play' or 'record', depending upon what you wish to do. These days I am personally more into record mode. It is just boring old recording after all. Techniques are invented on the spot and not dwelled on or developed into styles of working. Who wants to keep stuff like that in the brain? That's like asking why someone got a divorce. These things happen. I don't know if there is any value system in any of it. I think that the most important thing is that people have to find what creativity means to them as an individual and [if] being creative means emulating something else, then that's also valid. It might be less interesting to a larger amount of people. The Residents are less interested in appealing to a larger amount of people themselves, compared to, say, Celine Dion. So once again the important thing is that people do find a creative level in their lives and I think it's important that other people not take a judgmental stand. Maybe that's back to process again. There is a lot to be learned and there are a lot of rewards in doing anything, and the worst thing in the world is to do nothing.

Do The Residents have a certain facility now to record in? Have they built a studio? Has there been interest in that?

No. For one thing, they're not as interested in music as they used to be, partly because they're interested in other technologies. And you can't just add to the total of your time and energy, you have to subtract something to make space for another. Another part of the problem with music is that it's been trivialized in our culture. And so they feel like they have a responsibility of recognizing that it is more trivial now. So they do, because they observe that in our culture. Also, it is easy to maintain a home studio, maybe even a portable one.

Record albums, CDs, etc., are not the priority now — there [are] other forms of art expression. It was about what the medium that was available at the time — whatever was obtainable to work with — so there was analog film, now, digital cameras, which spawns further digital manipulation.

Yeah. It's the public that insists upon the persona of The Residents being a band. They don't have that in themselves. In fact, they don't have the persona of being The Residents. That's completely assigned from the outside. It's like a cat being named. The cat doesn't really care.

But if the cat hears it's dinnertime then it's going to turn its head and chow down.

The cat doesn't care that the sound is a 'name'.

But if the cat recognizes a sound...

The sound has to be related to something. If you have a door that squeaks, it will accept the squeaking door if it's related to being fed. If you happen to create a daily pattern in an environment, then the cat would recognize the pattern. The Residents are more like that.

So what would be a good environment for recording for The Residents? What are they comfortable with?

I don't think they're ever truly comfortable.

It's always good to be on a weird edge. But what happens if they would be comfortable recording.

Maybe we'll try that as an experimental concept some day.

Do they see their music as interesting? Do they see that some of the public finds it interesting?

That's a hard one to answer because I think it has different answers at different times. I would be lying if I said that they had no interest in what people thought of their music. I think they have had that perspective at times and I think at other times some of their projects have come almost to antagonize the listener, to alienate them more. I don't think the desire is to be liked or disliked, but they feel that only they can enjoy everything they do, because no one else is them. If someone who is not a Resident enjoys everything that The Residents do... it means that that person is one of The Residents.

Do they have a favorite album? Something that they're way more proud of accomplishing, on a sonic level even?

I think in reality it's really no, but because they're most interested in whatever they've just recently done.

Then what stands the test of time for them thus far as an album? They're opinion, your opinion. It's all semantics, I know, but, say, if something was shelved, and it came out now.

The Third Reich 'N' Roll. I listened to it not too long at all. I think it hasn't aged at all.

When that was recorded, was it put together so they could see ahead of time in terms of what happened, or is it more about seeing what happens after all the heavy amounts of editing?

Well, a lot of listening to 45 [rpm records] went on. That was the audition process.

The album was seen as one piece?

Two.

Right. Two long songs. So that was an album that was totally constructed in the studio in a way. By that I mean, having an idea, but who knows what's going to happen.

It was a studio invention, right.

Are [there] any recent ones of the same vein? Because they seem more to be concept based.

More concept than Third Reich? Is that possible?

And there seems to be more fluidity to the albums now.

They also have some musicians that they really enjoy working with and so a lot of times they like to bring other people in to do things. It's a factor in that they're not always pleased with their own playing of something. If you can't have a guitar play the way you would like to have it played then why not have a real guitar player play it? It's the ultimate sampler!

You mentioned at one point they didn't know what they were doing- they were still naïve. What are the pros of working with that kind of approach and what are the pros and cons of working in the situation that they are now?

Well, being naïve wasn't an approach, more the lack of one.

I know, but was there an advantage of being naïve at the time?

Well, there is always an advantage of being naïve when you are. Children are beautiful because of it, but nothing is worse than an adult pretending to be naïve.

Did any 'happy accidents'‚ happen as a result?

There are always happy accidents, and unhappy ones as well. Life would not be the same if there weren't accidents. I think the best example of happy accidents is running into you when you had a tape recorder. Just imagine if you had to remember everything we said. Anyway, The Demons Dance Alone project has come to an end and now the group is reforming in radically new ways — they are launching their fourth ten-year plan, which takes them in unexplored directions. Remember. To even need a fourth ten-year plan is nothing short of remarkable.