1989

The Residents went on tour again in 1989 with their newest project: Cube-E. Unlike their previous live shows, this was not based around previous releases by the group. It was instead conceived primarily as a live experience in three separate acts.

The opening suite, Buckaroo Blues, was premiered to the public at a February television appearance in Germany. The second suite, Black Barry, was first performed in July, and the complete show would finally be presented in September. The tour was very successful and would keep The Residents travelling around Europe for most of the second half of the year.

The group also recorded a full studio album, The King & Eye, elaborating on the show's second act and third section, The Baby King. To this day, a studio rendition of Black Barry has never been recorded.

Timeline

January

• Torso releases "Kaw-Liga (Housey Mix)" (not by The Residents).
• Sometime in this first quadrant, UWEB newsletter Volume 1 no.2 is issued, offering a new exclusive CD with unknown contents (this turned out to be the Buckaroo Blues collection, and shipped in April).
• CD editions of Mark of the Mole (coupled with Intermission) and The Tunes of Two Cities are announced and released some time later by East Side Digital.

February

• 16th: The Residents perform "Buckaroo Blues" live on the television program Off Beat Night, which was broadcast on the TELE-5 station.

May

• 25th: John Cage performs his new piece "Rozart Mix" (to which The Residents contributed a tape loop) at the Celebrate Cage event in New York City.

June

• UWEB newsletter Volume 1 no.3 is issued for the summer.
  • The Cube-E tour is announced, along with a future album to be released simultaneously.
  • The Big Bubble CD (along with the complete "Safety is a Cootie Wootie" is announced for the near future, as well as The Mole Show: Live in Holland.
• Rich Shupe is promoted to career manager of The Residents (having previously been tour manager for the 13th Anniversary). He is charged with finding record labels to distribute the upcoming Cube-E album.
• Demos for the new album are recorded around this time.

July

• 21st - 22nd: The Residents perform "Buckaroo Blues" and the new suite "Black Barry" at the Lincoln Center, New York City, New York.

August

• The Residents book a single day's session at Different Fur studios to record The King & Eye.
• An Almost Complete Collection of Lyrics 1972-1988 is published by Stampa Alternativa in Italy, including an exclusive 7" single of "From the Plains to Mexico" (a studio recording).

September

• 21st - 24th: The Residents perform the complete Cube-E for four nights at the Cowell Theater, San Francisco, California.
  • The show on the 24th is recorded and the first act is put on cassette to be sold as a merch item for the upcoming tour. (The second act, the Elvis portion, was excluded so as not to compete with sales of the new album.)

October

• 13th: The Residents perform Cube-E at the Nancy Jazz Festival, in France.
  • On this same date, The King & Eye is released through Enigma Records in the US, and Torso in Europe.
• 14th: The Residents perform Cube-E in Grenoble, France.
  • At the very start of the show, a Resident accidentally walks off the stage and falls down some five feet, but they aren't badly injured so the show proceeds as normal.
• 16th: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Theaterhaus, Stuttgart, Germany.
• 17th: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany.
  • The Berlin audience gives The Residents a 30-minute standing ovation.
• 18th: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Audimax, Hamburg, Germany.
  • The Residents hear news of the infamous earthquake that hit San Francisco the previous day, giving them some undesired emotional weight for the remainder of the European tour, as well as damaging their studio.
• 19th: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, Germany.
• 21st: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Greetings Festival, San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy.
• 23rd: The Residents perform Cube-E at Theaterfabrik Unterfoehring, Munich, Germany.
• 24th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Festspielhaus, Recklinghausen, Germany.
• 25th: The Residents perform Cube-E at L'Aerouef, Lille, France.
• 26th: The Residents perform Cube-E at La Cigale, Paris, France.
  • The drummer Resident's drumpads break down during the Baby King section, forcing them to use the buttons on their drum box instead, giving the remainder of the show a very "frenzied" and "abstract" feeling.
• 27th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Ancienne Belgique, Brussel, Belgium.
• 31st: The Residents perform Cube-E at Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark.

November

• 1st: The Residents perform Cube-E at Stora Salen, Lund, Sweden.
• 2nd: The Residents perform Cube-E at Nya Vagen, Gothenburg, Sweden.
• 3rd: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Oslo Opera House, Oslo, Norway.
• 5th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Saddler Wells, London, England.
• 7th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Club Rodon, Athens, Greece.
• 8th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Club Rodon, Athens, Greece.
• 9th: The Residents perform Cube-E at The Cinerama, Tel Aviv, Israel.
• 11th: The Residents perform Cube-E at Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.
• 12th: The Residents perform Cube-E in Graz, Austria.
• 13th: The Residents perform Cube-E at the Bank Austria Zelt, Vienna, Austria.

December

• 29th - 31st: The Residents perform Cube-E at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco to warm up for the upcoming New York shows.
  • The last show of the year is nicknamed Cube-N.Y.E.; The Residents debut a new composition, "Mr. Skull's New Year's Eve Song", and free copies of the extended For Elsie CD are given to every audience member. The Residents perform "Santa Dog" as an encore.

Releases

• The King & Eye (CD/LP/Cassette, Enigma, 7-73547-)
• The Mole Show Live In Holland 1983 (CD, Torso, 420)
• Kaw-Liga (Housey Mix) (12"/7"/CD, Torso, 110,)
• Buckaroo Blues (CD, UWEB, UWEB003, fan club exclusive, 500 copies)
• Buckaroo Blues & Black Barry (Cassette, Ralph Records, RRRBBBB1, concert exclusive later sold through mail order)
• "From The Plains To Mexico" (7", Stampa Alternativa – SCONC012, included with the book 'An Almost Complete Collection Of Lyrics, 1972 To 1988' )

Re-releases

• Mark of the Mole (CD, East Side Digital, ESD 80272)
  • Includes Intermission as additional material.
• The Tunes of Two Cities (CD, East Side Digital, ESD 80282)
  • Includes four tracks as additional material. These were all previously released on the Residue of The Residents compilation.

• The Big Bubble (Part Four Of The Mole Trilogy) (CD, East Side Digital, ESD 80342)
  • Includes an expanded version of Safety is a Cootie Wootie as additional material.
• For Elsie (CD, The Cryptic Corporation, free gift to all atendees of the Cube-N.Y.E. show)
  • Extended edition with new cover art.

Compilation appearances

• The New Wave Collection (CD, Phonokol, 840 625-2)
  • Includes "Kaw-Liga (Single Mix)"
• The New Wave Collection Vol 2 (CD, Mercury, 840 644-1)
  • Includes "Kaw-Liga (Praire Mix)"
• Turn Up The Bass (CD, Arcade, 01 3761 61)
  • Includes a previously unreleased mix of "Kaw-Liga".