1991

After struggling to find a label they could secure a distribution deal with, The Cryptic Corporation handled the American release of Freak Show themselves. To promote it, a music video based on "Harry the Head" was created by computer graphics artist Jim Ludtke. Realising the multimedia potential of Freak Show, both parties started a working relationship, which would lead The Residents into the interactive media world they would inhabit for the better part of the 1990s.

Another notable event was their private performance at the NEC convention. This performance, known as "Ty's Freak Show", was made to showcase NEC video editing software on a live concert setting, and was the first time songs from Freak Show were performed live.

Timeline

• The Residents meet with Edwin "Savage Pencil" Pouncey and Brian Bolland in England, where they discuss ideas for a Freak Show comic book.
• Sometime early in the year, The Residents collaborate with avant-garde performer Spoonman on a one-man operetta titled Anganok. A studio version is recorded for posterity, while the operetta is performed a small number of times in San Francisco two years later.
• Ownership of the Ralph name and logo is transferred back to the Cryptic Corporation.

March

• The Henry Selick-directed short film Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions, scored and voiced by The Residents, gets airplay on MTV. Plans are mentioned for a future collaborative series between the two artists, but Selick eventually cancels these plans when offered to work with filmmaker Tim Burton.

April

• UWEB newsletter #3 volume 1 is issued.
• The sequel to Liver Music, Daydream B-Liver (with a new Residents cover of the title song by The Monkees) is released through UWEB.
• Fred Frith visits The Residents' studio for a week to work on an undisclosed project that would not be finished until about 25 years later.

spring

• After IRS cancels the release of Freak Show, the Cryptic Corporation, T.E.C. Tones and UWEB take matters into their own hands and release the album themselves via mail order.
• A press release video for Freak Show is produced by John Sanborn, also including a new music video for "Harry the Head" by computer graphics artist Jim Ludtke. The "Harry" video is included on a demonstration CD-ROM of Apple QuickTime given away at a developers' convention.
• The Cryptic Corporation gives a presentation to the Amsterdam Opera for a proposed Eskimo stage show, complete with a full-scale model of the stage, props by Cube-E designer Ron Davis, and a musical sketch by The Residents.
• Hardy Fox appears on a promotional video for Digidesign's Mac-based recording software.

July

• UWEB newsletter #3 volume 2 is issued.
• The Freak Show graphic novel, handled by Dark Horse Publishing, is announced with a set release date for November. Plans for a CD-ROM are also mentioned.
• Uncle Willie asks for readers' opinions on a possible UWEB convention.

September

• The Residents begin work on a project to celebrate their twentieth anniversary, tentatively titled Monkey on My Back.
• Around this time, another Apple QuickTime demo CD-ROM is produced, this time including The Residents' One Minute Movies.

October

• UWEB newsletter #3 volume 3 is issued.
• The Freak Show graphic novel is postponed to February 1992. Also scheduled for that month is a career retrospective Laserdisc to celebrate The Residents' twentieth anniversary.
• Uncle Willie speculates about the process behind the new album Monkey on My Back, which is allegedly set to come out in March 1992.
• The Freak Show CD-ROM is scheduled for September 1992.
• The Eskimo opera appears to have some potential; companies like New-Tek and Digidesign show their support for the project.
• Also showing promise is the UWEB convention, tentatively scheduled for the Summer of 1992.

November

• 15th: The Eyes Scream: A History of The Residents is finally released by Palace Video.
• 17th: The Residents give a one-time performance at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, CA, for an NEC convention. They perform material from Freak Show while showcasing NEC's Video Deck and Light Source software; multimedia artist Todd Rundgren edited the show footage in real time as it was screened for the audience. The performance is nicknamed "Ty's Freak Show" after Ty Roberts of the Voyager company.

Releases

• Freak Show (CD / LP / Cassette, Cryptic Corporation, OP 11)
• Daydream B-Liver (CD, UWEB, UWEB 005, compilation, fan-club exclusive)

Re-Releases

• Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (CD, East Side Digital / Torso)
  • Includes excerpts from The Census Taker as additional material

Filmography

• Harry the Head (Dir. The Residents & Jim Ludtke)

Home video releases

• The Eyes Scream: A History Of The Residents (VHS, Palace Video, PVC 2227S)
  • Written by and starring The Residents.
• Freak Show Video Press Release (VHS, Cryptic Corporation, Promo)