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Hardy Fox HotWired appearance, June 20th 1995

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On June 20th 1995, then-president of The Cryptic Corporation, Hardy Fox, appeared on HotWired's Club Wired live chat to promote The Residents' then-upcoming CD-ROM game Bad Day on the Midway and the live "opera" adaptation of their album Freak Show, set to premiere in Prague later in the year.

The text below is a transcript of the Q&A by fan tzoq (who also actively participated in the chat), which was posted to his now defunct fan site RZWeb. It has been archived to this wiki by a Mysterious Spanish Lady; for the sake of accuracy we have also removed editorial notes and private direct messages from the organizer Susanna Camp to tzoq which were present in the RZWeb version of the transcript.

Transcript

scamp (Susanna Camp):
Greetings & welcome to Club Wired. From the beginning - around 25 years ago - members of The Residents have kept their identities a mystery, declaring that their public life as recording artists should be independent of their private lives. Over the years, they've pioneered in recording, music video, and multimedia, releasing in 1992 the critically acclaimed "Freak Show" CD-ROM (Voyager). Their current project is "Bad Day on the Midway." Joining us as guestspeaker today is Hardy Fox of the Cryptic Corporation. He's acting as spokesperson for the Residents, who are of course, anonymous, and never appear in public. You can send questions to Hardy via the /M command.
tzoq asks:
I'd just like to thank the Residents and the Cryptic Corp. for all the help they've given me in putting together my Guide the Residents on the Web.
Hardy Fox:
YOUR WELCOME TZOQ
dhyman asks:
where are you right now. in san francisco?
Hardy Fox:
i am at hot wired in sf
scamp asks:
The Residents have said that culture is saturated with hype and lacking in substance, and that anti-fame has become its own reward. What does this mean?
Hardy Fox:
that anti-fame is the same as fame and that everone is just competing for attention
Hardy Fox:
R
dirkd asks:
Are all the REsidents there, or just one ?
Hardy Fox:
there are 4, of courses

[question missing]

Hardy Fox:
not yet and it may become a ROM when it does come out
stephanec asks:
what's the production cycle for a music/multimedia cd like? is the music written first etc....
Hardy Fox:
freakj show 2 yewars, bad day 1 year
dirkd asks:
Hello, I m from Belgium, it has been 5 years since you zere here, zhen can we expect you backk ?
Hardy Fox:
the residents have completed the ten year touring period... net shows will be produced by the residents but they will not be in the shows
imf asks:
Any advice for those seeking to avoid notoriety?
Hardy Fox:
yea... do really excellant work and the wold will probably ignore you

[question missing]

Hardy Fox:
the residents love tech, along with just about everything else... they are very positive people
Hardy Fox:
that was in response to a question about the attitude the rz have toward technology
tzoq asks:
The band has said that they won't tour again, but they have done at least one live show since CUBE-E, the one for NEC. Are there any plans for any other one-off live shows?
Hardy Fox:
that was a 20 minute surprise... 20 minute surprises can always happen
tzoq asks:
Someone once said that celebrities are people who are famous for being famous. The Rz are, so to speak, infamous for not being famous  -- have yothey found that the mythology surrounding the band gets in the way of the music ?
Hardy Fox:
hmmm that sounds like a complicated answer i think it doesn't matter cause everyting gets in the way of art anyway
neurosplice asks:
What are the Resident's views on computer/technological culture?
Hardy Fox:
i answered already
neurosplice asks:
Do the residents feel at home on the net, where they can be even more anonymous than normal?
Hardy Fox:
they do not spend much time on the net because they are so busy with the new ROM and the new opera
tzoq asks:
My URL: "http://www.residents.com/". BTW, could I put a copy of the transcript of this on my site?
Hardy Fox:
sure, if you think it's interesting enough
dischead asks:
Speaking of being ignored... the Residents as a group seem to have been forgotten as pioneers of "appropriated sound" music, as popularized by bands like Negativland and Plunderphonics... Any thoughts or feelings on that?
Hardy Fox:
no one person can claim they have discovered anything... these techniques have been used for so many years by all kinds of experimenters
neurosplice asks:
Have there ever been any forced attempt to reveal their identity?
Hardy Fox:
yea, especially in audtralia...australia, they were amazing, taking pictures of everybody in sight
bmcfee asks:
Is there a release date for 'midway' yet?
Hardy Fox:
october 31 95 halloween
snw asks:
Have any particular piece of technology that you think is just the greatest thing right now?
Hardy Fox:
there are some great sample toys available at woolworths right now
tzoq asks:
Can you give us any details on the "opera" you just mentioned? Is it the long-lost Eskimo opera, or something new?
Hardy Fox:
it is freak show opera.. being produced in Prague for the month of November 95
scamp asks:
I heard the Residents latest project, Bad Day, was demoed at the Macintosh New York Music Festival this week. True?
Hardy Fox:
a vewry very very early alpha was shown, yes
scamp asks:
Who are you working with, i.e., set designers, for the Prague show?
Hardy Fox:
Ron Davis who designed the cube e eyeballs and puppets is the set and costume designer
mbehar asks:
Why are there two accpted spellings for The Residents design company, Pore No and Pore Know?
Hardy Fox:
i think there are 4 different spelling listed with the city and county of sf
tzoq asks:
Are there going to be any recording/video releases of the opera?
Hardy Fox:
yes, the Czech band that will performing the score is excellant musicians and it should produce a very new sound
mbehar asks:
A reliable source told me that The Residents appeared in public, out of disguise, at the Mill Valley Film Festival two years ago--is this true?
Hardy Fox:
no, i was there. in fact the residents wanted to go but couldn;t get tickets... they didn't want to be on a guest list
scamp asks:
Will the Residents use the body synth in any future performances?
Hardy Fox:
they don't own one... maybe they wouold if they did
neurosplice asks:
Where can I get a Residents forehead thermoneter man?
Hardy Fox:
they ran out about 10 years ago... should have thought of it sooner
scamp asks:
Has the popularity of the Residents increased since their CD-ROm projects?
Hardy Fox:
yes, there has been a huge amount of publicity from the release of freak show... they really couldn't get much less popular
dischead asks:
Are you considering ways you might use the net in your art in the future?
Hardy Fox:
yea, the net is getting sophisticated enough that new ideas could be poping up soon
bmcfee asks:
What current musicians do the Residents listen to or admire? Laurie Anderson? Tom Waits?
Hardy Fox:
they greatly admire both of those artists, but actually listen mostly to dead people. they prefer that distance
tzoq asks:
So the band will be composing works for other stage companies to perform?
Hardy Fox:
this Freak show live is the first attempt... how that goes will effect other future attempts
scamp asks:
It seems that the Residents tend to explore the ugly side of human nature. Can you comment on that?
Hardy Fox:
the villians always get the good parts or something like that. ugly personas are naturally more beautiful
tzoq asks:
Just a comment -- in the past several years I've run into about two people a year who knew thye music of the Rz before I told them about it... But in the past month, I've met that many people who owned Eyeball-head Residents halloween costumes...
Hardy Fox:
we get a lot of photos but the top hats are hard to create
dischead asks:
Re. using the net for your art... do you feel it is too limiting today?
Hardy Fox:
maybe not too klimiting... but too difficult for the amount of time available when other projects are going on.
kawsmo asks:
What about Renaldo and the loaf
Hardy Fox:
they broke up, but renaldo continues to record in the bedroom and something may come out eventually
neurosplice asks:
What art form are they most influenced by?
Hardy Fox:
i would have to guess for them... maybe tv commercials???
imf asks:
Who was the model for Eddie [?] the Worm Boy?
Hardy Fox:
who is the worm boy??
scamp asks:
What's up with the eyeballs? What do they mean?
Hardy Fox:
originally they were for the Eskimo cover... the silent observer thing. but they became identified with the group so they kept using them and it became their "face"
neurosplice asks:
Do you think the Resident's recent increased popularity has got anything to do with the nature of their new releases? I.E, computer based and thus received by a slightly different audience.
Hardy Fox:
yea. music world is so conservative where as the computer world begs for creativity, original thought, and perverseness
bmcfee asks:
Ok, I probably missed the intro, but who is Hardy Fox? Are any of the Residents actually here?
Hardy Fox:
i'm hardy, from cryptic corp... no residents... they are casting in Prague
neurosplice asks:
Will they ever do a real, in person interview?
Hardy Fox:
they said they would a long time ago, for playboy but only if they got the cover!
scamp asks:
A friend of mine wants to know where he can get Residents action figures ... or china.
Hardy Fox:
1-800-795-3933
scamp asks:
I heard a rumor that the Rz are collaborating on a new album with Gwar. True?
Hardy Fox:
no truth there, they are working on an album with fred frith that has been in the works for 4 years... maybe it will get completed some day, who knows.
kawsmo asks:
Are there any plans to continue the American Composer series, maybe in a different medium?
Hardy Fox:
they would like to complete it as a CDROM (surprise)
bmcfee asks:
Would you give us a brief review of what happened to Ralph records?
Hardy Fox:
ralph split into EURO RALPH to handle european stuff and RALPH AMERICA (1-800-795-3933) to handle american stuff.
neurosplice asks:
Whenever anyone asks me what the Resisdent are like, I can not answer them, I simply say," They sound like the Residents". Is there a name they give to their style?
Hardy Fox:
i have had that problem too... i say,"the residents" just like you
dischead asks:
One of your albums (can't remember the title!) has four men on the cover NOT in costume.... if they're not you, who...?
Hardy Fox:
the big bubble. the people were selected after the rz ran an ad in the newspaper and people came by and had their picture taken. the rz selected the four they liked best
bmcfee asks:
So is there a Ralph label anymore?
Hardy Fox:
the label in EURORALPH and it ein europe... the american ralph still does mailorder including the euroralph product.
carl asks:
Toys at Woolworths...really. This isn't one of those digital 1 minute recording/playback things, is it? Please tell. And how has your music been affected, as the technologies for doing what you do get filtered down to something you can pick up at the five-and-dime? I don't want to discount artistry, here, but, surely, that must have some impact.
Hardy Fox:
they are little guitars and synths. anything is subject to ideas after all
tzoq asks:
BTW, there's a text only/lower bandwidth URL: "http://www.residents.com/txttitle.html"
Hardy Fox:
thanks everybody and wired... i got to go eat dinner....bye
scamp/Susanna Camp:
Thank YOU, Hardy, and thank you all for joining us.

See also

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