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Welcome to RZWiki, an unofficial (but officially acknowledged!) fan-sourced guide and resource dedicated to North Louisiana's Phenomenal Pop Combo! For over 50 years, The Residents have existed at the forefront of virtually every new technology in sound, video, performance and interactive media - all while operating under a veil of obscurity and anonymity. Since January 29th 2017, this wiki (formerly known as Meet The Residents Wiki), founded and maintained by members of the fan group The Mysterious Spanish Ladies, has aimed to build a free and comprehensive hypertext encyclopedia and reference point on The Residents, sourced by and for fans, while also aiming to include details on The Cryptic Corporation, Ralph Records and other related entities. With 29 registered users and 1,779 articles, RZWiki has been derived largely from the online resources (both official and unofficial) listed below, as well as other reference texts, many more of which we hope to transcribe and preserve for Residents fans and historians for decades or even centuries to come. You can begin your journey through the wiki either by typing phrases or words into the search bar at the top of the page, or by using the links under the "navigation" heading below. |
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Recent and upcoming releases
CD series
- The most recent instalment in the pREServed CD series is a three disc edition of the 2005 album Animal Lover, titled Animal Lover (Evolution Edition), featuring two discs of demos, contemporary outtakes, and the "...Imaginary Jack" suite. The Evolution Edition includes a total of forty-four previously unreleased tracks, including "lost and forgotten" abandoned songs such as "Vanishing Genitalia" and "Starvation Demon". The set, which was compiled with the assistance of Carla Fabrizio and Brian Poole (aka "Renaldo M") of former Ralph stablemates Renaldo & The Loaf, was released on February 27th 2026.
- Future instalments expected in the pREServed CD series include expanded Tweedles!, The Bunny Boy and The UGHS! reissues and a "Film and TV" collection.
Vinyl series
- On February 4th 2026, The Residents announced the 2026 Record Store Day exclusive vinyl release in the pREServed series; a collection of studio "demos, jams, remixes and previously unheard versions" from the "Randy, Chuck and Bob" era of the group, spanning 2009-2015. The LP, titled Randy, Chuck & Bob In The Studio, was released on April 18th 2026.
- In the January 2026 issue of the Cherry Red Records Residents newsletter it was announced that a newly recorded "mini-album" titled Eskimo Folk Tales is "almost upon us"; the mini-album presumably features the five new songs The Residents composed specifically for their upcoming Eskimo Live tour, including the previously released "The Tale of Two Tupilaqs" and "The Skeleton at the Bottom of the Sea". Further details are yet to be announced.
- On December 14th 2025, Barking in the Dark, a short documentary "film essay" on The Residents by filmmaker Marie Losier, aired and became available for streaming on the French TV channel ARTE TV.
- Barking in the Dark was screened at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on February 6th 2026, as part of the San Francisco Indiefest film festival. The film screened alongside Ryen McPherson's C.R.E.A.M., an "incredibly unique" version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with the dialogue sourced from "over 700 songs by Wu-Tang Clan".
- Cherry Red Records has announced that The Residents are currently compiling material for a new Bandcamp site, "full of curios, unreleased stuff, rarities you may have missed and whatever else catches their attention", to be debuted in the near future with the release of "several hours" of soundtrack material for the 1995 nature documentary series Hunters: The World of Predators and Prey. The new Bandcamp is possibly the culmination of a long-in-development series of "uber niche" limited edition releases, to be sold via mail order and aimed primarily at specialist collectors, which has occasionally been foreshadowed by Cherry Red.
- Several planned releases to be debuted on The Residents' Bandcamp page were teased with the release of the digital mini-album Things to Come, Pt 2 in December 2025; the mini-album features tracks from presumed Bandcamp titles such as The Mysterious February 1986 Radio Broadcast, G3P Live at the Presidio, Eskimo Mixed Live: Exploratorium, and two of (at least) six volumes of Hunters soundtrack material.
- Other releases planned for The Residents' Bandcamp page include The Complete Rather Ripped Show Commercials, the complete "German Slide Music" tape, a collection of "Satisfaction Mix Variants", two collections of work-in-progress mixes from the Freak Show sessions, alternate mixes from the Bad Day on the Midway soundtrack, and the soundtrack from the 2010 DVD release Randy's Ghost Stories.
- Previously released material which is planned for reissue via The Residents' Bandcamp page includes the complete Icky Flix soundtrack (previously issued on vinyl for Record Store Day 2020), 1997: The Missing Year - The Fillmore Dress Rehearsal (Act One), and a release of Shadow Stories paired with Charles Bobuck's The Highway.
Miscellaneous releases
- A mini-album titled Things to Come, Pt 2 - a follow up to the 2009 digital release "Things to Come" - was released as a free MP3 download with the December 6th 2025 issue of Cherry Red Records' Residents newsletter. It features ten teaser tracks, mostly from upcoming Bandcamp releases, and the pREServed CD box set edition of Animal Lover.
- An auction of "synths, original art [and] ephemera" from the estate of Hardy Fox took place at PBA Galleries in San Francisco on January 8th 2026. Available to interested bidders were a number of interesting pieces of Residents history, such as the E-MU E4X sampler used on the Wormwood tour, early versions of backdrop art from The Mole Show and the cover art for Not Available, as well as various prints, backstage passes and costumes. All consignor proceeds from the estate auction went to the Marin Humane Society and to the UCSF for brain cancer research.
- A concentrate of RDX mixes from the Third Reich 'n Roll master tapes, almost nine minutes in length and titled "3RNR@50RDXCONCENTRATE", was released on January 31st 2026 as a free bonus with the Cherry Red Records Residents newsletter, and in recognition of the album's impending 50th anniversary.
Future projects
- The February 2025 issue of the Cherry Red Residents newsletter announced that The Residents have begun work on their "next album", which has been described only as "X-rated" and "far too sexually explicit for us to discuss online without Zucky and Musky's interference", with a working title "so rude we daren't feed it into the algorithm here". As of April 2025, the group had completed recording demos, and they are continuing to work on the album as of January 2026.
- The Residents are said to be preparing a book for release which collects their numerous unproduced screenplays and treatments for film and television. Further information is yet to be announced.
- The October 2025 issue of the Cherry Red Residents newsletter announced that The Residents have begun work on "a proposed new theatre piece", possibly for debut in 2026. Further details are yet to be announced.
Upcoming live shows
 The Eskimo Live! tour will feature an expanded and re-imagined version of the album, newly arranged for a four-piece live band using sampled elements from the original studio sessions, with new costumes, set design, music and "Eskimo folk tales" created especially for the tour. North American dates were initially announced for January 2026, with additional dates in Japan, the United Kingdom and Europe planned to begin in March 2026. On December 22nd 2025 it was announced that the tour had been postponed, due to "an unexpected and serious health-related matter" involving a "key member of the touring team". The Residents announced in January 2026 that the individual was expected to make a full recovery, but that "a full return to activities will take more time". Rescheduled Eskimo Live! shows are currently expected to take place "later in 2026". |
On this day...
 · May 15th 1948: English ambient musician and record producer Brian Eno is born in Melton, Suffolk, England. This is inaccurately noted on June 16th in The Residents' 1988 Official Semi-Calendar. · May 15th 2010: The Residents perform Talking Light at Teatro Leonardo in Milan, Italy. · May 15th 2013: The Residents perform The Wonder of Weird at Ampere in Munich, Germany. The show is recorded; two tracks are released on the pREServed box set Wormwood Box in January 2022. · May 15th 2017: Charles Bobuck's limited edition EP Clank Clank Clank, featuring Bobuck's 2014 demos of songs from The Residents' 1974 debut album Meet The Residents, is released by Klanggalerie as part of the TOOK series. · May 15th 2020: Psychofon Records releases The Residents' single "Die! Die! Die!" digitally and as a 7" vinyl single, featuring the group's cover of Alvin "Dyin' Dog" Snow's "song of the same name. A music video for the song, which parodies the COVID-19 pandemic and Donald Trump, is released on YouTube. · May 15th 2022: The Residents perform God In 3 Persons - Live! for a limited audience of crowdfund supporters at the Presidio Theatre Performing Arts Center in San Francisco; this show is filmed and released as God In 3 Persons Live in April 2023.  |
External links and references
Official
- The Residents official website
- The Residents Historical
- The Cryptic Corporation official website
- The Residents on Facebook
- The Residents on YouTube
- The Residents on Instagram
- The Residents on Bluesky
- The Residents on TikTok
- Euro Ralph official website (defunct 2006)
- Ralph America official website (defunct 2011)
- Hacienda Bridge (Hardy Fox / Charles Bobuck) (defunct 2018)
- Maurice and Me on Tumblr (Randy Rose) (defunct 2019)
- The Residents on Twitter (defunct 2024)
Unofficial
- The Talk of Creatures forum
- The Residents unofficial Facebook group
- Ralph Records unofficial Facebook group
- Mr. Riggsy's ResTube on YouTube
- The Residents on Wikipedia
- The Residents on AllMusic
- RZWeb (semi-official; defunct 2004)
- Smelly Tongues - The Unofficial Residents Fan Club (defunct 2005)
- The Moles' Bach Is Dead Discography and Virtual Museum (defunct 2006)
- Giant Eyeballs - A Tribute To The Residents (defunct 2009)
- RRROAR - The Residents and Ralph Records Online Audio-Visual Resource (defunct 2015)
- Grandpa Gio and The Residents (defunct 2016)
- Buy Or Die! The Official Residents Online Shop
- The Residents' Faceless Forever - Official Merchandise Store (US)
- The Residents' Faceless Forever - Official Merchandise Store (UK/EU)
- The Residents on Cherry Red Records
- The Residents on Psychofon Records
- Secret Records on Bandcamp
- Klanggalerie on Bandcamp
- The Residents on Amazon (see also The Residents Amazon author page)
- The Residents on Discogs
- Ralph Records on Discogs
- Ralphlet Outlet on Bandcamp
Listen online
In memoriam
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June 17th 1949 - July 1st 1987 |
March 29th 1945 - October 30th 2018 |
Something missing?
RZWiki is compiled and maintained by members of the fan group The Mysterious Spanish Ladies for the education and information of other fans, and has not been officially endorsed by The Residents, The Cryptic Corporation, or their record labels past or present. Although we have attempted to derive as much of our information as possible from official sources, some information seen in these pages may nevertheless be missing, incorrect, outdated, or apocryphal.
You can help The Ladies by signing up as a user and helping to create and edit our articles, or by making a donation via Liberapay (sign up required) to help with the cost of running the wiki. You can also drop into our Discord server, Mysterious Spanish, Uninc. to chat with The Mysterious Spanish Ladies and other wiki contributors. If you are intending to contribute to the wiki, please first take the time to read our user rules and style manual.
Missing articles
Feel like lending The Ladies a hand? The following is a selection of articles which need to be created. We are currently attempting to expand our pages relating to Vileness Fats and Doctor Dark, so missing articles related to those projects have been highlighted.
- Scene 34 (Vileness Fats): Also known as "The Knife Fight"; the penultimate scene planned for The Residents' unfinished feature film Vileness Fats. It depicts the dramatic (and deadly) knife fight between the twin wrestlers Arf and Omega Berry on the dance floor of Uncle Willy's nightclub, followed by a closing benediction delivered by a ventriloquist. As the film's closing sequence was never completed, this scene closes both the 1984 VHS featurette Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? and the 2001 "concentrate" edit on the Icky Flix DVD. Excerpts are also included in The Residents' 2022 feature film Triple Trouble; a remastered version of the scene is featured in the special features of the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film.
- Weenie: Character from The Residents' unfinished feature film Vileness Fats, portrayed by Danny Williams (who also portrays the character Ninnie). Weenie is the rebel Lonesome Jack's right hand man, and the only member of the Bell Boys to know about Jack's dual identity as Saint Steven, the religious leader of Vileness Flats.
- Abraham Lincoln: American lawyer and politician born in February 1809 who served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Portrayed by Jay Clem in Vileness Fats as a previous incarnation of the film's protagonist Saint Steven and former love interest of the enchanted Native American priestess Weescoosa. In the film, Lincoln is said to be much shorter in real life, with his height being hidden by a tall hat (mirroring both Steve and his other prior incarnation, Napoleon). Lincoln is also mentioned in the liner notes of The Residents' album Intruders as having seen a ghostly doppelganger prior to his death.
- Resources: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum official website, Abraham Lincoln at Wikipedia, Mole Show/Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats? VHS, Vileness Fats at The Residents Historical, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, Intruders liner notes, "Lincoln's Doppelganger" at JonahWorld!
- Dr. Anastasia Dark: The titular character from The Residents' 2025 "modern opera" Doctor Dark. Based on the real life euthanasia activist Jack Kevorkian, Dark is an "insomniac Russian physician" and "disgraced visionary" who has devised a lethal "machine" designed to offer the terminally ill "the gift" of assisted suicide. Much like Kevorkian, Dark is a visual artist, whose paintings depict the gruesome deaths of the unfortunate people whose suicides he has helped to facilitate. In his appearance in the opera's final scene, Dark is accompanied by a bluebird who seems to act as a harbinger of death.
- Maggot: One of the three protagonists of The Residents' 2025 "modern opera" Doctor Dark, Maggot is a teenage heavy metal fan and friend of Mark, who appears predominantly in the first act of the opera. Assigned female at birth and given the name Magritte by her mother (after the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte), Maggot ultimately presents a masculine gender expression as a teenager. At the end of the opera's first act, Maggot commits suicide by shotgun. In Edgar Brienen's short film adaptation Metal Madness, Maggot is portrayed by Alison Schumacher.
- Mark: One of the three protagonists of The Residents' 2025 "modern opera" Doctor Dark, Mark is a "shy, impressionable and easily manipulated" teenage heavy metal fan, whose unsuccessful suicide attempt leaves him hideously disfigured and brings him to the attention of the titular Dr. Anastasia Dark, a controversial Russian physician and euthanasia advocate. Directly inspired by the real-life story of James Vance, Mark is portrayed by actor Matti Schuldt in Edgar Brienen's short film adaptation Metal Madness.
Miscellaneous
- Where To Begin: A recording by The Residents featuring vocals by Hardy Fox which would later become incorporated into "The Making of a Soul" on the group's 1978 album Not Available. The song features a spoken monologue by Fox, traces of which remain embedded in the finished mix of "The Making of a Soul"; a section of the monologue was extracted from the song by a fan in the early 2000s. The clip was posted on The Residents' Official News BOG in 2004, giving rise to the legend of a so-called "hidden monologue" within the track. The original recording was released in its entirety in 2019 on the pREServed CD reissue of Not Available.
- Burning with Desire: A song by The Residents, which was first recorded as an instrumental titled "Going Nowhere", possibly during sessions for the unfinished Part Three of The Mole Trilogy. This early instrumental version was first released on the 2019 pREServed box set Mole Box. The track was later revisited by The Residents, and developed to include lyrics, under the title "Burning with Desire". The later version, which may have been intended for the unfinished album Man, was first released on the pREServed compilation American Composer's Series 1982-1987 in 2025.
- Gamelan Sekar Jaya 25th Anniversary show: On October 9th 2004, gamelan ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya performed a 25th anniversary concert at Cowell Theater in San Francisco. During the concert, the ensemble performed "Bridegroom of Blood" with The Residents as surprise guests. A recording of this performance was later featured on the compilation album The Bridegroom of Blood, released via Robot Selling Device on September 17th 2009.
- The Stone: A novella by Hardy Fox, serialized in his Hacienda Bridge email newsletter between March and October 2017. The novella marks the end of Fox's use of the Charles Bobuck persona, and is most well known for being the medium by which Fox chose to announce Bobuck's true identity. It is also related to the posthumous Fox album Ibbur.