Jump to content

Molly Harvey

From RZWiki

Molly Harvey (born April 9th, 1972) is an American artist, singer, writer, and actress best known for her frequent collaborations with The Residents between 1994 and 2005. She occasionally performs with The Residents when they play in Georgia, but not otherwise.

Harvey remains active as a visual artist in Georgia and, in 2019, produced a 7" collaborative EP with Ostrich von Nipple titled Harvey & Nipple.

History

Early life

Molly Harvey was born on April 9th 1972, eight months prior to the release of Residents Uninc's Santa Dog EP, and two years before the public debut of The Residents. Growing up, Harvey was largely unfamiliar with The Residents, beyond the iconic image of an eyeball with a top hat,[1] first used by the group in 1979, when Harvey was seven years old.

Career with The Residents

Graduating from acting school in 1993, Harvey moved from central California to San Francisco after the unexpected death of her father. She landed a job at Elsie's coffee shop near The Cryptic Corporation offices.[2] On her first day there, she met the Singing Resident and, "almost naturally," became good friends.[1]

Over time, Harvey's learnt of her friend's occupation as a Resident, and had also become good friends with the group's producer Hardy Fox. One day, the Singing Resident asked her if she could do an 'old lady voice,' for a song on their upcoming Gingerbread Man project. This led to her first work with The Residents, providing lead vocals on the song "The Old Woman." She continued to work with the group and, in 1995, portrayed Dixie and Lottie in the group's CD-ROM video game Bad Day on the Midway, and appeared on the related studio album Have a Bad Day, notably taking lead vocals on "Lottie The Human Log."

Live performances

Molly as Silly Billy (left) and The Singing Resident as Monkey (right), October 1997

In 1997, Molly joined The Residents on all 10 live shows performed by the group that year, as The Residents eased themselves back into live performances. Molly sang lead vocals on "Would We Be Alive?" "Howard," "Bach is Dead," "Jack The Boneless Boy," as well as "The Old Woman" and "Lottie The Human Log." Harvey later recalled the confidence being asked to join them gave her - "If these guys believed I could sing, then I believed it too." [1] From this point on, Harvey became one of the group's primary collaborators, appearing with them as a lead vocalist in their live shows and on all their studio albums for a period. In 1998, she performed lead vocals on "How To Get a Head" and "Tent Peg in Temple" on The Residents' Wormwood album and appeared with the group throughout the 48-date Wormwood tour, performing lead vocals on not only "How To Get A Head," and "Tent Peg in Temple," but also "Dinah And The Unclean Skin," "Burn Baby Burn," which were sung by guest vocalist in the original album. She also performed lead vocals on the new songs "Abraham," and "David's Dick." Additionally, in the 1998 preview performances of Wormwood, she performed lead vocals on "Picnic Boy."

Molly Harvey and Mr. Blue Eye, 2001

Between 2000 and 2001, she appeared on the group's Roadworms and Icky Flix projects, performing lead vocals on "Kick a Picnic," "This is a Man's, Man's, Man's World," "Perfect Love," "Burn Baby Burn," and "Moisture" for the latter. She performed lead vocals all these songs on the group's 2001 world tour, plus "The Weaver."

In 2002, Harvey released a book of stories and illustrations titled He Cuts Hog[3] and appeared on The Residents' Demons Dance Alone album, performing lead vocals on "The Weatherman." She also appeared with the group throughout their 2002-2003 Demons Dance Alone tour, performing lead vocals on "Mickey Macaroni," "Caring," "The Beekeeper," "The Car Thief," "Ms. Wonderful," "From The Plains to Mexico," and "Golden Goat." After this, she worked with The Residents on their Animal Lover album, performing lead vocals on "Mother No More," "The Monkey Man," and "Inner Space." Her final work as a regular collaborator was The Way We Were tour, which played five dates in March of 2005, performing lead vocals on "Breath & Length," "Lizard Lady," "Picnic In The Jungle," "Golden Goat," "Eva's Warning," "Jelly Jack" "Amber," "Red Rider," "Burn Baby Burn," and "Teddy Bear."

Later in the year, Harvey relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and became unable to collaborate with The Residents, who had always relied on local talent.[1] On August 17th, 2008, Harvey and her husband, Francis Harlan, welcomed their son, Flynn Malcolm Harlan.[4]

After The Residents

Molly Harvey in Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents, 2015

Harvey has remained friendly with The Residents and has joined them onstage at their Georgia shows between 2010 and 2018. In 2016, Harvey was interviewed for the documentary film Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents. In 2018, Secret Records released a double LP compilation album, Loss of the Lizard Lady, entirely focused on Harvey's work with the group.

Harvey's most recent musical project to date is a collaborative 7" EP with Ostrich von Nipple, Harvey & Nipple, released in 2019 by Psychofon Records. The duo also recorded a cover version of the Residents' song "Teddy," which appeared on the Hardy Fox memorial tribute album The Godfather of Odd - A Hardy Fox Tribute in the same year.

Health battle and GoFundMe campaign

In March 2026, a GoFundMe campaign was created by Helena Amherst Britton to support Molly Harvey during a difficult health battle. Harvey has been experiencing tonic-clonic seizures which have worsened over time, significantly impacting her daily life and ability to work. The GoFundMe campaign aims to raise money to aid Harvey during this difficult time and allow her to focus on her health and recovery.

Credits on Residents releases

Archival / Compilation appearances

Credits on non-Residents releases

  • The Scallions - Agony Through Ceremony XE (2013, vocals on "Goodbye")
  • Ostrich Von Nipple - Quantifies Absurdity (2014, vocals on "Upright Jerker")
  • Ostrich Von Nipple - Alternates Absurdity (2014, vocals on "The Abstract Arms")
  • Ostrich Von Nipple - "Harvey & Nipple" (2019)
  • Various Artists - 42 Seconds #4 (2022, featured on "42 Segundos" by FARMACIA)
  • "Bad Moon Rising" with Substance W (2023)
  • Farmacia - 24HS (2023, feature on "Frágil Cristales")
  • Farmacia - Rarezas Vol 2 (2024, words on "Fragil Cristales")
  • Substance W - Apocalypse Dogs (2024, vocals on "Bad Moon Rising," "Life During Wartime," "Nature Boy")
  • Farmacia - Ellas (2025, artwork)
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jordan Owen and Molly Harvey, "Q&A: Molly Harvey talks about time with experimental rockers The Residents and remembers Hardy Fox", Arts ATL, November 27th 2018
  2. ↑ Molly Harvey Interview 5/10/21
  3. ↑ "He Cuts Hog" by Molly Harvey on Amazon
  4. ↑ Big Brother, "New human", The Residents Blog, August 117th 2007
Retrieved from "https://residents.wiki/index.php?title=Molly_Harvey&oldid=23227"