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Nolan Cook

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Am I A Resident?
The subject of this article contributed to the 2018 album I Am A Resident!.

Nolan Cook is an American guitarist and composer based in Oakland, California, best known for his long-standing collaboration with The Residents, beginning with the Wormwood Live tour in 1999,[1] and ending with the Faceless Forever tour in April 2023.[2][3]

Cook began playing in bands at the age of 15.[4] Outside of his work with The Residents, Cook has recorded with his brother Drew Cook in the bands Land of Thin Dimes and Dimesland,[5] and has made numerous guest appearances on releases by artists including Ostrich Von Nipple, Bretts Milk, and Renaldo & The Loaf.

Cook currently records under the name Nifnar,[4] and also works as a remote session player, having launched an official website in April 2024 to promote his services. In September 2024, he was entrusted with the task of selling musical instruments and recording equipment belonging to the late Hardy Fox (formerly of The Cryptic Corporation).[6]

History with The Residents

"Guitar wizard extraordinaire" Nolan Cook was recommended to The Residents by their mutual friend Molly Harvey in 1999,[7][1] when they were looking for a guitarist to join them on their Wormwood Live tour.[1] Harvey is said to have described Cook as "fantastic".[7]

With his "inventive style",[1] Cook quickly became one of The Residents' core collaborators both on stage and in the studio, beginning with their 1999 version of the Fiddler on the Roof song "Matchmaker". Cook has been featured prominently on virtually all of the group's major live and studio projects from Wormwood Live 1999 to Faceless Forever 2023.

The Residents' long-time producer and composer Hardy Fox noted that, by 2017, Cook had been working with the group for so long that "he could be considered a member, were it not for his decision at some point to play with The Residents rather than play in The Residents".[7] Cook's contribution to the 2005 album Animal Lover in particular was once said by Fox to be "critical to [that album's] realization".[1]

Other work with Hardy Fox/Charles Bobuck

A low resolution photograph of Nolan Cook, date unknown (ca. 2003-2006)

Cook's lengthy association with The Residents also led to a long-standing friendship with Hardy Fox, who is known to have referred to Cook by the affectionate nickname "Oddo".[8][1] Cook would go on to make several credited guest appearances on Fox's solo projects, beginning in 2012, when Fox was releasing "contraptions" under the guise of Charles Bobuck.

Cook's collaborations with Fox continued occasionally following the latter's retirement from The Residents and The Cryptic Corporation in 2016; Cook was credited as a guest on two Bobuck tracks released through Fox's Hacienda Bridge newsletter in 2017, and on the mini-album Nachtzug, released five months prior to Fox's death in October 2018.

Departure

On February 20th 2024, Homer Flynn of The Cryptic Corporation announced on The Residents' official website and social media channels that The Residents had recently asked him to dismiss Cook from the group, on the basis that Cook "no longer fit into their future plans".[9][2]

A further statement posted shortly afterwards by Cook explained that he had quietly ended his time with the group at "the stroke of midnight" on April 20th 2023, immediately following the end of the Faceless Forever tour,[3] although he later said that he had committed to perform on The Residents' cancelled God In 3 Persons - Live! UK/Europe mini-tour in April 2024.[10]

Both statements suggested that fans can look forward to "fun new endeavors" from Cook in the future.[9][3] The guitarist's position in The Residents was assumed by a new member, "a woman who is an incredible electric violin player and singer",[11] who made her first appearance with the group the following month.

After The Residents

In April 2024, Cook launched an official website, Nolan Cook Music Services, to promote his services as a remote session player. As well as guitar, Cook also offers sound design, arrangements, drum programming and custom remixes for clients in America and Europe.

In September 2024, the estate of Hardy Fox entrusted Cook with the task of selling a collection of musical instruments and recording equipment which had been used by Fox on a number of classic Residents recordings, including the legendary "Resitar" (which Cook said he would keep).[6][12]

Nifnar

In May 2025, Cook opened a mailing list for his new project, Nifnar.[4] Cook had previously used this name in 2018, for a cover of The Residents' "Tragic Bells" which was featured on the official tribute album I Am A Resident!.

A Kickstarter campaign for Nifnar's first album, An Entire Zoo Full of Headless Animales, opened in August, accompanied by a promotional video/single, "Cheese Chickens".[13] On September 5th, Nifnar premiered a video for the song "Broken Thoughts Carousel" from the upcoming album. On September 8th, the Nifnar Kickstarter campaign ended, having failed to reach its funding goal of $18,625 USD.

Cook has continued recording the Nifnar album following the failure of the Kickstarter campaign, and as of March 2025, is rehearsing with a band for "a group of performances".[14] As Nifnar, Cook contributed a cover of the Nash the Slash song "Citizen" (featuring Oakland musician XFR 4TA on vocals) for the tribute album Nash the Slash Covered, which was released on March 14th 2026 by Klanggalerie.[14]

Credits on Residents releases

Credits on Charles Bobuck/Hardy Fox releases

Charles Bobuck

Hardy Fox

Solo discography

  • From The NC Lab EP (2011)

As Nifnar

  • "Cheese Chickens" (2025)

With Land of Thin Dimes

  • Land of Thin Dimes (1999)

With Dimesland

  • Creepmoon EP (2012)
  • Psychogenic Atrophy (2015)

Other credited appearances

See also

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Big Brother, "BOGcast interview with Nolan Cook (Part 2) now available", The Residents' Official News BOG, January 5th 2006
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Post on The Residents' X/Twitter profile, February 20th 2024
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Post by Nolan Cook in The Residents' unofficial Facebook group, February 20th 2024
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 An Entire Zoo Full of Headless Animales at Mailchimp
  5. ↑ Daniel Lake, "INTERVIEW - Nolan Cook of Dimesland", Decibel, June 15th 2012
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Post by Nolan Cook, The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 18th 2024
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hardy Fox, Hacienda Bridge no. 15, May 1st 2017
  8. ↑ Big Brother, "BOGcast interview with Nolan Cook (Part 1) now available", The Residents' Official News BOG, December 30th 2005
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Homer Flynn, "A MESSAGE FROM THE CRYPTIC CORPORATION", The Residents' News Machine, February 20th 2024
  10. ↑ "In 2019 I committed to the producer of G3P to play any and all shows. That UK tour would have been my final thing." Nolan Cook, comment in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, February 20th 2024
  11. ↑ Evan Whitton, "Homer Flynn discusses The Residents' forthcoming album, 'Doctor Dark'", Soundsphere, May 13th 2024
  12. ↑ "To be clear, I have been asked to do this by the estate of Mr. Fox." Nolan Cook, comment in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 21st 2024
  13. ↑ "Nifnar: An Entire Zoo Full of Headless Animales" on Kickstarter
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Post by Nolan Cook, The Residents unofficial Facebook group, March 14th 2026
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