Tony Janssen
Tony Janssen is a sound engineer, vocalist, and drummer who worked with The Residents regularly between 1988 and 1994, and contributes guest vocals on the Freak Show and Our Finest Flowers albums.
The most notable projects Janssen worked on with The Residents include Cube E: Live In Holland, Freak Show, Our Finest Flowers, Live At The Fillmore, Wormwood Live 1999 and Roadworms (The Berlin Sessions). He mostly recently worked with The Residents on the 2015 remaster of their 1986 Live In The USA - 13th Anniversary Tour album.
Background
Tony was a core collaborator with the group for some years, particularly on their 1990s output. He played drums, performed vocals, and acted as mixing engineer for the group. He was useful to The Residents for his extensive knowledge of the Midi format[1], which The Residents had been becoming more and more interested in since discovering it in 1987. His first known work with The Residents in 1989, acting as the sound-man for the Cube-E tour.[2] His first recorded musical collaboration with The Residents was in March of 1990, when he provided drums for a studio version of 'New Orleans' from The Residents' Black Barry. Later that same month, Tony would record and mix two live shows for The Residents, one in Holland, and one in Spain. These two shows would be put together to make the Cube-E live in Holland album.
Shortly after this Tony recorded his first vocal work with The Residents, acting as both co-producer and vocalist on Freak Show, where he plays Tex, The Ringleader. He also acts as vocalist on 'Our Finest Flowers' and is confirmed as performing on three tracks of Flowers, Six Amber Things, He Also Serves & Ship Of Fools,[3]
He then recorded and mixed the dialogue for the Freak Show CD-ROM, and digitally remastering The Third Reich 'n Roll.
Following this, Tony's involvement in the performance side of The Residents would diminish, as he would move on to almost exclusively mixing their live albums, minus Roadworms. In 2003 Tony began working with The Residents for an animated film based on Freak Show, directed by The Residents & Jim Ludtke. The film continued production until the sudden death of Ludtke in March of 2004.
Following this Tony would retire, and only returned in 2015 to digitally convert their 1986 Live In the U.S.A album from tape to disc.
Appearances on Residents works
- Cube E: Live In Holland (1990, Recorded & Mixed By)
- Stranger Than Supper (1990) (Drums on "New Orleans")
- Freak Show (1990) (Vocals, Mixing)
- Our Finest Flowers (1992, Mixed by & featuring the singing talents of)
- The Third Reich 'n' Roll (1993, Original Tapes Digitally Reworked By)
- Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents (1993, Guest Star)
- Freak Show CD-ROM (1994, Voices, Mixing)
- Freak Show CD-ROM Video Tour (1994, Featuring The Voice Of)
- Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997, musician)
- Live At The Fillmore (1998, Mixed & Recorded By)
- Wormwood Live 1999 (1999, Recorded By)
- Dot Com (2000, "Walter Westinghouse" Mixed By)
- Roadworms (The Berlin Sessions) (2000, Recorded By)
- Disfigured Night (2004, Sound Design)
- Freak Show DVD (2006, Guest Performer, Mixed By)
- Live In The USA - 13th Anniversary Show (2015, AD Conversion)
- Wormwood Box (2022, 'Roadworms' recorded by)
References
- ↑ https://www.residents.com/historical/?page=freakshow
- ↑ http://www.stevencerio.com/cerio-interviews-for-seconds-magazine/interview-with-the-residents-seconds-43-1997-by-steven-cerio/
- ↑ /wiki/Our_Tired%2C_Our_Poor%2C_Our_Huddled_Masses