Evidence of Residents Volume 1

***Evidence of Residents Volume 1*** is a limited edition art portfolio featuring eleven photographs (both well-known and rarely seen) from the early career of The Residents, published around 2004 in a first edition of 113 hand-numbered copies. The portfolio also contains two additional pages of historical notes on each of the included pieces. It was followed by a second portfolio, *Evidence of Residents Volume 2*.

In September 2021, several pieces from a flood-damaged copy of *Evidence of Residents Volume 1* were posted as Free! Weird! items on The Residents' official website, with a note claiming "there is no need to think of Mother Nature as an enemy of art when she could just as easily be considered a collaborator who came along much later".

## Portfolio info

*The below text has been transcribed to this wiki by a Mysterious Spanish Lady from photographs of the original* Evidence of Residents Volume 1 *portfolio, supplied by a fan.* *Grammatical and spelling errors from the original text have been preserved in this transcription.*

### 1. Classic newspaper photo (4/77)

In the spring of 1977, The Residents were beginning to receive substantial media coverage in the British music press. Although Ralph Records was receiving numerous requests for publicity photos of the group, none of the existing images at that time were considered usable. Consequently, The Cryptic Corporation persuaded the faceless four to recreate the look of the "newspaper people," made famous in their Third Reich N' Roll music video released a year earlier. This photo is one of seven that were the first to be shot in The Residents' studios at 444 Grove St. in San Francisco.

### 2. The Residents stock up for a wild weekend (8/77)

With media demands for Residents' images still running high, the group decided to take their anonymous act to the local grocery store. Needless to say the store's management was not prepared for the arrival of four musicians dressed in asbestos suits, accompanied by a photographer and his assistant. But, amazingly enough, the store agreed to let the session continue with the condition that all references to Safeway be eliminated from the final photos. Approximately 104 photographs were shot in the Safeway at 5290 Diamond Heights Blvd. in San Francisco.

### 3. The Residents at Niagara Falls (4/79)

During a brief trip to New York City in 1979, The Residents impulsively decided to make a side trip to the great whirlpool just north of Niagara Falls. As they paused for a quick look at the legendary honeymoon destination, the group realized that the rain gear provided by a tourist concession, plus a few cheap skeleton masks, offered them a unique photo opportunity. Unknown until now is the fact that, since the silhouetted figures were facing the falls when the photo was shot, the skeleton masks were actually worn on the back of their heads. This picture, taken by an elderly Japanese gentleman, was the only one made at that time.

### 4. The Residents play The Beatles (8/77)

 File:Evidence-beatles.png
After completing their tape collage masterpiece, "The Residents Play The Beatles and The Beatles Play The Residents," the group needed an appropriate image to use for the cover of this ground breaking 45 rpm release. The idea of covering their faces with oversized Beatle masks was easy to understand, but no one has ever determined why they were so insistent about concealing their genitals with surgical tape. This image is one of the ten shot during this unusual photo session at 444 Grove St. Seen in the background is the section of Christo's fence later used as packaging for The Third Reich N' Roll box set.

### 5. Duck Stab cover original photo ('72)

Before directing "Hello Skinny" and two segments of the "One Minute Movies," Graeme Whifler was primarily known a photographer. In only their second "official" photo session, Graeme shot 34 pictures of the group, most of which have never been published. Several of these unseen images will be used in the centerspread of the soon-to-be-released vinyl reissue of Duck Stab. The photos were shot at The Residents' studio at 20 Sycamore St, in the Mission District of San Francisco.

### 6. Third Reich N' Roll promo photo (3/76)

Also shot by Graeme Whifler, the notorious Third Reich N' Roll promotional photos were responsible for a near riot in Berkeley, CA. After receiving an invitation to create a window display for Rather Ripped Records, one of the first shops to actively promote Residents' releases, the group responded with a large photo from this session. In turn, the "liberal" Berkeley population reacted by threatening to stone the store. The offending photo, a picture of a solo swastika-headed Resident hugging a deeply dimpled French horn, will also be seen in an upcoming special vinyl release of The Third Reich N' Roll. The photo session took place in two locations, the 20 Sycamore St. studio and, secretly, at the Regents meeting room at the University of California at San Francisco.

### 7. Atomic Shopping Cart photo ('72)

Since portions of the music from Not Available was initially created as soundtrack music for Vileness Fats, The Cryptic Corp thought it was appropriate to use this picture as the group photo for the back of the album. The image was actually created from two photos, a horizontal shot of the Bridge and a vertical of The Residents in their deluxe "atomic shopping carts." These two pictures were then composited together and the missing polka dots were airbrushed into the final image. The photos were shot on the Bridge set of Vileness Fats at the 20 Sycamore St. studio. Shopping carts were, once again, graciously "provided" by Safeway.

### 8. "Dog Show" photo ('72)

In 1972, when The Residents first moved into their studio at 20 Sycamore St, they were surprised to discover that the building had recently been the home of a doggie magazine, Western Kennel World, which had just ended its publication. Among the many puppy photos, Purina ads and various canine momentos, they found a stack of blank Dog Show posters. Eventually, after a close friend of the group volunteered to photograph them in their first "official" group session, one of the pictures gravitated toward its still current position, mounted upon one of the Dog Show posters. Several of these photos will also be featured in the gatefold of an upcoming collector's vinyl release.

### 9. Crawfish head photo (11/73)

Long considered lost, the crawfish head photo session was done to create a group photo for the back of the Meet The Residents album. After painstakingly fabricating the large paper mache masks and claws, then wearing them during the tedious restaging of a Beatles photo session, the group had no idea that the film would somehow be misplaced by their mentor, The Mysterious N. Senada. The unprocessed film was later discovered in a box of Mr. Senada's personal effects, which was returned to The Residents by a friendly tribe of Polar Eskimos. The photos were shot at the group's 20 Sycamore St. studio.

### 10. Santa Dog '78 (10/78)

Always searching for stimulus that would lead their visual identity in new directions, The Residents found the lips and teeth, used in this 1978 record cover, in a gift shop at Niagara Falls. Appropriately enough, the original implements were four plastic harmonicas, which the group reluctantly dismantled in order to wear them in the photo session. After seeing the results, The Residents demanded that their faces be photographically darkened, insisting that the unretouched photo made them look far too "human." This photo is one of eight shot during the session at 444 Grove St.

### 11. Bonus - Old Dream ('72)

Another image from their first ever photo session in 1972, The Residents have finally allowed their fans to see this unique nude shot of the group. While most of these pictures demonstrate the looseness and casual attitude typical of The Residents during this early period, one of group members insisted on staging this particular photo as a recreation of a dream he experienced long before. During this dream, the Resident found himself floating with three faceless friends in a giant jar of Jello, and, while the recreation was not completely perfect, he said the feeling was not unlike a lunch in a lonely stomach.

## Flood-damaged prints

Several prints from the *Evidence of Residents* portfolios held in The Cryptic Corporation archive were damaged in a flood, with the resulting smeared and blurred prints inadvertently "creating a new vision".

As a demonstration that "there is no need to think of Mother Nature as an enemy of art when she could just as easily be considered a collaborator who came along much later", several of these water-damaged prints were posted as Free! Weird! images on The Residents' official website in September 2021.

### Image gallery

Water-damaged "Residents stock up" printWater-damaged "Niagara Falls" printWater-damaged *Duck Stab!* printWater-damaged *Third Reich 'n Roll* promo printWater-damaged "Dog Show" printWater-damaged "crawfish head" print

## External links and references

* Post by BJ Etheridge in The Residents unofficial Facebook group

1. ↑ Comment by James Guarnotta in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, July 3rd 2023
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Post by Massimo Moro in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 3rd 2021
3. ↑ Post by Chris Thurlow in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, August 28th 2019
4. ↑ Post by Massimo Moro in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 17th 2021