OFF: The Residents

[Nick Medford]

Seeing there's all this interest in the Residents here, and given that lots of
people here like Gong, perhaps I can put a question to the assembled sages
of boc-l.  I've asked this a couple of times on the Gong newsgroup, and
never had a response, but then no-one there has ever even admitted to
having heard of the Residents, so I'm a bit more optimistic now.

On the cassette release of Planet Gong "Floating Anarchy '91" (note: '91
not '77), Daevid Allen says at one point- "now you may have heard about
this band called the Residents, well we've had our connections with them
over the years, and we're ready to be influenced by them.." - the band then
play a song called "Teeth" which I think may be a cover of a song off "Mark
of the Mole" (one of the few Residents albums I've never heard).  I'd like to
know if this really is a Residents song, but what I REALLY want to know is:
what are the 'connections' that D.A. refers to?

I can think of one connection: Chris Cutler appears on the NY Gong
album, also on Daevid's "N'Existe Pas", and he's done some stuff with the
R's, but that's pretty tenuous and one feels there's something a bit more
substantial being hinted at. Anybody?

Also: a further mystery- on the inside back cover of the "Our Poor, Our
Tired, Our Huddled Masses" CD booklet, there's a small pic of the eye-guys,
plus a bearded man who's sporting an impressive pair of breasts (really). I
recognise this hermaphrodite image: it's taken from the Aphex Twin's
"Windowlicker" video. Which implies there's some connection there as well.
Any ideas?

Perhaps this is all part of the enduring (and endearing) enigma of the
Residents, which I have no desire to see undermined, but I can't help being
curious...