Hacienda Bridge no. 10
"Hacienda Bridge #10" (subtitled "The Vagina Issue") is an issue of Hardy Fox and Charles Bobuck's Hacienda Bridge newsletter sent to mailing list subscribers on February 14th, 2017. This issue focuses on the women who have collaborated with The Residents since their early days.
This newsletter is not archived on Mailchimp - the archived version below has been transposed from a copy kept in the personal archives of a Mysterious Spanish Lady.
The newsletter
Note: Some format changes have been made (image positioning, additional headings, etc.) to create an easily readable version of this newsletter within the restrictions of this wiki. Such changes have been made as infrequently as possible to present the closest possible representation of the text as it originally appeared. Links in the text to other wiki articles are included by The Mysterious Spanish Ladies in order to help facilitate easy navigation and further reading.
The Vagina Issue
The world of The Residents has always been pretty much a dick fest. Still is. But that doesn't mean that women have been missing from projects. We are way overdue in acknowledging some of the amazing women Bobuck and I have worked with who have helped create and guide the enigma known as The Residents. When better to do it than today, St. Valentine's Day.
- Hardy Fox
The early 1970s
To get started on this trip through Residential history, we had to remember back almost half a century to the first recordings before the idea of "The Residents" had even entered anyone's mind. Back to when Pamela Zeibak walked in with her rich operatic voice. It was quite unlike anything we had ever heard in the late 1960s. She brought other friends to harmonize with her at our very crazy jam sessions, The Singing Lawnchairs.
Also a friend, Maggie Swaton transformed into Peggy Honeydew for the film, Vileness Fats. Diane Flynn was the person who did everything for Vileness Fats.... sewing costumes, building props, as well as appearing as a multitude of characters. Diane's connections also brought in Sally Lewis who played Weescoosa in the film.
singer
Meet The Residents, The Third Reich 'N Roll
singer / actor
the person who got things done
singer / actor
The early 1980s
Most of the people on this list were recommendations from friends. That was a fantastic way of finding new talent.
But not everyone came in that way. Carol LeMaitre and Sarah McLennan (who later became manager of Ralph Records) had to actually endure an open call audition for dancers. That was for the Mole Show in 1982. They stuck around for a long time after that, dancing in the 13th Anniversary show and CUBE E. Another person from that era is Leigh Barbier who was hired to paint backdrops for the Mole Show and went on to create album covers and assorted project art pieces.
By that time Helen Purdum was running the art department at Ralph Records. Nessie Lessons was popping in and out of the studio putting vocal touches on musical pieces.
dancer, choreographer, manager Ralph Records
Mole Show, 13th Anniversary Show, CUBE E
dancer, choreographer
Mole Show, 13th Anniversary Show, CUBE E
designer / artist
Mole Show, Have a Bad Day, Gingerbread Man, Wormwood
designer
art director Ralph Records
singer
Mark of the Mole, The Tunes of Two Cities, Our Finest Flowers, Title In Limbo
The mid 1980s
After The Residents toured the Mole Show, there were many changes at the company. The new wave and punk era had become boring and was dying out. A new kind of Residents was needed. Some employees left, others came on-board. Offices and studio moved to a new facility and aggressive planning became the new way of working.
On the business end, Sheenah Spece started working at Ralph Records as a manager. The Residents signed contracts on a world wide level and their closest mentor became Dutch record label executive for Torso Records, Eleanor Hamaker.
manager
executive
artist relations
The late 1980s - 1990s
Just as the business changed, so did the sound of the group. More stylish and polished vocals were required. That brought in Laurie Amat and Diana Alden Lang.
Never ones to ignore new technology, an entirely new interest attracted The Residents attention and they became video game developers under the producing guidance of Sharon Kempner.
vocal stylist / performer
God in 3 Persons, Freak Show, The King and Eye
singer / actor
Freak Show, Our Finest Flowers, Wormwood, Gingerbread Man
producer
Freak Show CDROM, Bad Day on the Midway CDROM
The late 1990s - and forward
The game designer ideas blew over in about ten years and The Residents found themselves back trying to be a music group. They were a bit confused having thought that their band-style days were over.
Suddenly they needed albums and touring again. They needed stronger musicians and performers. They found those in Carla Fabrizio, Gerri Lawler and Molly Harvey. Laura Haslett designed the costumes for the shows.
Ralph Records continued to produce new CDs in the hands of Lorrieanne Murray until music downloading finally crushed it and she got revenge by becoming the social media administrator known as "Mama Ralph."
Musical director / singer
Wormwood, Icky Flix, Demons Dance Alone, Animal Lover, The Bunny Boy, Tweedles, The Voice of Midnight, The River of Crime, Ghost of Hope
singer / actor
The River of Crime, The Voice of Midnight, Tweedles, Talking Light
singer / actor / performer
Disfigured Night, Wormwood, Icky Flix, Demons Dance Alone, Animal Lover, Talking Light
costumer / designer
Wormwood, Icky Flix, Demons Dance Alone, Talking Light, Wonder of Weird
manager Ralph Records / producer /
social media administrator (Mama Ralph)
That brings us all the way up to February 14, 2017.
All of these woman are very different from one another, except each of them could see through the insanity of The Residents to grasp at some of the meaning in the core. They were able to bring some of their own passion to that core and help guide it in richer, more complex directions.
Everyone on this list was a pleasure to work with. You made us better performers and more rounded people and we thank you for that.
THANK YOU
Sound Health
The women listed above do all have a thing in common in addition to working with The Residents. They have that thing in common with your sisters, your wife, your mother, maybe even yourself.
Pap smears.
Considering the political climate, Bobuck and I are donating all our profits from the sale of the CD, EGGS FOR BREAKFAST, for the month of February to:
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
We will donate to our local Planned Parenthood facility as we continue the wise adage, Think Globally, Act Locally.
26 tiny tunes CD from the brain of
Get it from Klanggalerie
All profits from the month of February go to
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Charles Bobuck is a big chicken. Chickens make horrible song writers. Their songs are just a bunch of repetitive clucking. However, they make a lot of them. Almost every morning you can hear them singing, having forced a big song lump out of their vaginas, or wherever those things come from.
Bobuck doesn’t have a vagina, but you can still hear him singing every morning over some song lump he left on the carpet, or on the stairs. Fortunately Klanggalerie picks them up so they don’t get stepped on. Well, some do get stepped on, but it is no matter. There are always more.
Eggs for Breakfast is a collection of 26 of Bobuck’s song eggs that did not get stepped on.
Fictional Characters in Residents' Projects
Women characters have not always fared very well in Residents songs, but then again, neither do men. Here are my ten most memorable women in no order.
---- Hardy
- Edweena from Not Available
- Lizard Lady from Duck Stab
- Wanda from Freak Show
- Weescoosa from Vileness Fats
- Betty from Demons Dance Alone
- Dixie from Bad Day on the Midway
- The Unseen Sister, from Talking Light
- Clair from The Voice of Midnight
- Peggy Honeydew from Vileness Fats
- The Old Woman from The Gingerbread Man
Performances by Women
Women have often performed with Residents projects. Here are my ten most memorable performances in no order.
---- Hardy
- Harry The Head - Laurie Amat from Freak Show
- This Is A Man's World - Molly Harvey from Icky Flix
- True Love - Carla Fabrizio from The Voice of Midnight
- Lillie - Diana Alden Lang from Freak Show
- Innerspace - Molly Harvey from Animal Lover
- Crashing - Nessie Lessons from Title In Limbo
- The Weatherman - Molly Harvey from Demons Dance Alone
- Brown Cow - Gerri Lawler from Tweedles
- Carol LeMaitre and Sarah McLennan for CUBE E show
- The Unseen Sister - Gerri Lawler - from Talking Light
Newsletter tune
"Women understand that they will have to stand next to more than one man dying. It is what they do."
- C. Bobuck - Grandpa Charles
The free song for the Vagina Issue is a collaboration between
Charles Bobuck and Nessie Lessons.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT
In memory of S.T.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT - song play button
ASK HARDY SHIT
Will return next newsletter.
Links
- Web Site http://hardyfox.com
- Bandcamp https://bobuck.bandcamp.com/music
- Klanggalerie http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg240
- MVD http://mvdshop.com/search?q=BOBUCK
- Hacienda Bridge Blog https://hardyfoxblog.wordpress.com/
- iTunes Bookstore https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-swords-of-slidell/id1129364212?mt=11
Other people with vaginas who have also helped
Kathleen French, Marge Howard, Mimi King, Sandie Schaaf, Queenie Taylor, Jana Flynn, Isabelle Barbier, Denise Byroads, Ruth Essex, The Singing Lawnchairs, Ruby, Annie Stocking, Jeanette Sartain, Joan Cashel, Sandy Sandwich, Mud's Sis, Linda Goldstein, Annie Reynolds, Kalonica McQuesten, Jen Tait, Cynthia Vazquez, Irene Dogmatic, Bernadette Emrick, The Pointless Sisters, Beli Sullivan, Vicki Saulls Sullivan
Next time on Hacienda Bridge
Next time we meet on Hacienda Bridge we
go on the hunt for the missing, the lost, the
forgotten.
Two women are very important for the look of Klanggalerie… firstly, I’d like to point the spotlight to Lisa Robotka, who makes nearly every layout and also many designs for Klanggalerie CDs.
Secondly, the woman who created the look for the new Renaldo & The Loaf album, Poxodd. She is also designing the cover for the first Darkening Scale CD (David Janssen solo project), and has made prints for Gurdy Hurding which you can buy in her shop: http://shop.poxodd.com
Just a quick word with the guys before we sign out of this newsletter
Most of the readers of this newsletter have a penis. I have one too. Nothing wrong with a penis. However, we have to get past this notion of women's health being a feminist issue. Even us with a penis have women in our lives whom we love and depend on.
It is not enough to support women for standing up for their rights. We have to stand beside them.
People with a penis have more power in this culture and we penis-people have the responsibility to use that power to make certain that people we love who have vaginas are not forced back into more submissive roles by the new conservative movements. Anti vagina-people prejudice has to end and we penis-people have to take a stand to stop those who want to harm our vagina-people.
Ultimately, we are all simply people whether parts stick out or stick in. People need healthcare. Support Planned Parenthood (who also offer services for penis-people too.)
I believe Donald Trump sees women as objects.
Copyright © 2017 Hacienda Bridge, All rights reserved.
See also
Resources
- H.Fox & Bobuck News #10 (PDF file, 3.29 MB)