Visits From The Not-So-Good-Doctor

2025 sees the release of The Residents' most sonically contrasting release Doctor Dark- the project's forty-seventh studio album.  It blends sad and swooning strings/piano keys, with blunt 'n' crude heavy metal, and a side order of electro beats, off-Broadway theatricality, mocked-up news reports, and twittering bird field recordings/uneasy ambience. Lyrical/theme-wise, the album blends 80’s heavy metal influenced shotgun suicide, and a creepy doctor involved in euthanasia. We were lucky enough to get an email interview with the project's Homer Flynn- key graphic designer, spokesman & manager. We discuss the new album, the compilation Buy Or Die- Ralph Records 1972-1982- looking at the project's label, their late 2024 EP Dookietown, and much more.

M[m] Before we get onto talking about the new album, I just wanted to touch on Dookietown- the EP released in late 2024. First off, I believe this material dates back some years- please could discuss when it first came about, and how it developed to its released form?

Homer The music and lyrics on Dookietown are all fairly recent. The Residents had finished their work of writing and performing the material on Dr Dark, but orchestrations and mixing still had to be done; they still had restless creative energy left so they impulsively decided to record an EP and Dookietown was the result.

 

M[m] As a release, Dookietown distil the creepier carnival/ nurse rhythm side of the Residents' work- had that always been the intent from the EP?

Homer The Residents' are fond of carnivals, as evidenced by their Freak Show and Bad Day on the Midway music and CD-Roms. They loved the Louisiana State Fair when they were young, but always felt there was a dark or creepy underbelly below the often frivolous surface; that space between public image and reality is one they love to explore and undoubtedly will again.

 

M[m] You’ve only released a vinyl version of Dookietown thus far- what was the reasoning behind this? And do you hope to release it in other formats down the road?

Homer Since The Residents initially envisioned Dookietown as an EP, they wanted to first release it in that form, but it will no doubt eventually come out as part of a longer disc or box set.

 

M[m]  You mention the possibility of Dookietown being added to a longer disc or box set. So, was there more material from the sessions for the release, or do they have plans to return to it again?

Homer I think Dookietown will remain a stand alone piece; there's no additional material as far as I know. When I mentioned the possibility of adding it to another piece or box set, I was speculating on how Cherry Red often re-releases Residents material.

 

M[m] Moving onto Doctor Dark- please could you talk a little bit about how & when did the idea for the album came about?, and how long did it take to realise the final album?

Homer Dr Dark is partially based on an event in 1985 where two teenagers in Reno took too many drugs, drank too much beer and listened to too much heavy metal music before picking up a shotgun, walking to a schoolyard next door and BLAM! BLAM! Their parents, taking absolutely no responsibility, then sued Judas Priest and Warner Bros Records for having corrupted their sons with backward lyrics in the music. The trial received a lot of attention at the time, stimulating David Van Taylor, a documentary filmmaker, to shoot it. In the process, he discovered, to his shock, that James Vance, one of the teenagers, actually survived the suicide attempt while blowning off a huge portion of his face. One of The Residents saw the film, Dream Deceivers, when it was released in 1992. The group immediately wanted to do something with the story, but it wasn't until a few years ago, when they had the idea of bringing in Dr Dark, a character based on Dr Kevorkian, that the album began to take shape.

 

M[m] What appealed to The Residents about Dr Kevorkian? And did their interest expand into his music as well? 

Homer Dr Kevorkian was, in many ways, an ultimate outsider, and I think that was his primary appeal to The Residents. I think they were more interested in his painting than his music.

 

M[m] The album sees the band working with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music- please talk a little bit about how The Residents came to work with them?

Homer Edwin Outwater is the Music Director of the SF Conservatory; he also travels around the world conducting orchestras. When Edwin moved to SF a few years ago to take the Conservatory job, one of his biggest priorities was to do a collaboration with The Residents. Dr Dark is the result.

 

M[m] Could you please talk about how The Residents worked with Edwin Outwater to write the Dr Dark album?  Did they present him with melodies, or was it more of a joint collaborative affair?

Homer The Residents created crude orchestrations for Dr Dark which Edwin then rearranged. He also created the prelude at the very beginning of the album based on different themes in the recording. He also supervised the recording of the orchestrations.

 

M[m] Sonically, the album is very contrasting, moving between the mood strings and brass, to the blunt guitar elements, to a more ambient/electronic, eerie, unsettling side of things. Was this shift in place from the beginning?

Homer The Residents see Dr Dark as the soundtrack to a modern opera that takes place in three acts. They felt that it was important to have a different sound for each act. 

 

M[m] There are a few things missing on this new album that you normally expect- first off, I believe this is the first album you haven’t done the cover artwork for, and secondly, the role of the singing Resident has been very much reduced. Please could you talk a little about each of these?

Homer Actually, I did do the cover art. It's signed "Dark" because Dr Dark is a painter, and in terms of the story, the cover is one of "his" paintings. There are three characters in the Dr Dark opera and The Residents wanted different voices for them so that dictated the results. 

 

M[m] The Dr Dark is very different from your normal cover artwork- did you create any other meant to be painted by Doctor Dark works?. And did you also do the art for pictures of the characters?

Homer I created about a dozen Dr Dark "paintings," all based on portraits of people that he "liberated." And yes, I also did the pictures of the three primary characters.  

 

M[m] On the subject of your only personal art- have you ever done album art for anyone else?. And have you ever thought of compiling your artwork into a book form?

Homer No, I have only done album covers for The Residents. I would love to create a book/compilation of my artwork; I also have a lot of photos I have shot over the years. But creating a book is a lot of work so I would have to feel confident that whoever published it would do a good job. 

 

M[m] One of the two key story lines in the album regards a heavy metal band song causing the suicide of their fan. Are you or any of the Residents ever fans of more formal heavy metal?

Homer No, neither The Residents nor I are fans of the genre, but they love to play around with different musical forms and were happy to take a shot at heavy metal. 

 

M[m] I’m guessing there are no plans to do live shows with Doctor Dark?

Homer No, there are no plans to perform Doctor Dark at this time. The Residents would love to see it on stage, but feel like too many compromises would have to be made to perform it on tour. They're hoping to attract a production company that would produce it as a modern opera.  

 

M[m] Another recent release Resident-related releases is Buy Or Die- Ralph Records 1972-1982, which is a two-CD compilation looking at the label the project ran, Ralph Records. What are some of your keen memories from the ten years covered on the compilation?

Homer The Buy or Die! box set is actually three discs. It covers the period from when The Residents ran Ralph Records on their own through the years after the Cryptic Corp was formed and took over managing the label. It was an exciting time because Cryptic really expanded the label and brought in a lot of exciting new artists.

 

M[m] At a point, Ralph Records releases were often mentioned in the music press, with some titles selling very well. What did The Residents think of this higher level of interest in both the label and themselves?

Homer Again, it was an exciting time for all involved. The Residents were friends with some of the new artists and were happy to have them involved but the period was not without problems. The idea was that since these newer artists were so much more "commercial" than The Residents, they would undoubtedly sell more, consequently the label would not have to pressure the Eyeball Four for more accessible product, but, unfortunately, it didn't work out like that. While The Residents were definitely less commercial on the surface, Cryptic took for granted what a great job the band had done creating an intriguing image and using it to successfully market themselves. The other groups weren't nearly as good at that part of the business.

M[m] What do you personally see as the highlight releases from Ralph during this time- you can choose a single and an album, and if possible, please briefly discuss your choice?

Homer There are several releases from that era that I like but Eskimo is definitely a favorite. To me it's one of The Residents boldest albums and if I had to pick a companion single, I would probably go with Satisfaction for the same reason. Both are quite confident and fearless and completely unlike anything else they did either before or after.

 

 

M[m] Talking of the album Eskimo- had the Residents at any point considered doing another album in the ambient/ world music genre?

Homer They've discussed a lot of possibilities over the years but nothing ever felt like as good a fit for that genre as Eskimo.

M[m] The next release in the pREServed series is The American Composer three-CD set.  What are some of your personal memories from around the time the three albums featured were released?

Homer I thought it was an interesting offshoot to most of the group's other releases. James Brown's Live at the Apollo has always been a personal favorite so I was happy to see them tackle that, but the John Phillip Sousa side of Stars and Hank is definitely a personal favorite. It's such an off-the-wall choice, and I thought they did a great job with it. I was disappointed when they decided to end the series, which was originally intended to be ten discs. But that was a time of turmoil within the group, and I always thought that ending the ACS was a way of putting that behind them and moving on.

 

M[m] I believe initially, The American Composer was announced as a larger set. What were the reasons for reducing the number of discs?

Homer The Residents wanted to include the soundtrack music they did for Pee Wee's Playhouse in the ACS set but after many discussions over several years, Cherry Red never could get the rights to that music. Too bad - it never made any sense. 

M[m] What’s next in pREServed series- and can you give us any details on what to expect from the releases?

Homer There are several more releases in the works, but I think the next one in the pREServed series is Animal Lover, another personal favorite.

M[m] Can you tell us any more about what to expect from the Animal Lover  pREServed  release?

Homer As I understand it, Animal Lover won't be released until next year, so I don't think the final decisions as to bonus or additions tracks have been made yet. I expect it will be the original album along with the instrumental version plus some live tracks and remixes.

 

M[m] What are The Residents working on next?

Homer The primary thing The Residents are working on now is a reworking/revisiting of Eskimo for a performance at the Exotikon Festival in LA on June 7. There are no firm dates yet, but it looks like they will probably be touring Eskimo later this year. They have also written 45-50 min of new music for an album that will probably be released next year.

 

M[m] Can you tell us anything more about the reworking of Eskimo?

Homer Eskimo is primarily being recreated with samples from the original multitrack tapes, but The Residents, no surprise, will also be taking a certain amount of liberties with the original material. The thing I found most interesting is that they discovered some old Eskimo folk stories that they had somehow missed during their original research fifty years ago and are adding some of those to the concert with all new music.

 

M[m] Great to hear about the possible tour for  Eskimo- any chance of euro/ UK dates?

Homer I'm sure there will be UK and European dates but not until 2026. 

M[m] Can you tell us anything more about the new material The Residents are working on? What is the genre setting of this new work?

HomerThe new material is just backing tracks so there's no real "genre" at this point. The most interesting thing I've heard about it is that The Residents have strongly suggested that it will be x rated. 

 

Big thanks to Homer for his time & efforts with the interview. Doctor Dark, Buy Or Die- Ralph Records 1972-1982, and Dookietown are all available from both Cherry Red Records & MVD Audio. The place for all things related to the project is https://www.residents.com/

All picture credits :Poor? No! Graphics