Editing The Residents (section)

====''Santa Dog'', ''Meet the Residents'', ''Not Available'' & ''The Third Reich 'n Roll'' (1972–1976)====
[[File:Residents-EnigmaticFoe1974.jpg|thumb|left|The Enigmatic Foe (still from the [[Not Available (album)|''Not Available'']] sessions, 1974)]]
In early 1972, the band left San Mateo and relocated to 20 Sycamore St, [[San Francisco]]; a studio they named "El Ralpho", which boasted a completely open ground floor (seemingly ideal for a sound stage), allowing the group to expand their operations and also begin preliminary work on their most ambitious project up to that point, a full-length film entitled ''[[Vileness Fats]]'', which consumed most of their attention for the next four years. Intended to be the first-ever long form music video, the Residents saw this project as an opportunity to create the ultimate [[cult film]]. After four years of filming (from 1972 to 1976) the project was reluctantly cancelled because of time, space, and monetary constraints. Fifteen hours of footage was shot for the project, yet only approximately 35 minutes of that footage has ever been released.

The group also formed [[Ralph Records]] at this time, as a small, independent label to release and promote their own work. In 1972, to inaugurate the new business, the group recorded and pressed the ''Santa Dog'' EP, their first recorded output to be released to the public. Designed to resemble a Christmas card from an insurance company, the EP consisted of two 7" singles, one song on each side. The four songs were presented as being by four different bands (Ivory & the Braineaters, Delta Nudes, the College Walkers, and Arf & Omega featuring the Singing Lawnchairs), with only a small note on the interior of the gatefold sleeve mentioning the participation of "Residents, Uninc."

They sent copies of ''Santa Dog'' to west coast radio stations with no response until Bill Reinhardt, program director of [[KBOO]]-FM in [[Portland, Oregon]], received a copy and played it heavily on his show. Reinhardt met the Residents at their studio at 20 Sycamore St.<ref name=Sycamore>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyno|url-access=registration|title=Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=January 1, 2005|publisher=Penguin|access-date=November 16, 2016|page=[https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyno/page/200 200]|quote=sent back addressed to "Residents, 20 Sycamore St., San Francisco|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780143036722}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfmuralarts.com/neighborhood/mission/sycamore-street/11.html|title=San Francisco Mural Arts – Mission – Sycamore Street|website=Sfmuralarts.com|access-date=July 13, 2018}}</ref> in the summer of 1973 with the news of his broadcasts. The Residents gave Reinhardt exclusive access to all their recordings, including copies of the original masters of ''Stuffed Trigger'', ''Baby Sex'', and ''[[The Warner Bros. Album]]''.

Throughout this point, the group had been manipulating old tapes they had collected and regularly recording jam sessions, and these recordings eventually became the group's debut full-length album, ''[[Meet the Residents]]'', which was released in 1974 on Ralph. To aid in promoting the group, Reinhardt was given 50 of the first 1,000 copies of ''Meet the Residents''. Some were sent to friends, listeners and critics, and two dozen were left for sale on consignment at the [[Music Millennium]] record store, where they sat unsold for months. KBOO DJ Barry Schwam (a.k.a. Schwump, who also recorded with the Residents) promoted them on his program as well. Eventually, KBOO airplay attracted a cult following.[[File:TheResidents1976.jpg|thumb|The Residents, 1974–1976]]Following the release of ''Meet the Residents'', the group began working on a follow-up entitled ''[[Not Available (album)|Not Available]]''. Following N. Senada's theory of obscurity, the LP was recorded and compiled completely in private, and would not be released until the group had completely forgotten about its existence.<ref>The Residents - ''[[Not Available (album)|Not Available]]'' liner notes [<nowiki/>[[East Side Digital]]] (ESD80192) 1988</ref>

During breaks in the sessions for ''Vileness Fats'', the group recorded their next project, entitled ''[[The Third Reich 'n Roll]]'', over the course of a year between October 1974 and October 1975. The album consisted of two side-long [[medley (music)|medleys]] of the band covering popular songs from 1950s and 1960s, whilst toying with the concept of the popularity of [[rock 'n' roll]] being comparable to that of the rise of [[Nazism]] in the 1930s. The resulting LP was released in 1976, and was the group's first project to feature a [[music video]], created by syncing an old video of the group performing with an edited version of "Swastikas on Parade".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Third Reich 'n' Roll - Historical - The Residents|url=https://residents.com/historical/?page=thirdreichandroll|access-date=2020-11-19|website=residents.com}}</ref>

After ''the Third Reich 'n Roll''{{'}}s release, a group of enterprising friends and collaborators from their early days in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] — Homer Flynn, [[Hardy Fox]], Jay Clem and John Kennedy — also joined the group in San Francisco, forming what became the Cryptic Corporation to manage and represent the band. Clem became the band's spokesman; Fox edited, produced and compiled the band's increasingly prolific output; Flynn was already handling the group's cover design and promotional art under the banner of Pore Know Graphics; and Kennedy took the role of "President" (admittedly a fairly empty title, as overall responsibilities were handled more or less equally by the four). The Cryptic Corporation took over the day-to-day operations of Ralph Records, and provided the band with an improved public relations platform.

Shortly after the introduction of the Cryptic Corporation, the Residents recorded their "[[(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction|Satisfaction]]" single, the B-side of which featured the Residents' first work with the [[ARP Odyssey]], the first synthesizer owned by the group, purchased by the Cryptics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Synth City {{!}} CODGERS ON THE MOON|url=http://hardyfox.com/public_html/codgers/page13/index.html|access-date=2020-11-19|website=hardyfox.com}}</ref>