Most fans of Vladimir's Universe know only the guitar & drums incarnation from the Cross Street Station, or perhaps the short-lived four piece band. One earlier version featured me singing along to 3 channel 8-bit electronic compositions using my Commodore 64. The earliest version of "Purity of Essence" was recorded this way. The biggest influence on my approach to music at that phase would be the Residents.
They were known for their iconic eyeball heads and carefully guarded anonymity. The earliest Residents recordings grew out of N. Senada's "Theory of Obscurity" which believes that an artist can only produce pure art when the expectations and influences of the outside world are not taken into consideration. As for the lyrics, they used N. Senada's "Theory of Phonetic Organization" in which the musician puts the sounds first, building the music up from them rather than developing the music, then working down to the sounds that make it up.
The first song I can remember hearing by the Residents was "Constantinople" from the 1978 album "Duck Stab". I was probably around 10 at the time and it left a major impression. I would hear more tunes by them over the years, usually on the CBC's Brave New Waves radio programme.
My favorite album would have to be the "Commercial Album", which featured 40 one minute songs. Guest artists included Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Snakefinger, Lene Lovich, and even Andy Partridge of XTC.
I'm sure I sent a demo or two to Ralph Records, the label they started. Some of my other favorite artists associated with Ralph include the Art Bears, Snakefinger, Eugene Chadbourne, and Fred Frith. When I moved to San Francisco in 1991 one of the first places I went to was their building at 18 Sycamore St. in the Mission District but was disappointed to find it locked with no one home.
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