Legendary comic foursome The Firesign Theatre, creators of over thirty LPs and CDs and a 2005 inductee into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, celebrates their 40th anniversary.
December 31, 2006 (Press Release) --
LOS ANGELES, CA: Legendary comic foursome The Firesign Theatre, creators of over thirty LPs and CDs including such classics as Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers, a 2005 inductee into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, celebrates their 40th anniversary on November 17, 2006.
Founding members Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor were a group of aspiring actors/writers when they met at the studios of Pacifica Network station KPFK-FM in Los Angeles in 1966. In the decade that followed, they wrote and performed thirteen albums for Columbia Records, full of dialogue that has become part of the national lexicon, with titles such as How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All, Everything You Know Is Wrong, and I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus.
Firesign celebrates its Ruby anniversary on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of their first performance, as guests on Peter Bergman’s pioneering talk show “Radio Free Oz” on KPFK.
Following that night’s improvisation, in which the four men realized they had an almost telepathic rapport, Bergman christened the group “The Oz Firesign Theatre” (since the four of them were all “fire” signs of the zodiac). There is no known recording of their debut performance.
“That Oz broadcast was a life-changing improvisation,” says David Ossman. “After that we set out to stone the system, if you see what I mean.” Phil Proctor concurs: “We knew we were on to something. No matter how absurd we were, the audience bought it!”
Soon after, Firesign Theatre landed a contract with Columbia Records, and over the following decade they revolutionized the idea of what comedy albums could be, mashing up James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and William Shakespeare in a head-tripping mix of puns, satire, surrealism, and unforgettable characters – and selling well over a million LPs in meantime.
Between 1966 and 1972, Firesign Theatre also had a series of regular weekly shows on various Los Angeles radio stations. Radio Free Oz ran from June 1966 to February 1969, first on KPFK-FM, then on KRLA-AM, and finally on KMET-FM. The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour aired for two hours on Sunday nights on KPPC-FM in 1970; Dear Friends aired on KPFK in 1970-1; and Let’s Eat followed on KPFK in 1971-2.
Hard-boiled detective Nick Danger, Third Eye, is one character who has been ruthlessly, doggedly following Firesign ever since their Radio Free Oz days, and he will soon have his own box set. In 2007 Shout! Factory will release a multi-disc collection chronicling all of Nick’s exploits. The box will assemble for the first time the many radio adventures of Nick Danger, Rocky Rococo, Lieutenant Bradshaw and announcer Dwight Yeast, including “Cut ‘Em Off at the Past”, “The Case of the Missing Shoe,” ”The Three Faces of Al,” and many other rare and unreleased items from Nick’s tattered casebook.
Firesign Theatre’s albums are available at laugh.com and lodestonecatalog.com
Founding members Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor were a group of aspiring actors/writers when they met at the studios of Pacifica Network station KPFK-FM in Los Angeles in 1966. In the decade that followed, they wrote and performed thirteen albums for Columbia Records, full of dialogue that has become part of the national lexicon, with titles such as How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All, Everything You Know Is Wrong, and I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus.
Firesign celebrates its Ruby anniversary on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of their first performance, as guests on Peter Bergman’s pioneering talk show “Radio Free Oz” on KPFK.
Following that night’s improvisation, in which the four men realized they had an almost telepathic rapport, Bergman christened the group “The Oz Firesign Theatre” (since the four of them were all “fire” signs of the zodiac). There is no known recording of their debut performance.
“That Oz broadcast was a life-changing improvisation,” says David Ossman. “After that we set out to stone the system, if you see what I mean.” Phil Proctor concurs: “We knew we were on to something. No matter how absurd we were, the audience bought it!”
Soon after, Firesign Theatre landed a contract with Columbia Records, and over the following decade they revolutionized the idea of what comedy albums could be, mashing up James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and William Shakespeare in a head-tripping mix of puns, satire, surrealism, and unforgettable characters – and selling well over a million LPs in meantime.
Between 1966 and 1972, Firesign Theatre also had a series of regular weekly shows on various Los Angeles radio stations. Radio Free Oz ran from June 1966 to February 1969, first on KPFK-FM, then on KRLA-AM, and finally on KMET-FM. The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour aired for two hours on Sunday nights on KPPC-FM in 1970; Dear Friends aired on KPFK in 1970-1; and Let’s Eat followed on KPFK in 1971-2.
Hard-boiled detective Nick Danger, Third Eye, is one character who has been ruthlessly, doggedly following Firesign ever since their Radio Free Oz days, and he will soon have his own box set. In 2007 Shout! Factory will release a multi-disc collection chronicling all of Nick’s exploits. The box will assemble for the first time the many radio adventures of Nick Danger, Rocky Rococo, Lieutenant Bradshaw and announcer Dwight Yeast, including “Cut ‘Em Off at the Past”, “The Case of the Missing Shoe,” ”The Three Faces of Al,” and many other rare and unreleased items from Nick’s tattered casebook.
Firesign Theatre’s albums are available at laugh.com and lodestonecatalog.com
Email
Print
SPAM
LEAVE A COMMENT
