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Palmer Eiland (October 21st 1941 - April 10th 2017) was a friend and early collaborator of the group who would later become The Residents, living and working with them regularly. He was the brother of Barry "Red Wool" Eiland.

Occasionally referred to as "the fifth Resident", Palmer is most notable for having portrayed conjoined twin wrestler Arf Berry in the unfinished film Vileness Fats and on the song "Aircraft Damage" on the group's debut EP Santa Dog.

Biography[]

Palmer Eiland was born on October 21st 1941, in Shreveport, Louisiana to B.B. and Doris Eiland.[1] He enrolled in Louisiana Tech University in 1959,[2] and during his final year, met the people who would later become The Residents, who his younger brother Barry had likely befriended. One year following his the group and his brothers' graduation in 1968, the group, along with Barry and Palmer, moved to Califronia, during the height of the Haight-Ashbury scene.

Palmer frequently recorded with the group in their early years, and eventually moved to San Francisco with the group, setting up a living space in their new Sycamore Street studio, but quickly found himself disinterested in the groups work, preferring to read newspapers behind the locked door of his unpainted room. The group eventually became aware of piles of newspapers surrounding Palmer's chair which, over weeks and months, gradually grew taller.

In 1972, Residents Uninc decided to cast Palmer as the conjoined twin wrestler Arf Berry in their feature film production Vileness Fats. In character as Arf he would appear on Ralph Records' debut EP, Santa Dog, where he performed vocals on a song from the film's soundtrack, "Aircraft Damage". Filming proceeded smoothly enough, until the shooting of the Nightclub scene, which Palmer did not attend.

The Residents discovered that Palmer had attempted suicide, and, after comforting him, rescheduled the shooting. Three days later, as cast and crew again awaited him, The Residents learned Palmer had attempted to take his life a second time. By the end of that week, Palmer had unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide five times.

The Cryptic Guide to The Residents, published in 1986, refers to "one of the five" Residents retiring from the band during the recording of Meet The Residents. The guide also mentions he now only reads newspapers.[3] This information is seemingly is corroborated in the short 'End of Arf' documentary on Palmer, which refers to him as The Fifth Resident, and also comments on his newspaper collection.

Eiland eventually decided to move to Arkansas, leaving behind several large piles of newspapers, which The Residents proceeded to use to create sets, props and costumes for a short film. This footage would eventually feature in the 1977 music video for the group's album The Third Reich 'n Roll.

His final known collaboration with The Residents was in 1976, when he performed "Aircraft Damage" live at the Mummy Show, the group's first official live performance.

After leaving San Francisco he travelled from coast to coast across the United States and back on a BMW motorcycle, before travelling the world as a computer technician for geophysical research vessels for many years. After this, he worked with computer firms in Little Rock and Russellville, Arkansas, before retiring in 1987.

Following his retiremnet, Palmer settled in Fayetteville, where he lived until his death on April 10th 2017 at the age of 75. He was preceded in death by his brother Barry.[1]

Legacy[]

Palmer Eiland's role as collaborator of The Residents (like that of his brother Barry) was primarily behind the scenes and occurred largely within their early years.

Despite this, his influence on the group's activities was significant enough that he has sometimes been referred to as "The Fifth Resident", most recently in "The End of Arf", a short video about Palmer featuring Homer Flynn, which was released in 2018 to promote the upcoming release of the pREServed edition of The Third Reich 'n Roll.

Several months after the release of this video, Nolan Cook (a frequent collaborator of the group since 1998) dismissed the designation of Eiland as the fifth member of The Residents, claiming Eiland had merely followed The Residents to California "for a minute and tried to be involved. His attempts were rebuked."[4]

Credits on Residents releases[]

See also[]

External links and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Obituary at Legacy.com
  2. https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=archives-finding-aids
  3. The Cryptic Guide to The Residents (Pg. 7)
  4. "That other dude followed them to Cali for a minute and tried to be involved. His attempts were rebuked." - Nolan Cook, The Residents Facebook group, October 26th 2018
Wbrmx-sml-transparent The Delta Nudes / Residents, Uninc.
(1967 - 1974)
Vfshoppingcart-sml-transparent Vileness Fats
(1972 - 1976)

Scene by scene
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never

Cast and characters
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

Crew
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · Graeme Whifler: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing

Settings
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never

Soundtrack music
"Aircraft Damage" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "Fever" · "Russian Love Song" · X Is For Xtra ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")

Related works
The Boarding House performance · Santa Dog · Meet The Residents · Not Available (X Is For Xtra) · The Third Reich 'n Roll (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · Fingerprince · Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (soundtrack · PAL TV LP) · Video Voodoo · Twenty Twisted Questions · Icky Flix (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · RZ VF) · Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents · Double Trouble ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · Triple Trouble (soundtrack)

Related articles
Atomic Shopping Carts · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My MammySycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater

Santadog-sml-transparent Santa Dog
(1972)

Side A: "Fire" by Ivory and the Brain Eaters · Side B: "Explosion" by The Delta Nudes
Side C: "Lightning" by The College Walkers · Side D: "Aircraft Damage" by Arf and Omega feat. The Singing Lawn Chairs

Personnel
Residents, Uninc. · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)

Related works
Vileness Fats ·"Santa Dog '78" · "Santa Dog '84" · "Santa Dog 88" · "Santa Dog '92" · Refused · "Santa Dog 17" · Santa Dog 50th Anniversary Collection · "Santa Dog 2022"

Related articles
Western Kennel World · The Ventures ("Peter Gunn" · Play Guitar With The Ventures Volume 7) · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · Porno/Graphics · Richard Nixon · Frank Zappa · Meet The Residents

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