W.E.I.R.D. (1978-81)
W.E.I.R.D. was the first Residents fan club. It was founded in June, 1978, by Phil Culp and Mimi King and quickly grew to 500 members. The club's membership package was very elaborate: in addition to a member's card, you received a copy of The Official W.E.I.R.D. Book Of The Residents with cover art by Gary Panter and containing The True Story of The Residents by music journalist Matt Groening (later famous for his Life in Hell comix and The Simpsons).
Once it was established the club had a contest to figure out just what W.E.I.R.D. stood for. The club eventually settled on "We Endorse Immediate Residents Deification".
While the club was in operation, they made art prints by Panter and Savage Pencil available to members, as well as odd Residential souvenirs such as 2" segments of the original Eskimo master tape. The club's slogan, "Ignorance of your culture is not considered cool," was taken from a Duck Stab promotional poster.
At its peak the club had over a thousand members, but it was plagued by late newsletters and ate up too much of the organisers' time. It shut down in 1981, sending out specially pressed copies of the Babyfingers single with new art by Pore Know Graphics, as a final gift to all members.
BABYFINGERS
UWEB (1988-1992)
UWEB was "Uncle Willie's Eyeball Buddies," the official fan club for the Eyeballed Ones.
Unlike most band fan clubs, UWEB actively produced and released CDs of music by the band, most of it available only through the club.
Uncle Willie released material to club members that no-one else ever saw. The Residents even recorded tracks specially for UWEB releases. The club released a quarterly newsletter which announced the latest Residential goings-on, explored the technology behind the music, and generally examined the Residential world.
SANTA DOG '88
SNAKEY WAKE
BUCKAROO BLUES
LIVER MUSIC
DAYDREAMB-LIVER
THE 13TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW LIVE IN THE USA
aka SNAKEFINGER
SANTA DOG '92
STRANGER THAN SUPPER
LAND OF MYSTERY*
* NOT RELEASED BY UWEB - RALPH AMERICA UWEB COMPILATION
Fan Clubs became outdated because of the internet. Now days the closest thing is the BOG web site with its CHAT and Video screens.