Thank you Peter Bergman/Radio Free Oz.com

 
Dangerous Minds pal, Peter Bergman is back on the radio! The Firesign Theatre funnyman has resurrected the Radio Free Oz moniker of his legendary KPFK radio show of the mid-1960s and is trying something new for 2010.

Broadcasting from his new homebase in Whidbey Island, WA, Bergman’s new incarnation of Radio Free Oz continues on with his unique take on freeform radio and features cameo appearances from his comrades in the Firesign Theatre (I even make an appearance in one of them). Currently a weekly program going out live on Sunday nights, Radio Free Oz will soon be on five nights a week.

The highlight for me are the segments about weirdo evangelist Tony Alamo by Philip Proctor in each show. I laughed so hard I cried. Co-hosted by David Ossman.

And speaking of Radio Free Oz, Proctor and Bergman, I found this unusual—and really interesting—piece on YouTube today and it features Peter Bergman and Philip Proctor reading from William Burroughs. Peter reads “Death Dwarf in the Street” on the old Radio Free Oz show in the ‘60s and Phil reads “The Saragossa Cafe” in a more recent recording. An excerpt from Nova Express, a film by Andre Perkowski.
 

(Part 1 is here) In which Philip, Peter and Richard discuss the upcoming Firesign Theatre shows in Los Angeles (buy tickets here), the future, conspiracy theories and why everything you know is wrong, the health care debate and why the birthers are actually right about one thing: Obama IS an alien (from outer space. Peter’s got the proof).
 

(Part I) In which P&B announce the upcoming Firesign shows in LA (buy tickets here), Richard reveals himself to be a “baby of the Firesign Theatre” (it’s true!),  Phil tells how the Firesign Theatre were the original computer hackers and we discover why Surrealism makes you smarter. As Peter says near the end, “You either never heard of us, or you have us memorized.” I fall into the latter camp and this one is for all my fellow Bozos on this Bus. I have done hundreds of interviews in my career and this one is in my top five favorites. Hopefully, schedules permitting, I’ll be speaking to all four Firesign Theatre members next month. Stayed tuned for Part II next week. (You can listen to David Ossman and Phil Austin on Air America recently here)

I am happy to report that I will interviewing Phillip Proctor and Peter Bergman of the legendary Firesign Theatre in early September for Dangerous Minds. Very excited about this, but as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve just confirmed that I’ll also be interviewing the entire Firesign Theatre—yes, all four or five of the Crazy Guys—on October 11th, just days before their series of reunion shows in Los Angeles at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater.

I was looking for a video clip to post. There isn’t tons of Firesign Theatre visual material out there, they are mostly audio performers, of course, but there are a few things. I thought I might be able to find a clip or two from Martian Space Party and lo and behold, I found the entire thing on Google Video. Here’s what IMDB says about it:

A concert film/mockumentary posing as live news coverage from the 1972 National Surrealist Party Convention, interrupted by news flashes from Monster Island, where the president is denied entrance to the forbidden city, but does meet his nemesis, Glutomoto.

That’s not exactly right. It’s not a concert performance—although there is an audience—it’s a film of a live radio show from the Firesign’s Let’s Eat! radio series. I believe this was filmed at KPFK in Los Angeles and that it was the very last “live” radio show the FST did during their classic era. It was produced by tech journalist Steve Gillmor, of The Gillmor Gang.

Forward Into the Past: The Firesign Theatre live in Los Angeles (Buy Tickets Here)