Firesign Artifacts

I think I got these from Phil Proctor.  Reminds me of The Good Old Days.  Midnight movies in Long Beach with free popcorn.  Two bucks.  Where's my Time Machine??

Me and Phil

Photo by Taylor Jessen 2011
Just click on the title/link to see the photo!

More Random Firesign Theatre Stuff

Today's images are completely random. If I've posted them before, I don't recall, so I hope you enjoy seeing them again. This one is my backstage pass from CBS TV for the taping of the Weirdly Cool PBS Special. Stage 33 is where Jack Benny did his program. Wow.

Here I am standing around like an idiot behind the guys after the show at Monterey. Only Austin knew I was back there....

A lovely postcard from Phil Proctor concerning my piano contributions to the Antaeus Theatre production of Noel Coward's "Tonight At 8:30".

The front side of the postcard.

An encouraging message from Phil and Melinda on the occasion of our Opening Night of the Noel Coward show.

A recent autograph....

This was a note from Phil Proctor regarding photos he took during an appearance at our TV studios.

And these are the photos in question.

Another one.

I've always loved this poster. Wonderful graphics.

This is a contact sheet for the photos I took at KPFK during the Dear Friends Let's Eat shows. The color prints have mostly been lost, and this is all that remains.

A shot I took during Boom Dot Bust.

The Guys with Frasier Smith during Boom Dot Bust. I'm a terrible photographer.

Frasier Smith with Oona Austin from Boom Dot Bust.

The Guys in the control room during Boom Dot Bust.

FIRESIGN THEATRE: Phil Proctor

Portrait of the Artist as a Purple People Reader.
The colors are fading, but this is Phil Proctor in a candid moment- taken during the recording sessions for In The Next World, You're On Your Own. I shot this at the Burbank Studios.

FIRESIGN THEATRE: More Sugar!

Here are some wonderful Firesign Theatre images I dug out of my archives. These are completely at random- just to make an easy post.
Trust me- it HAS been 'Many years of fun'!

Phil Proctor sent me some of the photos on this post. Here's a great sample of Nick Danger stationery. Why doesn't Hallmark carry this??

Here we are in the TV studio. Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Ron Petke, Glen Banks and the late John Craig (love ya, Johnnie Boy!)

Phil Proctor, John Craig, Glen Banks and Peter Bergman on the set.

This is an interesting curio for hardcore fans. This is the breakdown/guide sheet for the final Firesign radio broadcast at KPFK: The Martian Space Party. I picked this up after the show was over. It was the end of Dear Friends and the end of an era in radio comedy.

Firesign Theatre: Eat Or Be Eaten

Eat Or Be Eaten- the cult fave LP/CD from Firesign Theatre.

Look closely in the credits- Glen Banks (that's me) playing keyboard.

Did David get replaced by a sheep?

Here's me on the set of Eat Or Be Eaten. I played a Dendrolator in the film. My favorite memory was sitting around on this couch at 2 AM with the Firesign Theatre and the other castmembers- swapping scary ghost stories. I'm holding the legendary Book Of Me (written by Dr. Me) and you'll notice a menacing sprig of koodzoo vine lurking on the cushions. On the coffee table is the photo of the vine taken in 1936 when the plant went berserk and completely covered the town.

Me and Phil Proctor- bonding- with a couple of bottles of Wino Brothers wine- "in the bottle shaped like a paper bag!" (Photo by Henry Diltz)

The Firesign Theatre

You say you don't know who Firesign Theatre is? Don't insult me. Head for Google or Wiki and start learning. The American Monty Python? The Beatles of Comedy? The greatest comedy aggregation since the Marx Brothers- for my money. Here's the cover of (arguably) their greatest LP.

Click on the Post Title to hear Firesign perfoming Forward Into The Past.


Proctor and Goodman. I took this shot at UCLA. I really like this one.

Here we are in the studio during the Boom Dot Bust recording sessions.
Back row: Phil Proctor, David Ossman. Front row: Peter Bergman, Glen Banks, Phil Austin

Glen Banks, Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman. This was taken at a promotion for the DVD release of J-Men Forever. The newspaper was a prop used in the film.

I took this nice photo of Phil Proctor quite recently. Phil and I were appearing courtesy of the Antaeus Theatre Company in Tonight At 8:30. It was a performance of all Noel Coward's one-act plays. I played the piano and Phil (among other things) was cast as the Butler. I will always have fond memories of providing the music for Phil's wonderful rendition of Don't Put Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs. Worthington.

Todd Rundgren

Not much to say about this photo except that it's Todd and Glen- and that this was taken at UCLA's Royce Hall, backstage after Todd performed in a tribute to the Firesign Theatre. Photo by Ron Petke.