[ ] The Residents

A band for which we'll never be 100% sure of the facts, but would it be enough to find reasonably convincing evidence?

Pre-Residents material was released under the band name The Delta Nudes, with Phil Lithman a.k.a. Snakefinger as a member and point of entry into the BandToBand tree:
[www.discogs.com] http://www.discogs.com/Delta-Nudes-The-Greatest-Hiss/release/5064498
"There are a lot of different people on these recordings. No one seems to remember how many or who they were. The recordings were made in the late 60s and early 70s. Some of these people bonded into The Residents. Some of them did not."

Of the 4 others retrospectively named as Delta Nudes band members, Charles and Randy went on to be Residents, while the other two appear to have become guest contributors. Randy's identity is fairly certain (Homer Flynn). If Charles has been around since the beginning, then he must be the other constant member of the Cryptic Corporation, Hardy Fox. Bob Tangney is not the Bob currently in The Residents:
[rateyourmusic.com] https://rateyourmusic.com/list/ChristianMikula/ole_uncle_skwids_handy_dandy_resi...

[www.pansandpots.org] http://www.pansandpots.org/tap-into-your-inner-resident-notes-on-our-planets-str...
"Homer Flynn is the singer, Hardy Fox is the musician, so it has ever been."

I've queued up The Delta Nudes, so see what you think. Next thing is to figure out the lineup on a Residents release.

Quote and 'Residents Exposed' video from an ex-girlfriend of Bill Reinhardt (a radio program director who met The Residents many times):
[www.youtube.com] https://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=vonj9nVu4XE
"As has been stated here a Zillion times: HARDY & HOMER always were and currently are THE RESIDENTS! (plus many interchangeable players for the live stuff)."

I think it's safe to trust that Bob Tangney and James Whitaker are real names. The Residents originally went anonymous with not even a hint of how many band members there were, but on their early releases, the guest/additional performers tend to appear under their real names. Tangney and Whitaker are both guests on 'Meet The Residents'.

The Residents only 'came out' as Randy Rose, Chuck Bobuck and Lionel Bob in about 2010, so to pin down how many members played on any of the releases before that would be nigh on impossible. Unless perhaps they let the info slip on a reissue. I've now queued up a couple of Residents releases from 2011 onwards. Nolan Cook has been playing with the band since at least the late 1990s, and it's fairly clear he finally got band member status:

[www.facebook.com] https://www.facebook.com/LeavingBabylon/posts/433841203359779 ("Bob", 2013)
"If you haven't heard Nolan Cook then you don't know just how far the electric guitar can be taken. Here he is on stage with the Residents."

[rateyourmusic.com] https://rateyourmusic.com/list/ChristianMikula/ole_uncle_skwids_handy_dandy_resi...
"Bob, the guitar player in the latest rendition of The Residents, is pretty obviously Nolan Cook based on his signature tone and style."

Hardy Fox revealed himself to be Bobuck after retiring from playing in The Residents:

[hardyfox.com] http://hardyfox.com