The Firesign Theatre has recently appeared on Fox's super hero animation spoof "The Tick" in the episode "Sidekicks Don't Kiss". They voice a team of Little League baseball players and their coach who turn into Aztecs when their plane crashes in Mexico and mistakenly capture Arthur, The Tick's sidekick. The Comedy Channel has been re-running "The Tick" on Friday evenings. Look for the episodes, "The Tick VS Reno Nevada", featuring Firesign, and "Grandpa Wore Tights", featuring Bergman and Ossman. Proctor also provides voices for Brain Boy's Father and different characters in several other episodes.

The Firesign Theatre Event at the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angeles has been put off till probably February '97. You can call the Museum for the latest info. Their number is: (716) 546-6783

There is a no return policy on all of these CDs, which means what's in the bins in your local stores is what's out there. No orders will be filled from Mobile Fidelity. Rumor has it that someone bought up their remaining stock. I checked some of the local music stores and chains in the DC, MD, VA area and there are some FT CDs left scattered around. Tower Records and The Wave were well stocked with most items. I urge you to go out and buy what you don't already have and scarf up the rest if you can afford it and offer them for sale in a classified ad in this magazine. Sony has no plans at this time that we know of to re-issue any Firesign Theatre CDs but continues to offer "Shoes For Industry", "How Can You Be..." on CD and "...Electrician", "How Can You Be..", "..Dwarf..", and "Shoes..." on cassette. More Sugar has plans to re-issue "..Dwarf...", and others as CDs in the future.

The big news coming out of Firesign World is the release of Peter Bergman's long awaited and much hushed about CD-ROM parody PYST, with accompanying web site and 900 number (1-900-288-PYST). The disc also features Ossman and Proctor. Bergman has promised to tell Firezine readers all about it in our next issue. Bergman has really made some moves this summer and we're glad to see him producing such fine material again. Bergman's other web site htp://www.rfo.net continues to provide a lot of humor.

Phil Austin has been busy re-writing portions of his epic novel "Beaver Teeth" and has considered forming it into a trilogy as the manuscript is well over 700 pages. Austin has been working hard on the "Compendium for Anythynge You Want To" with a strong desire to present it as a performance piece for The Firesign Theatre and take it on the road. The release of the recorded version has been delayed. Austin has also been developing and discussing a new Firesign Theatre presentation involving characters from the "Everything You Know Is Wrong" LP and movie. Austin keeps himself busy shuffling back and forth between Fox Island, WA and LA, and accompanying his wife Oona's commercial shoots but manages to get in some quality time camping and backpacking.

David Ossman has recently co-authored with Martha Fury, a local actress, a one act hour and a quarter play "A Winters Visit", about Emily Dickenson, Mark Twain, and Henry Thoreau in a fanciful meeting, talking and reading their work. Scheduled to be performed in November. Ossman will be in New York City as part of a panel of former Pacifica broadcasters, 11/7,8/96 for Pacifica's Radio Festival. Ossman has donated about 35 programs from his Pacifica days, drawn from his immense tape archives, to the Broadcast Museum in NYC, where they have been converted to DAT, and made available to the public for listening. Riding on the successful presentation of "Love is A Place", Ossman's play about poet e. e. cummings, at the Whidbey, WA Centre For The Arts over the Labor Day weekend, David has decided to re-mount the play as a performance / Public Radio broadcast this February, featuring Phil Proctor and Melinda Peterson. Ossman's performance "David Ossman Reads Ossman", reading a retrospective of poetry and other works at The Raven in Langley, WA has been considered for a possible limited edition cassette tape release. Ossman published a booklet of found poems "Et La Nana". Ossman has been very busy preparing for his workshops, readings, and symposiums. He still finds time to whack the weeds around the house and take care of his young children.

Phil Proctor has been settling in following his English vacation and batching it up while his wife Melinda Peterson has been performing in Rochester NY. Melinda has just received a LA Theater Ovation Award nomination. Congratulations and good luck. Phil is up to his old tricks commenting on the news in his weekly e-mail and news group publication Planet Proctor now in it's 15th edition. Thoughts have been to collect them together in booklet form. More news about that later. Proctor continues to work in the Hollywood commercial and movie world and just put in a performance as a brash John McLaughlin type on a parody of his show group in a national advertisement for Ortega Mexican Foods, and added his voice in the Warner Bros. animation flick "Space Jam".

Phil sends this message:

"Proctor's busting out all over this month, so let's blow our horn and then get on with the rest of the silly symphony. I'm essaying several roles in the L.A. Theatreworks live radio production of "State Of The Union" This show features John Schuck, Daikin Matthews, Peggy Roeder, Tom Virtue and Lindsay Crouse (Crouse's daughter and Linsay's . ..?) and is slightly updated per the authors' suggestion by Sidney Blumenthal to reflect the current state of politics, is scheduled for nationwide broadcast on November 3. Check your local listings for time and station!

"Ann Archer had to drop out of the production and -- Melinda Peterson is replacing her in the part! It's the same role that she just completed in Rochester -- Kay Thorton and we couldn't be happier, together again on the stage. By the way, Lindsay-Crouse wrote SOUND OF MUSIC where I played Rolf, the singing Nazi on Broadway and then all over the U.S. for many summers. I'd forgotten...

"Performances are at 8pm Wednesday, October 16 through Saturday 19 at the Doubletree Guest Quarters, 1707 Fourth Street in Santa Monica and tickets may be obtained by calling (310) 827-0889. A science-fiction film "Menno's Mind" starring Bill "Rocketeer" Campbell, with Michael Dorn, Corbin Bernsen, Robert Vaughn (and me), directed by Jon Kroll and produced by Firesign friend Larry "Hot Shorts" Estes, will be screened at 4:30 and 9:30 on October 24th at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood as part of the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival.

"I played the Speaker of the House last week on the premiere episode of the new primetime cartoon series "The Blues Brothers" but since the parts of Jake and Elwood are being played by Jim Belushi and Peter Akroyd, shouldn't it really be called "The Blues Brothers' Brothers?"

"I'll also be doing voices next week for Carl Reiner's upcoming film "That Old Feeling" starring Bette Midler, and have been in conversation with Phil A and David O regarding a possible live stage (and radio show?) based around the characters from "Everything You Know Is Wrong" and possibly to be mounted here in town around the time of our Museum of TV & Radio seminar -- now being rescheduled for mid-February to conform with David's Whidbey Art Center performances of the ee cummings piece on Valentine's weekend.(gasp)

"Melinda is nominated for an LA Theater Ovation Award for the role of "Anita" in a play called "The Illustrated Woman" by Nancy Kiefer which had a successful run at the Court Theatre in L.A. from September 12 till October 22. It's the story of a girl suffering from multiple-personality disorder in 1935. Lyndie Benson, Kenny G's wife, had the show taped with three cameras for his wife, so we have a record of Melinda's weird, funny monolog which ends Act One.

"The Ovation Award was created three years ago by the more than 140 theatres and independent producers who are members of "Theatre L.A.", and the nominations were announced at Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills by actress Marilu Henner last week.

"That's it for now!"