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Gary Usher had been a songwriter since the early 1960s, writing lyrics for some of Brian Wilson’s earliest material. In 1967, while at Columbia Records, he produced Chad & Jeremy and The Firesign Theatre, among others. He’d heard a demo around that time for a song called “My World Fell Down,” recorded by the British pop group The Ivy League.

Usher felt that he could do a cover version of the song himself. He brought in Los Angeles session musicians and friends such as Beach Boys touring alumni Glen Campbell, along with Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher. He finished the recording by adding a musique concrète bridge. He presented it to Columbia executives under the group name Sagittarius, named after his astrological sign.

The “My World” single reached number 70 in the Billboard Hot 100. When it was revealed to Columbia that a touring group did not exist, Usher started working on an album under the Sagittarius name in conjunction with Curt Boettcher. He utilized him as a songwriter, musician, and producer.

Prior to the release of the album “Present Tense,” another single (“Hotel Indiscreet”) was issued. As was the case with “My World Fell Down”, the bridge featured an unrelated comedy bit by The Firesign Theatre.

Clive Davis disliked the usage of musique concrete in the two singles, so Usher removed these segments from the album versions and placed a few bars of additional music between the first and second verses. Both were mixed in stereo for the album.

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Presenting Cat Simril Ishikawa’s “We’re Doomed, Part One,” featuring excerpts from the “Millennium Trilogy” diary by David Ossman of The Firesign Theatre, as read by fans and fellow Fireheads. These are notes by Ossman on the recording of Give Me Immortality Or Give Me Death!

I ran two classified ads in Rolling Stone for my Firesign Theatre newsletter. They were in issue #105 (Cooper, 30 March 1972) and #150 (Hefner, 20 December 1973). The zip file contains PDFs of the newsletters, plus my introductory letter to Firesign at Columbia Records. I met them a few months later at the Martian Space Party film premiere in 1972.

Chromium Switch logo, “Filthy Pirate Pub” cartoon (CS #3), and “Jesus Retardo” cartoon (CS #5) by J. Scott Stewart

Dedicated to Bill McIntyre, longtime Firesign Theatre collaborator who was the producer of the “Dear Friends” radio shows and was behind the board for the “Martian Space Party” broadcast on KPFK (March 1972) that became the core of the “Not Insane” Columbia LP.

This 3-part video was recorded in 2010 on the stage of the Cascade Theatre in Redding, CA with interviewer Phil Fountain.

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This Radio Free Oz show aired on January 14, 1968 from the lobby of the Huntington Hotel Carriage House in Pasadena, where KRLA was then located. This was the final RFO show on the station, and the only one not to originate from the Magic Mushroom in Studio City. Radio Free Oz later moved to KMET, until February 1969.

This aircheck (1:53:06) is from the original three hour broadcast. It also appears in edited form on the DVD/book “Live at the Magic Mushroom.” The television set ‘channel hopping’ theme preceded the “Dwarf” album, and features “Sailor Bill”, “The End of the World”, “Ozzie Knows Father”, “The Evening News”, “The Golden Hind”, “Garbanza”, an “Italian Movie”, and a Ralph Spoilsport Late Late Show – “Babes in Khaki.”

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Airchecks from L. A. station KPFK, featuring the Firesign Theatre on 1970-71 radio spots and pledge drives, plus an excerpt from their coverage of the 2000 Rose Parade.

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Weekly radio show “The Hollywood Nite Shift” (1978, KROQ, Pasadena) with Phil Austin, Michael C. Gwynne, and Frazer Smith. Featuring characters The Duck, Johnny Hunkmaster, Atomic Wimp and Stunky and Hutch. Hosted by Laura Quinn.

Phil Austin article (PDF) courtesy of Fred Wiebel’s Firezine magazine.