**The first 500 orders will receive a limited-edition set of 10 oversized postcards, pictured bottom left. [POSTCARDS ARE SOLD OUT]
*** UK and European customers can order via our UK-based distribution partner Antenne Books for UK/European postage rates.
Hardcover, 144 pages
6 x 9 in
15.24 x 22.86 cm
Resist Phony Encores! is a selective memoir in the form of graphics, images, and mass communications by musician Gruff Rhys. Rhys weaves anecdotes from his life in performance through designer and long-term collaborator Mark James’ xeroxed graphics and doctored photos, as well as cue cards, which—for the past 15 years—Rhys has used as a part of his live performances.
Applause! Louder! Thank You! Etc. These cue cards have gradually become more ambitious and absurd: Wild Abandon! Burger Franchise Opportunity! Generic Festival Reaction! The crowd generally goes wild on cue, prompting Rhys to seek explanations for the unimaginable highs and weirdness of life in music through the lens of crowd psychology. The book will appeal to students of linguistics, propaganda, and graphic design, and anyone interested in music and live performance.
“Suddenly there was little pressure for me to communicate with the audience, when all I was interested in was writing and singing songs. Which was just as well as I had very little in the way of social skills and couldn’t speak very clearly or look an audience in the eye, and I wasn’t interested in people having a good time.”
From minority-language punk rock through crowd psychology and a critique of the buffoonish leaders of our times, the book is a chance to accompany Rhys' singular imagination towards an understanding of our communal need for music, searching gently and comically for the meaning of life itself. This is a roadmap and call to arms for anyone seeking to Resist Phony Encores!
Rhys originally performed Resist Phony Encores! as an acclaimed one-man slideshow at the Edinburgh Festival in 2018.
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Gruff Rhys has been releasing records, cassettes, and flexidiscs since 1984 and is 20-something albums into a varied music career as a solo artist and as a member of Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon. He also created two immersive musical plays, Praxis Makes Perfect and Candylion, both with National Theatre Wales, and two feature films, American Interior and Separado! with ie ie productions. His first book, American Interior, published by Penguin, was longlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and shortlisted for The Gordon Burn Prize and The Wales Book of the Year Prize, and also featured a groundbreaking app.
Mark James is a multidisciplinary graphic designer and artist working across many creative platforms, including art direction, video direction, photography, and illustration. His conceptual work is inspired by a mix of popular culture and social commentary and has gained a reputation for being challenging and controversial. He has worked with Super Furry Animals and Gruff Rhys for over 20 years, creating artwork, visuals, and promo videos for the band and their various solo projects.
