Peter Bergman of Firesign Theater Kicks Off Conference With Comedy Written by: Thornton Massie Tice Photos by: Nick Galante Thursday, April 26, 1996 -- 2:00 p.m. H.S.T. Digital cameras provided by Kodak Digital Science

Peter Bergman, co-founder of the famous 60s radio and recording comedy troupe Firesign Theater, is now bringing his humorous storytelling to the digital world on Radio Free Oz, his new Los Angeles-based Internet radio-bite network.

Bergman brought a sense of warmth to the computer-conscious attendees at Storytelling for the New Millennium with hilarious stories dating from the 1960s to today.

After being launched on Pacifica Radio in the mid-60s, Bergman's Firesign Theater became hit artists on the Columbia records label, releasing a number of best-selling albums through the mid-1970s. The zany, yet highly literate, group was famous for their interactive overlays of humor, political commentary and unusual characters.

He is now launching a career in digital media, and plans in June, 1996 to begin placing radio-show-like comedy sound bites on his own Internet based comedy radio station. "The show will be the Internet's funny bone," Bergman told the audience.

He brought up a live Internet home page mock up of his proposed show on the auditorium's main screen, showing off a site which is being developed as the RFO net (http://rfo.net) with one section titled the "Digital Dinner."

Bergman said he was left cold by his interaction with computers, and hopes to resolve that by adding his network of humor to the entertainment fare found on the Internet. "Real content makes you feel close to the computer," he commented about the change he hopes to bring.

Bergman's plans to offer his daily humor in several languages to make the world laugh and think; hopefully offering jokes and episodic segments featuring specific characters speaking English, French, German, Japanese and Russian.

His performance proved he has lost none of his humorous skills in the years since his talent was best known. The audience roared at his live comedy routines. He told of his ability to make money with his telephone by changing his phone to a 900 number so he could make money off callers. He said putting the IRS on hold was a great way to "pay off your back taxes."

His knowledge of computers sewn together with rich humor kept the audience rolling. As political as ever, he hammered Republicans Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole, referring to Newt's "lethal contract with America."

Bergman said he used to be an "artist," but now considers himself a "content provider" of digital information. He stressed that the Internet needs to be kept on the ground, rather than accessed via satellite because the FCC has no authority over content that travels through phone lines, but does have control over air waves.

Instead of having to go to recording studios in Los Angeles - as he did in the 1960s when he followed sessions by the Byrds, Moby Grape and other Columbia recording artists - he now produces his show "in a nice studio with a couple of Power Macs." Bergman said he expects comedy material to come in regularly and will be paying for the material used.

Bergman said he will be performing soon at the Knitting Factory, a comedy club, in New York City.

David Crist of , Maui summed Bergman's performance up best when he said, "I laughed my tail off!"