Dead Kennedys
Encyclopedia
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock
band formed in San Francisco, California
in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk
movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground
fanbase in the international punk music scene.
Their music mixed the more experimental elements of British 1970s punk with the raw energy of the 1980s American hardcore punk scene. Dead Kennedys' songs mixed deliberately extreme lyrics with satire
, sarcasm
, and irony
of social and political issues of the 1980s.
In the late 1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the United States over the artwork of their album Frankenchrist
(1985), which included the explicit titular subject of H. R. Giger
's Penis Landscape
. The band was charged with distribution of harmful matter to minors, but the trial ended with a hung jury
.
Dead Kennedys released five studio albums before disbanding in 1986. In 2001, the band reformed without original singer Jello Biafra
, who had been in a legal dispute with the other members over royalties.
The band played three performances in October 2010. At one of the concerts, they debuted their first new song since 1986, "You're Such a Fake".
Since the dissolution of Dead Kennedys, Biafra has continued to collaborate and record with other artists, including Mojo Nixon
, Al Jourgensen
of Ministry
, and the Melvins, and has become a spoken word
performer, covering political topics in particular.
, when East Bay Ray
(Raymond Pepperell) advertised for bandmates in the newspaper The Recycler
, after seeing a ska-punk show at Mabuhay Gardens
in San Francisco. The original band lineup consisted of Jello Biafra
(Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, East Bay Ray on guitar, Klaus Flouride
(Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, and 6025
(Carlos Cadona) on drums and percussion. This lineup recorded their first demos. In early July, the band wanted a more experienced drummer, so they recruited Ted
(Bruce Slesinger). 6025 left the band, however he was invited back as secondary guitarist. Their first show was on July 19, 1978, at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California.
Dead Kennedys played numerous shows at local venues afterwards. Due to the provocative name of the band, they sometimes played under pseudonym
s, including "The Sharks", "The Creamsicles" and "The Pink Twinkies". The band's real name generated controversy. Wrote San Francisco Chronicle
columnist Herb Caen
in November 1978, "Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called The Dead Kennedys, which will play at Mabuhay Gardens
on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Despite mounting protests, the owner of Mabuhay says 'I can't cancel them NOW — there's a contract.' Not, apparently, the kind of contract some people have in mind." However, despite popular belief, the name was not meant to insult the Kennedy family
, but to quote Biafra, "to bring attention to the end of the American Dream".
6025 left the band in March 1979. In June, the band released their first single, "California Über Alles
", on the independent label Alternative Tentacles
. The band followed with a well received East Coast
tour.
band."
The band, who all wore white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song entitled "Pull My Strings", a barbed, satirical
attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry, which contained the lyrics, "Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?". The song also referenced The Knack
's song "My Sharona
". "Pull My Strings" was never recorded for a studio release, though the performance at the Bay Area Music Awards, which was the first and only time the song was ever performed, was released on the band's compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
.
". Later that year, the band released their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
. The album reached number 33 on the UK Albums Chart
. In January 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February 1981. His replacement was D.H. Peligro (Darren Henley).
Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign to the major record label Polydor Records
; Biafra stated that he was prepared to leave the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign to the label, though East Bay Ray asserts that he recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor decided to not sign the band after they learned that the Dead Kennedys' next single was to be titled "Too Drunk to Fuck
".
When "Too Drunk to Fuck" came out in May of 1981, the song caused much controversy in the UK as the BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30; this would require a mention of the song on Top of the Pops
. However, this never came to be as the single peaked at number 36.
(1981) saw them moving toward full on hardcore/thrash. In addition to the EP's controversial artwork depicting a gold Christ figure on a cross of dollar bills, the lyrics contained Biafra's most biting social and political commentary yet, and songs such as "Moral Majority
", "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
" and "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" placed the Dead Kennedys as the spokesmen of social protest, while "Dog Bite", a cover version of Rawhide
and various joke introductions showed a much more whimsical side. In 1982, they released their second studio album, Plastic Surgery Disasters
. The album's cover features a withered starving African child's hand being held and dwarfed by a white man's hand. This picture won the World Press Photo award in 1980, and was taken in Karamoja district in Uganda
by Mike Wells.
The band's music had evolved much in a short time, moving away from hardcore formulas toward a more innovative jazz-informed style, featuring musicianship and dynamics far beyond other bands in the genre (thus effectively removing the music from that genre). By now the group had become a de-facto political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right, Ronald Reagan and the idle rich. The band continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, and gained a large underground following. While they continued to play live shows during 1983 and 1984, they took a break from releasing new records to concentrate on the Alternative Tentacles
record label, which would become synonymous with DIY alternative culture. The band continued to write and perform new material during this time, which would appear on their next album (some of these early performances can be seen in the Live at DMPO's on Broadway
video, originally released by Dirk Dirksen
and later reissued on Rhino).
in 1985 showed the band had grown in terms of musical proficiency and lyrical maturity. While there were still a number of loud/fast songs, much of the music featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Around this time Klaus Flouride
released the similarly experimental solo EP Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as "MTV Get Off The Air" and "Jock-o-rama" poking fun at mainstream America. In some ways the album represented an artistic peak.
However, the album also heralded in an era of prolonged legal trouble for the band. The artwork caused a furor with the newly formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the Wherehouse Records store in Los Angeles County. The girl's mother wrote letters of complaint to the California Attorney General
and to Los Angeles prosecutors. In 1986 members of the band, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The store where the teen actually purchased the album was never named in the lawsuit. The criminal charges focused on an illustration by H.R. Giger, titled "Work 219: Landscape XX" (also known as Penis Landscape
). Included as a poster with the album, Penis Landscape depicts nine copulating penises.
Members of the band and others in the chain of distribution were charged with violating the California Penal Code on a misdemeanor
charge carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2,000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Susan Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics. The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam Records
), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying Frankenchrist to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.
In August 1987, the criminal trial was submitted to the jury with the two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager). In August 1987, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury. The split on the jury was 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal for all of the defendant
s. District Attorney
s Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by Judge Isacoff, Superior Court
Judge for the County of Los Angeles. The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.
Jello Biafra brought up the court case after the break-up of the band on The Oprah Winfrey Show
. Biafra was on the show with Tipper Gore
as part of a panel discussion on the issues of "controversial music lyrics" and censorship.
" and "Anarchy for Sale", which articulated their feelings about the "dumbing down" of punk rock.
During the summer they recorded these songs for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy
, which was released in November. The artwork, depicting a defaced Statue of Liberty
overrun with Nazis, media, opportunists, Klan members, corrupt government officials, and religious zombies, echoed the idea that the punk scene was no longer a safe haven for "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". The album contains a number of fast/short songs interspersed with jazz ("D.M.S.O."), spoken word ("A Commercial") and psychedelia ("Cesspools In Eden"). The lyrical focus is more introspective and earnest ("Where Do Ya Draw The Line?""), with an anti-war, anti-violence ("Rambozo The Clown") bent, moving away from the violent imagery of their early records, while remaining as subversive as ever ("I Spy", "D.M.S.O."). In December, the band announced their split. Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Flouride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.
. Former band members claimed that Jello Biafra had conspired to pay less royalty rates to the band members. Although both sides agreed that the failure to pay these royalties was an accounting mistake, they were upset that Biafra failed to inform the band of the mistake after he and his co-workers discovered it.
Biafra claims that their lawyers had told him only to correspond through lawyers and not directly with the band, as the conflict over payment had apparently arisen before the accounting mistake was discovered. Both sides claim they attempted to resolve the matter without legal action, but the ultimately complicated legal dispute (involving royalties, publishing rights, and a number of other issues) soon led to the courts, where Biafra was found liable for the royalties after the jury determined that he had committed fraud
and malice
, and was ordered to pay damages of nearly $200,000, including $20,000 in punitive damages, to the band members.
Malice was defined for the jury as "conduct which is intended to cause injury or despicable conduct which is carried with a willful and conscious disregard for the rights of others". Biafra's appeal was denied; he had to pay the outstanding royalties and punitive damages, and was forced to hand over the rights to the majority of Dead Kennedys' back catalogue to the Decay Music partnership.
The jury and judges also noted, in their words, that Biafra “lacked credibility” on the songwriting issue and found from evidence presented by both sides that the songwriting credits were due to the entire band, using a clause in the band's written partnership giving a small share of every Dead Kennedys song royalty directly to the band partnership.
Biafra had received sole songwriting credit for most Dead Kennedys songs on all released albums for the last 20 years or so without complaints from the band, though a minority of songs had given credit to certain group members or the entire band as a whole, indicating a system designed to reflect the primary composers rather than a regimented system like the Jagger/Richards
partnership; today, most Kennedys reissues list the songwriters as "Biafra, Dead Kennedys", indicating Biafra's lyrical contributions—which the band doesn't dispute, or else simply as "Dead Kennedys"). Ray, Flouride and Peligro found new distribution through another label, Manifesto Records
.
This dispute was hotly contested by all concerned who felt passionately for their cause, and the case caused minor waves within punk circles. Biafra claims that guitarist East Bay Ray
had long expressed displeasure with Alternative Tentacles and with the amount of money he received from them, thus the original incentive for the discovery of the back payments. It was found out that Alternative Tentacles was paying Dead Kennedys less per CD than all the other bands, including Biafra himself, and not informing his other bandmates, which was the fraud. Biafra accused the band of wanting to license the famous Dead Kennedys song "Holiday in Cambodia
" for use in a Levi's jeans commercial, which the band denied.
Biafra apparently pushed this issue in court, although there was no hard evidence and the jurors were apparently unconcerned with corporate use of independently produced political music. Biafra would later complain that the jury was not sympathetic toward underground music and punk culture. The song never appeared in a Levi's commercial, although in interviews Biafra described the situation surrounding the commercial in detail and was able to give specifics about the advertisement, including the name of the advertising agency that had created the commercial's script.
Biafra's former bandmates maintain that they sued because of Jello Biafra's deliberate withholding of money, though when pressed they have acknowledged that the payment was an accounting mistake, but insist that Biafra was wrong in failing to inform the band directly. Details about this issue remain scarce. The band also maintains that the Levi's story was completely fictitious and invented by Biafra to discredit them. Ultimately, these issues have led to a souring of relationships with the erstwhile bandmates, who still have not resolved their personal differences as of 2008.
Several DVDs, re-issues, and live albums have been released since the departure of Biafra most recently on Manifesto Records. According to Biafra, the live albums are "cash-ins" on Dead Kennedys' name and his music. Biafra also accused the releases of the new live material of having poor sound quality. Furthermore he has stated he is not receiving any royalties from the sale of any Manifesto Records releases. Consequently, he has discouraged fans from buying any Dead Kennedy reissues. The other band members denied Biafra's accusations regarding the live releases, and have defended the mixes as an effort of hard work. Biafra dismissed the new group as "the world's greediest karaoke band." Nevertheless, in 2003, Klaus Flouride
said of performances without the band's former frontman: "There hasn't been a show yet that people didn't really like."
Biafra further criticized them for advertising shows using his own image taken from the original '80s incarnation of the band, which he labeled as false advertising. He recently attacked the reformed Dead Kennedys in a song called "Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)
", which appears on his second collaboration with sludge metal band The Melvins
, Sieg Howdy!
.
Biafra told an audience at a speaking gig in Trenton
, New Jersey
, that the remaining Dead Kennedys have licensed their single "Too Drunk to Fuck" to be used in a rape scene in a Robert Rodriguez
movie. The reference is to a lounge cover of the song, recorded by the band Nouvelle Vague
, played during a scene in the Planet Terror
segment of Grindhouse, although no rape takes place, and in fact the would-be rapist is killed by the would-be victim. The scene in Planet Terror has would-be rapist, "Rapist #1" (Quentin Tarantino
) order one-legged stripper "Cherry Darlin" (Rose McGowan
) to get up off the floor and dance. At this point Tarantino hits play on a cassette recorder and Nouvelle Vague's cover of "Too Drunk To Fuck" plays.
Jello, clearly disapproving of the situation, later wrote, "This is their lowest point since Levi's… This goes against everything the Dead Kennedys stands for in spades… The terrified woman later 'wins' by killing Tarantino, but that excuse does not rescue this at all. I wrote every note of that song and this is not what it was meant for…. Some people will do anything for money. I can't help but think back to how prudish Klaus Flouride was when he objected to H.R. Giger's painting on the "Frankenchrist
" (sic) poster, saying he couldn't bear to show it to his parents. I'd sure love to be a fly on the wall when he tries to explain putting a song in a rape scene for money to his teenage daughter… The deal was pushed through by a new business manager the other three hired."
, to which they did not have the rights until 2005), releasing several new archival concert DVDs, and licensing several songs to The Manchurian Candidate
remake and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game. East Bay Ray
claims he received a fax from Alternative Tentacles purporting Biafra approved the licensing for the game, which Biafra denies happening.
The band claims on their website that they still pay close attention to an anti-corporate ideology, despite performing on September 5, 2003 at a festival in Turkey
that was sponsored by Coca-Cola
, noting that they have since pulled out of a show in Los Angeles when they found that it was being sponsored by Coors
. However, Biafra claims the above mentioned licensing deals prove otherwise. Some have found difficulty reconciling this claim when Biafra also licensed to major corporations, approving with the other band members use of Dead Kennedys’ songs in major studio film releases such as Neighbors
, Freddy Got Fingered
, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
.
In 2001, Ray, Peligro, and Flouride chose former Dr. Know
singer Brandon Cruz
to replace Biafra on vocals. The band played under name "DK Kennedys" for a few concerts, but later reverted to "Dead Kennedys" permanently. They played across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Russia. Brandon Cruz left the band in May 2003 and was replaced by Jeff Penalty
. The band has released two live albums of archival performances on Manifesto Records: Mutiny on the Bay
, compiled from various live shows including a recording from their last show with Biafra in 1986, and Live at the Deaf Club
, a recording of a 1979 performance at the Deaf Club in San Francisco which was greeted with more enthusiasm.
On October 9, 2007, a best-of album entitled Milking the Sacred Cow
was released. It includes two previously unreleased live versions of "Soup Is Good Food" and "Jock-O-Rama", originally found on Frankenchrist.
Jeff Penalty left the band in March, 2008 in what he describes as a "not amicable split." He was replaced by former Wynona Riders
singer Ron "Skip" Greer. D.H. also left the band to "take some personal time off". He was replaced for a tour by Translator
drummer Dave Scheff.
in June 2009, with Peligro returning to the drum kit.
In August 2010 the Dead Kennedys announced plans for a short East Coast tour. This lineup assembled for this tour contained East Bay Ray, Peligro, Greer, and bassist Greg Reeves replacing Flouride, who was taking "personal time off" from the band. The tour dates will include performances in Philadelphia, New York City
, Boston
, Washington, D.C.
, Portland, Maine
and Hawaii
.
In addition, the band played a reworked version of the old song "MTV Get Off the Air", now re-titled "MP3 Get Off the Web", with lyrics that were "changed to be about people downloading MP3s and how much they suck for doing it."
The original logo was created by Winston Smith
. He later contributed artwork for the covers of In God We Trust, Inc.
, Plastic Surgery Disasters
, Frankenchrist
, Bedtime for Democracy
, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
, the back cover of the "Kill the Poor
" single and the Alternative Tentacles
logo. When asked about the "DK" logo in an interview, Jello Biafra explained, "...I wanted to make sure it was something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place, and then I showed it to Winston Smith. He played around with it, came back with a bunch of designs that had the circle and slightly 3-D looking letters and he had ones with different patterns behind it. I liked the one with bricks, but ultimately I thought simple red behind it was the boldest and the best."
" is a multi-layered satire targeting both yuppies and Cambodia
's then-current communist Khmer Rouge
regime.
Former members
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band formed in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
fanbase in the international punk music scene.
Their music mixed the more experimental elements of British 1970s punk with the raw energy of the 1980s American hardcore punk scene. Dead Kennedys' songs mixed deliberately extreme lyrics with satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, sarcasm
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
, and irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
of social and political issues of the 1980s.
In the late 1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the United States over the artwork of their album Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...
(1985), which included the explicit titular subject of H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.-Early life:...
's Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape, or Work 219: Landscape XX is a painting by H. R. Giger. Created in 1973, airbrushed acrylic on paper-covered wood, it measures 70 x 100 centimetres. It depicts a number of penises entering vaginas. One is wearing a condom...
. The band was charged with distribution of harmful matter to minors, but the trial ended with a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
.
Dead Kennedys released five studio albums before disbanding in 1986. In 2001, the band reformed without original singer Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
, who had been in a legal dispute with the other members over royalties.
The band played three performances in October 2010. At one of the concerts, they debuted their first new song since 1986, "You're Such a Fake".
Since the dissolution of Dead Kennedys, Biafra has continued to collaborate and record with other artists, including Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon is an American musician, known for playing psychobilly music...
, Al Jourgensen
Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
of Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, and the Melvins, and has become a spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
performer, covering political topics in particular.
Formation of the band (1978)
Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978 in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, when East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray
Raymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
(Raymond Pepperell) advertised for bandmates in the newspaper The Recycler
The Recycler
The Recycler is a Los Angeles based, classifieds only newspaper, started by Gunter and Nancy Schaldach in 1973. The Recycler was based in Silverlake and was subsequently sold to the Times Mirror Company in 1998....
, after seeing a ska-punk show at Mabuhay Gardens
Mabuhay Gardens
The Mabuhay Gardens was a San Francisco nightclub located at , on the Broadway strip of North Beach, an area best known for its strip clubs....
in San Francisco. The original band lineup consisted of Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
(Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, East Bay Ray on guitar, Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride
Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
(Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, and 6025
6025 (musician)
Carlos Cadona, better known by his stage name 6025, was the second guitarist—from July 1978 to March 1979—for the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. Although 6025 is sometimes mentioned as a drummer, singer Jello Biafra has stated 6025 was recruited solely as a guitarist...
(Carlos Cadona) on drums and percussion. This lineup recorded their first demos. In early July, the band wanted a more experienced drummer, so they recruited Ted
Ted (musician)
Bruce Slesinger, better known by his stage name Ted, was the first drummer for the Dead Kennedys,. He drummed for the band from July 1978 to February 1981. He played the drums on their first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables...
(Bruce Slesinger). 6025 left the band, however he was invited back as secondary guitarist. Their first show was on July 19, 1978, at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California.
Dead Kennedys played numerous shows at local venues afterwards. Due to the provocative name of the band, they sometimes played under pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s, including "The Sharks", "The Creamsicles" and "The Pink Twinkies". The band's real name generated controversy. Wrote San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
columnist Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
in November 1978, "Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called The Dead Kennedys, which will play at Mabuhay Gardens
Mabuhay Gardens
The Mabuhay Gardens was a San Francisco nightclub located at , on the Broadway strip of North Beach, an area best known for its strip clubs....
on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Despite mounting protests, the owner of Mabuhay says 'I can't cancel them NOW — there's a contract.' Not, apparently, the kind of contract some people have in mind." However, despite popular belief, the name was not meant to insult the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
, but to quote Biafra, "to bring attention to the end of the American Dream".
6025 left the band in March 1979. In June, the band released their first single, "California Über Alles
California Über Alles
"California Über Alles" was the first single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in June 1979 on Optional Music with "The Man with the Dogs" as the b-side...
", on the independent label Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
. The band followed with a well received East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
tour.
Disruption of music awards show (1980)
On March 25, 1980, Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in San Francisco to major record label artists to give the event some "New Wave credibility", in the words of the organizers. The day of the performance was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit, "California Über Alles". In typically subversive, perverse style, the band became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a new waveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band."
The band, who all wore white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song entitled "Pull My Strings", a barbed, satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry, which contained the lyrics, "Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?". The song also referenced The Knack
The Knack
The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
's song "My Sharona
My Sharona
"My Sharona" is the debut single by The Knack, released in 1979 from their album Get the Knack. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart where it remained for six weeks and was #1 on Billboards Top Pop Singles of 1979 year-end chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry...
". "Pull My Strings" was never recorded for a studio release, though the performance at the Bay Area Music Awards, which was the first and only time the song was ever performed, was released on the band's compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
-Personnel:* Jello Biafra - vocals, producer, artwork, compiler* East Bay Ray - guitar, echoplex, producer, mixer* Klaus Fluoride - bass, backing vocals * D.H...
.
"Holiday in Cambodia" and Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980–1981)
In early 1980, they recorded and released the single "Holiday in CambodiaHoliday in Cambodia
"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side...
". Later that year, the band released their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in September 1980 through Faulty Products in the United States and through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom.It has been certified by BPI gold.The best selling and...
. The album reached number 33 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In January 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February 1981. His replacement was D.H. Peligro (Darren Henley).
Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign to the major record label Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
; Biafra stated that he was prepared to leave the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign to the label, though East Bay Ray asserts that he recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor decided to not sign the band after they learned that the Dead Kennedys' next single was to be titled "Too Drunk to Fuck
Too Drunk to Fuck
"Too Drunk to Fuck" was the fourth single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1981 on Cherry Red Records with "The Prey" as the b-side...
".
When "Too Drunk to Fuck" came out in May of 1981, the song caused much controversy in the UK as the BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30; this would require a mention of the song on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. However, this never came to be as the single peaked at number 36.
In God We Trust, Inc., Plastic Surgery Disasters and Alternative Tentacles Records (1981–1985)
After Peligro joined the band, the extended play In God We Trust, Inc.In God We Trust, Inc.
In God We Trust, Inc. is a hardcore punk EP by the Dead Kennedys; it is now reissued with the Plastic Surgery Disasters album. The thrashing, lightning-fast beats and shouted vocals, on the first six tracks, resembles Washington D.C.'s punk bands of the time; more than on any other Dead Kennedys...
(1981) saw them moving toward full on hardcore/thrash. In addition to the EP's controversial artwork depicting a gold Christ figure on a cross of dollar bills, the lyrics contained Biafra's most biting social and political commentary yet, and songs such as "Moral Majority
Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
", "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
"Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the fifth single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in 1981 on Alternative Tentacles with "Moral Majority" as the b-side. Both are taken from the In God We Trust, Inc. EP, although the version of the title track on the EP is a different recording from the...
" and "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" placed the Dead Kennedys as the spokesmen of social protest, while "Dog Bite", a cover version of Rawhide
Rawhide (song)
"Rawhide" is a Western song written by Ned Washington and composed by Dimitri Tiomkin in 1958. It was originally recorded by Frankie Laine...
and various joke introductions showed a much more whimsical side. In 1982, they released their second studio album, Plastic Surgery Disasters
Plastic Surgery Disasters
Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second album released by the Dead Kennedys. It has been reissued with the EP In God We Trust, Inc., which are the last eight tracks on the CD. The cover photo is "Hands" by photographer Michael Wells. The same photo was used by other San Francisco based punk band...
. The album's cover features a withered starving African child's hand being held and dwarfed by a white man's hand. This picture won the World Press Photo award in 1980, and was taken in Karamoja district in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
by Mike Wells.
The band's music had evolved much in a short time, moving away from hardcore formulas toward a more innovative jazz-informed style, featuring musicianship and dynamics far beyond other bands in the genre (thus effectively removing the music from that genre). By now the group had become a de-facto political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right, Ronald Reagan and the idle rich. The band continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, and gained a large underground following. While they continued to play live shows during 1983 and 1984, they took a break from releasing new records to concentrate on the Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
record label, which would become synonymous with DIY alternative culture. The band continued to write and perform new material during this time, which would appear on their next album (some of these early performances can be seen in the Live at DMPO's on Broadway
Live at DMPO's on Broadway
Live at DMPO's on Broadway is a VHS/DVD of the Dead Kennedys' performance at the old San Francisco avant-garde theater, DMPO's on Broadway. It was released in February 2004. It was filmed on June 16, 1984, the last night the theater was open before it was torn down...
video, originally released by Dirk Dirksen
Dirk Dirksen
Dirk Dirksen was a music promoter and emcee of the San Francisco punk rock clubs Mabuhay Gardens and On Broadway in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Dirksen was nicknamed the "Pope of Punk"....
and later reissued on Rhino).
Frankenchrist and obscenity trial (1985–1986)
The release of the album FrankenchristFrankenchrist
Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...
in 1985 showed the band had grown in terms of musical proficiency and lyrical maturity. While there were still a number of loud/fast songs, much of the music featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Around this time Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride
Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
released the similarly experimental solo EP Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as "MTV Get Off The Air" and "Jock-o-rama" poking fun at mainstream America. In some ways the album represented an artistic peak.
However, the album also heralded in an era of prolonged legal trouble for the band. The artwork caused a furor with the newly formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the Wherehouse Records store in Los Angeles County. The girl's mother wrote letters of complaint to the California Attorney General
California Attorney General
The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.The...
and to Los Angeles prosecutors. In 1986 members of the band, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The store where the teen actually purchased the album was never named in the lawsuit. The criminal charges focused on an illustration by H.R. Giger, titled "Work 219: Landscape XX" (also known as Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape, or Work 219: Landscape XX is a painting by H. R. Giger. Created in 1973, airbrushed acrylic on paper-covered wood, it measures 70 x 100 centimetres. It depicts a number of penises entering vaginas. One is wearing a condom...
). Included as a poster with the album, Penis Landscape depicts nine copulating penises.
Members of the band and others in the chain of distribution were charged with violating the California Penal Code on a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
charge carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2,000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Susan Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics. The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam Records
Mordam Records
Mordam Records was a Sacramento, California record distribution company for independent record labels. It was originally founded in San Francisco in 1983 as an independent punk distribution company by Ruth Schwartz...
), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying Frankenchrist to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.
In August 1987, the criminal trial was submitted to the jury with the two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager). In August 1987, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury. The split on the jury was 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal for all of the defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s. District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
s Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by Judge Isacoff, Superior Court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
Judge for the County of Los Angeles. The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.
Jello Biafra brought up the court case after the break-up of the band on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
. Biafra was on the show with Tipper Gore
Tipper Gore
Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore , née Aitcheson, is an author, photographer, former second lady of the United States, and the estranged wife of Al Gore...
as part of a panel discussion on the issues of "controversial music lyrics" and censorship.
Bedtime for Democracy and break-up (1986)
In addition to the obscenity lawsuit and being ignored by the mainstream media (MTV and most radio stations gave such groups scant notice, not to mention airplay), the band became increasingly disillusioned with the underground scene as well. The hardcore scene, which had been a haven for free-thinking intellectuals and downtrodden nonconformists, was increasingly attracting hooligans who came to punk concerts looking only to slam dance and fight to violent music. In earlier years the band had criticized neo-Nazi skinheads for trying to ruin the punk scene, but just as big a problem was the increasing popularity of thrash metal and stereotypical macho "post-1982 hardcore" which brought the group (and their genre) an audience that had little to do with the ideas/ideals they stood for. In January 1986, frustrated and alienated from their own scene, the DKs decided to break up to pursue other interests and played their last concert on February 21. The band continued to work on songs, with Biafra penning songs such as "Chickenshit ConformistChickenshit Conformist
"Chickenshit Conformist" is a song by the Dead Kennedys; released on their 1986 album Bedtime for Democracy. It accuses punk rock of becoming "a closed-minded, self-centred social club", and accuses the punks of becoming "chickenshit conformist[s] like [their] parents."The song also mentions the...
" and "Anarchy for Sale", which articulated their feelings about the "dumbing down" of punk rock.
During the summer they recorded these songs for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy
Bedtime for Democracy
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth album released by Dead Kennedys. Songs on this album cover such common punk subjects as conformity, Reaganomics, the military, and even criticizing aspects of their own punk movement. The title of the album is a reference to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for...
, which was released in November. The artwork, depicting a defaced Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
overrun with Nazis, media, opportunists, Klan members, corrupt government officials, and religious zombies, echoed the idea that the punk scene was no longer a safe haven for "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". The album contains a number of fast/short songs interspersed with jazz ("D.M.S.O."), spoken word ("A Commercial") and psychedelia ("Cesspools In Eden"). The lyrical focus is more introspective and earnest ("Where Do Ya Draw The Line?""), with an anti-war, anti-violence ("Rambozo The Clown") bent, moving away from the violent imagery of their early records, while remaining as subversive as ever ("I Spy", "D.M.S.O."). In December, the band announced their split. Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Flouride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.
Lawsuits over royalty payments
In the late 1990s, former band members discovered problems with the amount of payments which each band member had received from their record label Alternative TentaclesAlternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
. Former band members claimed that Jello Biafra had conspired to pay less royalty rates to the band members. Although both sides agreed that the failure to pay these royalties was an accounting mistake, they were upset that Biafra failed to inform the band of the mistake after he and his co-workers discovered it.
Biafra claims that their lawyers had told him only to correspond through lawyers and not directly with the band, as the conflict over payment had apparently arisen before the accounting mistake was discovered. Both sides claim they attempted to resolve the matter without legal action, but the ultimately complicated legal dispute (involving royalties, publishing rights, and a number of other issues) soon led to the courts, where Biafra was found liable for the royalties after the jury determined that he had committed fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and malice
Malice (legal term)
Malice is a legal term referring to a party's intention to do injury to another party. Malice is either expressed or implied. Malice is expressed when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a human being...
, and was ordered to pay damages of nearly $200,000, including $20,000 in punitive damages, to the band members.
Malice was defined for the jury as "conduct which is intended to cause injury or despicable conduct which is carried with a willful and conscious disregard for the rights of others". Biafra's appeal was denied; he had to pay the outstanding royalties and punitive damages, and was forced to hand over the rights to the majority of Dead Kennedys' back catalogue to the Decay Music partnership.
The jury and judges also noted, in their words, that Biafra “lacked credibility” on the songwriting issue and found from evidence presented by both sides that the songwriting credits were due to the entire band, using a clause in the band's written partnership giving a small share of every Dead Kennedys song royalty directly to the band partnership.
Biafra had received sole songwriting credit for most Dead Kennedys songs on all released albums for the last 20 years or so without complaints from the band, though a minority of songs had given credit to certain group members or the entire band as a whole, indicating a system designed to reflect the primary composers rather than a regimented system like the Jagger/Richards
Jagger/Richards
The songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards , is a musical collaboration whose output has produced the majority of the catalogue of The Rolling Stones....
partnership; today, most Kennedys reissues list the songwriters as "Biafra, Dead Kennedys", indicating Biafra's lyrical contributions—which the band doesn't dispute, or else simply as "Dead Kennedys"). Ray, Flouride and Peligro found new distribution through another label, Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records is the name of an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by The Wedding Present, Dead Kennedys, Tom Waits, Tim Buckley, Lilys, Concrete Blonde, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and others. Manifesto released the entire catalogue of Dead Kennedys...
.
This dispute was hotly contested by all concerned who felt passionately for their cause, and the case caused minor waves within punk circles. Biafra claims that guitarist East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray
Raymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
had long expressed displeasure with Alternative Tentacles and with the amount of money he received from them, thus the original incentive for the discovery of the back payments. It was found out that Alternative Tentacles was paying Dead Kennedys less per CD than all the other bands, including Biafra himself, and not informing his other bandmates, which was the fraud. Biafra accused the band of wanting to license the famous Dead Kennedys song "Holiday in Cambodia
Holiday in Cambodia
"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side...
" for use in a Levi's jeans commercial, which the band denied.
Biafra apparently pushed this issue in court, although there was no hard evidence and the jurors were apparently unconcerned with corporate use of independently produced political music. Biafra would later complain that the jury was not sympathetic toward underground music and punk culture. The song never appeared in a Levi's commercial, although in interviews Biafra described the situation surrounding the commercial in detail and was able to give specifics about the advertisement, including the name of the advertising agency that had created the commercial's script.
Biafra's former bandmates maintain that they sued because of Jello Biafra's deliberate withholding of money, though when pressed they have acknowledged that the payment was an accounting mistake, but insist that Biafra was wrong in failing to inform the band directly. Details about this issue remain scarce. The band also maintains that the Levi's story was completely fictitious and invented by Biafra to discredit them. Ultimately, these issues have led to a souring of relationships with the erstwhile bandmates, who still have not resolved their personal differences as of 2008.
Disputes over new commercial activities
Matters were stirred up even further when the three bandmates invited Jello Biafra to "bury the hatchet" in the form of a band reunion. Jello Biafra felt it was unprofessional because no one contacted him directly. In addition, Biafra was disdainful of the reunion, and having long expressed his disdain for nostalgia and rock reunion/oldies tours in particular, argued that the whole affair was motivated by greed.Several DVDs, re-issues, and live albums have been released since the departure of Biafra most recently on Manifesto Records. According to Biafra, the live albums are "cash-ins" on Dead Kennedys' name and his music. Biafra also accused the releases of the new live material of having poor sound quality. Furthermore he has stated he is not receiving any royalties from the sale of any Manifesto Records releases. Consequently, he has discouraged fans from buying any Dead Kennedy reissues. The other band members denied Biafra's accusations regarding the live releases, and have defended the mixes as an effort of hard work. Biafra dismissed the new group as "the world's greediest karaoke band." Nevertheless, in 2003, Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride
Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
said of performances without the band's former frontman: "There hasn't been a show yet that people didn't really like."
Biafra further criticized them for advertising shows using his own image taken from the original '80s incarnation of the band, which he labeled as false advertising. He recently attacked the reformed Dead Kennedys in a song called "Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)
Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)
"Those Dumb Punk Kids " is a song by Jello Biafra and The Melvins. It appears on their second album Sieg Howdy and was composed by Biafra and Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne....
", which appears on his second collaboration with sludge metal band The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
, Sieg Howdy!
Sieg Howdy!
Sieg Howdy! is the second album by Jello Biafra and The Melvins. It consists of songs recorded during the same sessions that produced their first collaboration Never Breathe What You Can't See but not used on that album, plus remixes of four songs from the first album.The opening track, a cover of...
.
Biafra told an audience at a speaking gig in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, that the remaining Dead Kennedys have licensed their single "Too Drunk to Fuck" to be used in a rape scene in a Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
movie. The reference is to a lounge cover of the song, recorded by the band Nouvelle Vague
Nouvelle Vague (band)
Nouvelle Vague is a French musical collective led by musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words, meaning "new wave" in French, and "bossa nova" in Portuguese...
, played during a scene in the Planet Terror
Planet Terror
Planet Terror is a 2007 American action horror film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, about a group of people attempting to survive an onslaught of zombie-like creatures as they feud with a military unit, including a go-go dancer searching for a way to use her "useless talents." The film, a...
segment of Grindhouse, although no rape takes place, and in fact the would-be rapist is killed by the would-be victim. The scene in Planet Terror has would-be rapist, "Rapist #1" (Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
) order one-legged stripper "Cherry Darlin" (Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
) to get up off the floor and dance. At this point Tarantino hits play on a cassette recorder and Nouvelle Vague's cover of "Too Drunk To Fuck" plays.
Jello, clearly disapproving of the situation, later wrote, "This is their lowest point since Levi's… This goes against everything the Dead Kennedys stands for in spades… The terrified woman later 'wins' by killing Tarantino, but that excuse does not rescue this at all. I wrote every note of that song and this is not what it was meant for…. Some people will do anything for money. I can't help but think back to how prudish Klaus Flouride was when he objected to H.R. Giger's painting on the "Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...
" (sic) poster, saying he couldn't bear to show it to his parents. I'd sure love to be a fly on the wall when he tries to explain putting a song in a rape scene for money to his teenage daughter… The deal was pushed through by a new business manager the other three hired."
Reforming of new band line-up
The reformed Dead Kennedys followed their court victory by announcing a number of tour dates, releasing reissues of all Dead Kennedys albums (except Fresh Fruit for Rotting VegetablesFresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in September 1980 through Faulty Products in the United States and through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom.It has been certified by BPI gold.The best selling and...
, to which they did not have the rights until 2005), releasing several new archival concert DVDs, and licensing several songs to The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate (2004 film)
The Manchurian Candidate is a 2004 American thriller film based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Richard Condon, and a reimagining of the previous 1962 film....
remake and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game. East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray
Raymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
claims he received a fax from Alternative Tentacles purporting Biafra approved the licensing for the game, which Biafra denies happening.
The band claims on their website that they still pay close attention to an anti-corporate ideology, despite performing on September 5, 2003 at a festival in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
that was sponsored by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, noting that they have since pulled out of a show in Los Angeles when they found that it was being sponsored by Coors
Coors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
. However, Biafra claims the above mentioned licensing deals prove otherwise. Some have found difficulty reconciling this claim when Biafra also licensed to major corporations, approving with the other band members use of Dead Kennedys’ songs in major studio film releases such as Neighbors
Neighbors (film)
Neighbors is a 1981 film based on the book by Thomas Berger. It was released through Columbia Pictures, directed by John G. Avildsen and stars John Belushi as Earl, Dan Aykroyd as Vic , Cathy Moriarty as Ramona, Kathryn Walker as Enid, and Lauren-Marie Taylor as Elaine. The film takes liberties...
, Freddy Got Fingered
Freddy Got Fingered
Freddy Got Fingered is a 2001 American comedy film directed, co-written by and starring Tom Green. Some of the scenes feature similar antics to those seen in his own The Tom Green Show and scenes in Road Trip. It is largely built around gross-out and shock humor...
, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 American drama film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo. It was adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel of the same name....
.
In 2001, Ray, Peligro, and Flouride chose former Dr. Know
Dr. Know (band)
Dr. Know is a punk band which began as a Nardcore band and now has roots in Los Angeles, CA.They are one of the founding figures of the "Nardcore" punk movement from Oxnard, CA. The band was started by Kyle Toucher, Ismael Hernandez, and Robin Cartwright in early 1981, and after auditioning a few...
singer Brandon Cruz
Brandon Cruz
Brandon Edwin Cruz is an American former child actor and currently a punk rock musician, and also works in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. In the late 1960s, the freckled-faced Cruz came to prominence by playing Tom Corbett's charming and conniving son, Eddie Corbett, in the comedy-drama The...
to replace Biafra on vocals. The band played under name "DK Kennedys" for a few concerts, but later reverted to "Dead Kennedys" permanently. They played across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Russia. Brandon Cruz left the band in May 2003 and was replaced by Jeff Penalty
Jeff Penalty
Jeff Penalty is a writer, filmmaker, and musician, known mainly for his documentary work and his position as a former lead singer of Dead Kennedys.- Early life :Penalty was born and raised in Broomall, Pennsylvania...
. The band has released two live albums of archival performances on Manifesto Records: Mutiny on the Bay
Mutiny on the Bay
Mutiny on the Bay is a live album by the Dead Kennedys. It was compiled and released after a lengthy lawsuit, which resulted in the rights to the Dead Kennedys' catalog being transferred from lead singer/songwriter Jello Biafra's record label, Alternative Tentacles to the other three members of the...
, compiled from various live shows including a recording from their last show with Biafra in 1986, and Live at the Deaf Club
Live at the Deaf Club
Live at the Deaf Club is a live album released by the Dead Kennedys in 2004. The actual performance took place at the San Francisco Deaf Club on March 3, 1979....
, a recording of a 1979 performance at the Deaf Club in San Francisco which was greeted with more enthusiasm.
On October 9, 2007, a best-of album entitled Milking the Sacred Cow
Milking the Sacred Cow
Milking the Sacred Cow is a compilation album released by the Dead Kennedys in October 2007. It is composed of songs from all studio albums of the band's career, except for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy...
was released. It includes two previously unreleased live versions of "Soup Is Good Food" and "Jock-O-Rama", originally found on Frankenchrist.
Jeff Penalty left the band in March, 2008 in what he describes as a "not amicable split." He was replaced by former Wynona Riders
Wynona Riders
The Wynona Riders are an East Bay pop punk band formed in 1988 as Miss Conduct by Jim Tyler , Eric Matson , Ron Murphy and Mike Lipari . In 1989 Ron Greer joined the band as the lead singer, changing their name with their first 924 Gilman Street performance...
singer Ron "Skip" Greer. D.H. also left the band to "take some personal time off". He was replaced for a tour by Translator
Translator (band)
Translator is a San Francisco rock band that had success during the 1980s. They created a sound that spanned updated British Merseybeat and stripped-down punk-like rock to psychedelia. Inspired by the Beatles and 1960s California folk-rock bands such as The Byrds, their guitar-based music was...
drummer Dave Scheff.
Break from touring
On August 21, 2008, the band announced an extended break from touring due to the health-related issues of Flouride and Peligro. They stated their plans to collaborate on new projects. The band performed a gig in Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
in June 2009, with Peligro returning to the drum kit.
In August 2010 the Dead Kennedys announced plans for a short East Coast tour. This lineup assembled for this tour contained East Bay Ray, Peligro, Greer, and bassist Greg Reeves replacing Flouride, who was taking "personal time off" from the band. The tour dates will include performances in Philadelphia, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Possible new material
The Dead Kennedys performed what appears to be their first new song in 24 years, "You're Such a Fake", during their October 16, 2010, concert at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In addition, the band played a reworked version of the old song "MTV Get Off the Air", now re-titled "MP3 Get Off the Web", with lyrics that were "changed to be about people downloading MP3s and how much they suck for doing it."
"DK" logo
Winston Smith (artist)
Winston Smith is an artist who primarily uses the medium of collage. He is probably best known for the artwork he has produced for the American punk rock group Dead Kennedys...
. He later contributed artwork for the covers of In God We Trust, Inc.
In God We Trust, Inc.
In God We Trust, Inc. is a hardcore punk EP by the Dead Kennedys; it is now reissued with the Plastic Surgery Disasters album. The thrashing, lightning-fast beats and shouted vocals, on the first six tracks, resembles Washington D.C.'s punk bands of the time; more than on any other Dead Kennedys...
, Plastic Surgery Disasters
Plastic Surgery Disasters
Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second album released by the Dead Kennedys. It has been reissued with the EP In God We Trust, Inc., which are the last eight tracks on the CD. The cover photo is "Hands" by photographer Michael Wells. The same photo was used by other San Francisco based punk band...
, Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist
Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...
, Bedtime for Democracy
Bedtime for Democracy
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth album released by Dead Kennedys. Songs on this album cover such common punk subjects as conformity, Reaganomics, the military, and even criticizing aspects of their own punk movement. The title of the album is a reference to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for...
, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
-Personnel:* Jello Biafra - vocals, producer, artwork, compiler* East Bay Ray - guitar, echoplex, producer, mixer* Klaus Fluoride - bass, backing vocals * D.H...
, the back cover of the "Kill the Poor
Kill the Poor
"Kill the Poor" was the third single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was anus in October 1980 on Cherry Red Records with "In-sight" as the b-side. The title track was re-recorded for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables , although the single and album versions show little...
" single and the Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
logo. When asked about the "DK" logo in an interview, Jello Biafra explained, "...I wanted to make sure it was something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place, and then I showed it to Winston Smith. He played around with it, came back with a bunch of designs that had the circle and slightly 3-D looking letters and he had ones with different patterns behind it. I liked the one with bricks, but ultimately I thought simple red behind it was the boldest and the best."
Lyrics
Dead Kennedys were noted for the harshness of their lyrics, which generally combined biting social satire while expressing a staunchly left-wing view of contemporary America. Unlike other leftist punk bands who use more direct sloganeering, Dead Kennedys' lyrics were often snide. "Holiday in CambodiaHoliday in Cambodia
"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side...
" is a multi-layered satire targeting both yuppies and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
's then-current communist Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
regime.
Members
Current members- East Bay RayEast Bay RayRaymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
– guitar (1978–1986, 2001–present) - Klaus FlourideKlaus FlourideGeoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
– bass (1978–1986, 2001–2010, 2011–present) - D. H. PeligroD. H. PeligroD.H. Peligro was the third drummer for the hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys from February 1981 until their breakup in December 1986...
– drums (1981–1986, 2001–2008, 2009–present) - Ron "Skip" Greer – vocals (2008–present)
Former members
- Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
– vocals (1978–1986) - 6025 – rhythm guitar (1978–1979)
- Ted – drums (1978–1981)
- Brandon CruzBrandon CruzBrandon Edwin Cruz is an American former child actor and currently a punk rock musician, and also works in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. In the late 1960s, the freckled-faced Cruz came to prominence by playing Tom Corbett's charming and conniving son, Eddie Corbett, in the comedy-drama The...
– vocals (2001–2003) - Jeff PenaltyJeff PenaltyJeff Penalty is a writer, filmmaker, and musician, known mainly for his documentary work and his position as a former lead singer of Dead Kennedys.- Early life :Penalty was born and raised in Broomall, Pennsylvania...
– vocals (2003–2008) - Dave Scheff – drums (2008)
- Greg Reeves – bass (2010–2011)
Discography
Studio albums- Fresh Fruit for Rotting VegetablesFresh Fruit for Rotting VegetablesFresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in September 1980 through Faulty Products in the United States and through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom.It has been certified by BPI gold.The best selling and...
(1980) - In God We Trust, Inc.In God We Trust, Inc.In God We Trust, Inc. is a hardcore punk EP by the Dead Kennedys; it is now reissued with the Plastic Surgery Disasters album. The thrashing, lightning-fast beats and shouted vocals, on the first six tracks, resembles Washington D.C.'s punk bands of the time; more than on any other Dead Kennedys...
(1981) - Plastic Surgery DisastersPlastic Surgery DisastersPlastic Surgery Disasters is the second album released by the Dead Kennedys. It has been reissued with the EP In God We Trust, Inc., which are the last eight tracks on the CD. The cover photo is "Hands" by photographer Michael Wells. The same photo was used by other San Francisco based punk band...
(1982) - FrankenchristFrankenchristFrankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...
(1985) - Bedtime for DemocracyBedtime for DemocracyBedtime for Democracy is the fourth album released by Dead Kennedys. Songs on this album cover such common punk subjects as conformity, Reaganomics, the military, and even criticizing aspects of their own punk movement. The title of the album is a reference to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for...
(1986)