Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining hardcore punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Eric Reed Boucher, better known by his professional name Jello Biafra, is an American singer, musician, and spoken word artist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray and vocalist Jello Biafra formed Alternative Tentacles, but Biafra became the owner in the mid-1980s. Alternative Tentacles no longer owns the rights to Dead Kennedys recordings after a 2000 lawsuit.
"California Über Alles" is a song by Dead Kennedys. The single, which was the group's first recording, was released in June 1979 on the Optional Music label, with "The Man with the Dogs" appearing as its B-side. The title track was re-recorded in 1980 for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, and the original recording as well as the B-side were later included on the 1987 compilation Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was first released on September 2, 1980 through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom and later issued by Jello Biafra's own Alternative Tentacles label in the United States.
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth and most recent studio album released by Dead Kennedys. Released in 1986, songs on this album cover common punk subjects often found in punk rock lyrics of the era as conformity, Reaganomics, the U.S. military, and critique of the hardcore punk movement. The album's title refers to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan and also reflects the band's weary bitterness from the financially and emotionally draining trial they were being subjected to at the time over the controversial art included with their previous album. By the time recording of Bedtime for Democracy had begun, the Dead Kennedys had already played what would be their last concert with Jello Biafra and announced their breakup immediately after the release of the record, whose opening track is a cover of David Alan Coe's "Take This Job and Shove It."
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. His guitar work was heavily influenced by surf music, jazz and rockabilly. Alongside Jello Biafra's astute lyrics and unique vibrato-based vocal style, East Bay Ray's playing was one of the defining factors of the music of the Dead Kennedys, and by extension, of the "second wave" of American punk. He is also the only Dead Kennedy to remain a constant member of the band since its formation.
"Holiday in Cambodia" is a song by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. The record was released as the group's second single in May 1980 on Optional Music with "Police Truck" as its B-side. The title track was re-recorded for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980); the original recording of the song, as well as the single's B-side, are available on the rarities album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987). The photograph in the front cover of the single was taken from the Thammasat University massacre in Thailand, and depicts a member of the right-wing crowd beating a hanged corpse of a student protester with a metal chair.
Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second full-length album released by punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Recorded in San Francisco during June 1982, it was produced by the band's guitarist East Bay Ray and punk record producer Thom Wilson. The album is darker and more hardcore-influenced than their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables as a result of the band trying to expand on the sound and mood they had achieved with their 1980 single "Holiday in Cambodia". It was the first full-length album to feature drummer D.H. Peligro, and is frontman Jello Biafra's favorite Dead Kennedys album.
The No WTO Combo was a one-shot punk rock band started by Krist Novoselic. The band consisted of Jello Biafra ; guitarist Kim Thayil of Soundgarden; and the rhythm section of Sweet 75, with Gina Mainwal on drums and Novoselic on bass.
The Crucifucks were a Lansing, Michigan-based punk band formed in 1981. They were noted for their political agitation, provocative lyrics, and unusually shrill vocals by band leader Doc Corbin Dart. Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra signed them to his independent Alternative Tentacles label.
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 band. Its quality has been criticized by Jello Biafra.
Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand is the eighth spoken word album by Jello Biafra. Topics covered in the album include the War on Terrorism, California's energy crisis, and voting problems in Florida. Biafra originally titled the album Osama McDonald, a name which he was later credited by on the album Never Breathe What You Can't See, which was recorded with The Melvins.
Never Breathe What You Can't See is an album by Jello Biafra and The Melvins. It was released in 2004 through Alternative Tentacles. The liner notes claim that Mohamed Atta and John Ashcroft helped Biafra with the lyrics of "Caped Crusader", and invite the listener to "spot the difference." Plethysmograph, which deals with the government tool which measures arousal in sex offenders in regard to different stimuli, features the lyric "If Stuart could talk what would he say?", which is the chorus of The Dickies song If Stuart Could Talk, which is also about the singer's penis.
"I Kill Children" is the ninth song on the Dead Kennedys album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. It is sung from the first person perspective of an unnamed murderer of children. It satirizes America's twin obsessions with extreme violence. Jello Biafra had said on his spoken word tours that he wrote the song when he was 18 years old after thinking about how and why people became serial killers, and actually considers it one of his weakest songs.
A detailed discography of releases by the hardcore punk musician and spoken word artist Jello Biafra:
Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors is a 1989 punk rock album. The album is the result of a collaboration between Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame, and Canadian band D.O.A.. Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors is notable for the song "Full Metal Jackoff", a furious 14-minute song that touches on then-relative topics such as Willie Horton, the Iran-Contra Affair, Oliver North, the Crack epidemic and many others.
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. It also contains two previously unreleased live tracks, "Soup Is Good Food" and "Jock-O-Rama", the studio versions of which can be found on the album Frankenchrist. The album has been criticized by former lead singer Jello Biafra.
The Big Ka-Boom, Pt. 1 is the seventh spoken word album by Jello Biafra.
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine is a punk rock band led by Jello Biafra. They released their debut album, The Audacity of Hype in October 2009.
