Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Eric Reed Boucher, known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Frankenchrist is the third album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, released in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by 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 sole owner in the mid-1980s. Alternative Tentacles no longer owns the rights to Dead Kennedys recordings after a 2000 lawsuit.
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in June 1987 through front man Jello Biafra's record label Alternative Tentacles.
"California Über Alles" is the debut single by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was the group's first recording and 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 I.R.S. Records in the United States. It was later issued by Jello Biafra's own Alternative Tentacles label in the United States. It is the only Dead Kennedys studio album to feature drummer Bruce Slesinger and guitarist Carlos Cadona.
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth and final studio album by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Released in 1986, songs on this album cover common punk subjects often found in punk rock lyrics of the era such 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 trial they were undergoing 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 an American musician best known as the guitarist for 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 by Optional Music with "Police Truck" as the B-side. The photograph on the front cover of the single was taken from the Thammasat University massacre in Thailand, depicting a crowd member beating the hanged corpse of a student protester with a metal chair.
In God We Trust, Inc. is an EP by hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys and the first of the group's releases with drummer D.H. Peligro. The record is a screed against things ranging from organized religion and Neo-Nazis, to the pesticide Kepone and government indifference that worsened the effects of Minamata disease catastrophes. In God We Trust, Inc. is also the first Dead Kennedys album released after the presidential election of Ronald Reagan and features the band's first references to Reagan, for which they—and hardcore punk as a genre—would become notorious.
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 and punk record producer Thom Wilson, with Geza X getting a "special thanks" underneath the DK's/Wilson credit for additional production. 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.
Mutiny on the Bay is an album of live recordings by the Dead Kennedys. The album’s material was compiled from a number of concerts in 1982 and 1986 in the band’s hometown of San Francisco with an additional track taken from the band’s final show in Davis, California before their break up in 1986.
"Police Truck" is a song by the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was originally released in May 1980 as the B-side of the "Holiday in Cambodia" single and later released in June 1987 as the opening track on the band's compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.
"Too Drunk to Fuck" is the fourth single by Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1981 on Cherry Red Records with "The Prey" as the B-side. Both songs from this single are available on the rarities album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987).
Live at the Deaf Club is a live album released by the Dead Kennedys in 2004 and had a limited edition re-release 2013 in the UK on Let Them Eat Vinyl. The actual performance took place at the San Francisco Deaf Club on March 3, 1979.
Carlo Cadona, better known by his stage name 6025, is an American musician who served as the second guitarist for the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys, from their formation in July 1978 to March 1979.
Milking the Sacred Cow is a compilation album by San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Released in 2007, it comprises songs recorded between 1979 and 1985 that originally appeared on the band’s various studio albums and singles. The compilation also contains two previously unreleased live versions of songs from the band’s Frankenchrist album. Notably, Milking the Sacred Cow contains no material from the Dead Kennedys’ final studio album, Bedtime for Democracy.
M.I.A. is an American 1980s punk rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band's sound is generally hardcore and thrasher, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. AllMusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."
