Make Time for Jello Biafra

Born Eric Boucher, Jello Biafra is best known as the former lead vocalist of the political punk band, The Dead Kennedys. According to the disinformation website, Jello Biafra juxtaposed mass-produced plastic food (Jello) with a famous 1970s African famine induced by Western imperialism (Biafra) to come up with his unique name. The Dead Kennedys were one of the most popular, important, and influential American punk bands of the late '70s and early '80s. They formed in San Francisco in 1978 when guitarist East Bay Ray placed an ad in a music paper to which vocalist Jello Biafra responded to. They were soon joined by bassist Klaus Flouride, drummer Ted, and a second guitarist known simply as 6025. The latter departed in March 1979, while Ted was replaced by D.H. Peligro.

After a brief rehearsal period, Dead Kennedys played their first gig at Mabuhay Gardens in July 1978. Before long, the Dead Kennedys attracted a considerable following. Live, the Dead Kennedys were a combination of chaos and theatrics. Dead Kennedys' early success led them to record their first single, "California †ber Alles," in 1979, a blistering attack on the then-governor of California, Jerry Brown. It was released on their own label, Alternative Tentacles Records, set up by East Bay Ray. "Holiday in Cambodia" (1980) followed and is perhaps the band's definitive moment - a perfect mix of hilarious yuppie-baiting lyrics and evil-sounding music. Almost as essential were "Kill the Poor" (1980) and "Too Drunk to Fuck" (a British Top 40 single in 1981) and the debut LP, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980). That LP went on to be awarded a Gold Record in Britain.

The Dead Kennedys' inflammatory name and provocative behavior (in one 1979 prank, Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco, and attracted the attention of a number of far-right politico-religious groups/nuts) sparked controversy. The band's problems with these self-appointed moral guardians were compounded by a confrontational relationship with US authorities, ensuring an aggressive police presence at most of their shows. But the band continued to expand their audience by playing at a mix of underground venues in different corners of the USA and Canada. The eight-track EP, In God We Trust, Inc. (1981), took things further, boasting a speed and power that left most reviewers nonplussed and contemporaries trailing. The EP included a wild cover of "Rawhide" and "Nazi Punks, Fuck Off."

The band then changed musical gears again when the Plastic Surgery Disasters appeared in late 1982. Possibly their best album, this fine collection of songs retained the trademark savagery and satire, but the musical content had diversified, even including such unexpected moments as Klaus Flouride playing clarinet. Featured were the singles "Bleed for Me" and "Halloween," and it also included "Moon Over Marin," as close as Dead Kennedys ever came to a ballad. The song strongly critiqued the oil industry and its destruction of the environment.

After two years of touring all over North America, Europe and Australia, the more melodic Frankenchrist (1985) appeared, marked by a frantic sense of desperation that reflected America's increasingly right-wing political landscape with songs like "MTV Get Off the Air." As ever, the group ran into controversy, this time with the LP's accompanying poster, "Penis Landscape," by Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Detailing several rows of copulating genitalia, it provoked a legal offensive against the band beginning in April 1986. As well as having his flat torn apart by the police, Biafra was charged with "distributing harmful matter to minors," a charge which he repulsed on the basis of his right to free speech. The case was dismissed the following year on lack of reasonable evidence. But before the controversy, the band had already decided to disband in January 1986 and to complete the recording of Bedtime For Democracy, which was released later that year.

Dead Kennedys played their last show in March of 1986 in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they began. Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death, a fantastic collection of their classic early singles and B sides, rare tracks and compilation tracks, was released in 1987. In 1997, Biafra vetoed the use of the song "Holiday in Cambodia" in a Levi Jeans advertising campaign. Biafra's ex band-mates terminated their ATR contract on October 1, 1998, claiming that Biafra had failed to promote the band's back catalogue, and had miscalculated their royalties lower than other ATR artists. The trial outcome - $200,000 in damages was awarded to Ray, Flouride, and Peligro for "lack of promotion" damages. As the band's most prolific creative force, Biafra had argued that each songwriter owned his material, but the jury ruled that the band collectively owned the songs. Biafra is currently appealing the verdict.

Jello Biafra has recorded several solo spoken word albums after the breakup of Dead Kennedys, in which he continues to express his political views. There are a total of nine spoken word albums, soon to be ten. Biafra speaks on a range of topics including: the assault on America by fringe right-wing groups, the need for a non-corporate media movement, the legalization of Cannabis-Hemp, the importance of the Green Party, the dangers of Ronald Reagan and the George Bushes, and the threat of U.S. corporate imperialism throughout the world.

Biafra has been a registered and active member of the Green Party, which encourages building a more democratic, cooperative, cleaner, safer world where we the people, not the corporations, make the decisions that affect our lives. In addition, the Green Party promotes nonviolence and defends our U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights.