Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys are a hardcore punk band from San Francisco, California. Attacking assumptions of the political left and right with humor, their music mixed the more experimental elements of English punk with the energy of the American punk scene. The Dead Kennedys officially disbanded in 1986, reforming in 2001 with a new vocalist.

History

The Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978, after guitarist East Bay Ray (real name Raymond Pepperell) advertised for band mates after seeing a punk show at the Mabuhay Gardens. The original DK lineup consisted of Jello Biafra (real name Eric Boucher) on vocals, East Bay Ray on guitar, Klaus Flouride (real name Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, and 6025 (real name Carlos Cadona) on drums. They recorded their first demos with this lineup. In early July the band wanted a more experienced drummer, so they hired Ted (real name Bruce Slesinger). 6025 left, but was invited back as second guitarist. Their first concert was on July 19, 1978, at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco.

They played numerous shows at local venues afterwards. Because of the band's provocative name, they sometimes played under pseudonyms, including "The Sharks", "The Creamsicles", and "The Pink Twinkies". The name, despite popular belief, was not meant to insult the assassinated Kennedy brothers, but to remind people that the American dream was killed.

6025 left the band in March of 1979. In June of 1979, the band released their first single, "California Über Alles", on Alternative Tentacles. They followed with a well received east-coast tour.

On March 25, 1980, the DKs were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of music industry big-wigs to give the event some "new wave credibility" in the words of the organizers. The day of the show 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 wave 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 tore into the previously unheard "Pull My Strings", a barbed, satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry. As well as containing the lyrics "Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star", the song also sent-up The Knack's biggest new wave hit, "My Sharona". The song was never recorded in the studio but this performance, the first and only time the song was ever performed, was released on the posthumous compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death... and the band was never invited to play the awards show again.

During the spring of 1980, they recorded and released "Holiday in Cambodia". In the fall they released their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. It reached #33 in the UK Albums Chart.

In December of 1980, 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. His replacement was D.H. Peligro (real name Darren Henley). Around the same time, according to a 2005 Biafra interview conducted by Nardwuar the Human Serviette, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign a major label deal with Polydor Records; according to Biafra, he was prepared to quit the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign the deal. Polydor balked after they learned that the Kennedys were planning their next single to be "Too Drunk To Fuck".

In May, the band released the single "Too Drunk To Fuck". The song caused much controversy in the UK as BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30; this would require a performance of the song on Top of the Pops. However, this never came to be as the single peaked at #31. The EP In God We Trust, Inc. (1981) and album Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982) showed a development in musical style, and their music became a political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right and Ronald Reagan. The band continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, during the 1980s and gained a large underground following.

In January of 1986, the DKs decided to break up to pursue other interests. They played their last concert on February 21. During the summer they recorded Bedtime for Democracy, which was released in November. In December, the band announced their split. Biafra went on to become a highly active political force, appearing on numerous television shows and releasing a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Fluoride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.

Criminal obscenity prosecution

The release of the album Frankenchrist in 1985 caused a furor with the newly formed PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center). In December of 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at a Wherehouse chain record store in Los Angeles County. The girl's mother wrote letters of complaint to the Attorney General for the State of California and to Los Angeles prosecutors. In 1986 members of the band Dead Kennedys, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The Wherehouse store where the girl actually purchased the album was never named in the law suit.

The criminal charges were primarily based on an H.R. Giger illustration included with the album. Members of the band and others were each charged with violating California Penal Code section 313.1 / 313.4, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2000. The poster, "Landscape # 20: Where Are We Coming From?" (also known as Penis Landscape), depicts nine sex acts. 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 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 of 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 of 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 defendants. District Attorneys Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by The Honorable Susan Isacoff, Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles. The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.

Internal conflicts

It was discovered in the late 1990s that there were issues with the payments each band member had received from their record label Alternative Tentacles. 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 took issue with the fact 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 and guilty of fraud and malice, Appeal Verdict, Dead Kennedys v. Jello Biafra. Biafra's appeal was denied; he had to pay the outstanding royalties and damages, and was forced to hand over the rights to the majority of Dead Kennedys' back catalogue to the Decay Music partnership. The courts also found from evidence presented by both sides that the songwriting credits were due to the entire band. (Jello 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"). However, the online database of BMI still retains the original songwriting credits. Ray, Fluoride 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. Many fans felt the three's lawsuit against Jello was motivated by greed, as they had numerous unsuccessful solo records and gigs after the band's break-up (Biafra was by far the most prolific and successful of the four). In addition, 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. (In a related instance, Biafra recalled during the 2005 Nardwuar interview that Ray had called Biafra at the Texas studio the latter was working on his 1994 album Prairie Home Invasion and, in Biafra's words, "yelled at me for over an hour, claiming that I ruined his life because we didn't sign with Polydor.") 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 towards 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 bandmates, under the apparent, though unspoken leadership of East Bay Ray, 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 and that Biafra was wrong in failing to inform the band directly, however details about this issue remain scarce. The band also maintains that the entire 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 2006.

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, having long expressed his disdain for nostalgia and rock reunion/oldies tours in particular (with the 1996, corporate-sponsored Sex Pistols reunion perhaps fresh in his mind), flatly stating that the whole affair was an exercise in greed.

Several DVDs, re-issues, and live albums have been released since the departure of Jello. According to Jello, the live albums are cash-ins on the Dead Kennedys' name and Jello's music. Jello also accused the releases of the new live material being of poor sound quality and claims to not be receiving royalties from their sale or the sale of any Manifesto Records releases. The other band members deny Biafra's accusations, and have defended the mixes of the material as an effort of hard work.

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. Biafra recently attacked them on song called "Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)", which appears on his second collaboratory with experimental metal band The Melvins, Sieg Howdy!.

Reformation

The reformed Dead Kennedys followed their court victory by announcing a number of tour dates, released reissues of all Dead Kennedys albums (except Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, which they did not have the rights to until 2005) and a number of concert DVDs, as well as licensing several songs (in Tony Hawk Pro Skater and The Manchurian Candidate remake, respectively), actions that were thought extremely controversial among some fans, but those fans appear to willfully ignore the fact that Biafra, along with the other band members, approved the use of Dead Kennedys’ songs in other major film releases like Neighbors, 1981 and Class, 1983. Biafra also approved the licensing to Tony Hawk’s video game. But this controversy was ultimately paid little attention by the press and the group's overall fanbase.

The Manchurian Candidate, which used "Kinky Sex (Makes the World Go 'Round)", was a movie about an evil corporation, while "Police Truck" was used in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater because of punk music's close bond with skateboarding. The band says on their website that they still pay close attention to an anti-corporation ideology, noting that they have since pulled out of a show in Los Angeles when they found that it was being sponsored by Coors However, many fans, as well as Biafra, claim the above mentioned licensing deals prove otherwise.

In 2001, Ray, Peligro, and Fluoride chose Brandon Cruz to replace Biafra's role as vocalist. The band played under name "DK Kennedys" for a few concerts, but have since gone back to "Dead Kennedys" permanently. They have played across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Russia.

Brandon Cruz left the band in May of 2003 and was replaced by Jeff Penalty. The band has released two live albums on Manifesto Records of old performances - Mutiny On The Bay, an edited-together compilation of various live performances of varying quality from the San Francisco area, 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.

Lyrical stance

The Dead Kennedys are noted for the acerbity of their lyrics, which generally express a harsh and staunchly left-wing view of contemporary America. Unlike other leftist punk bands who use more direct sloganeering, the Kennedys' lyrics are often satirical and sarcastic, all the while retaining the deliberately shocking lyrics of punk. "Holiday In Cambodia" is a multi-layered satire targeting both yuppie culture and Cambodia's then-current Khmer Rouge regime (together with the US government who at the time of recording were tacitly supporting Pol Pot in his war against Vietnam). Songs such as "Kill The Poor", "California Über Alles" and "Police Truck" actually take the lyrical viewpoint of the band's hated right-wing targets. In some cases in their early days the band attracted support from right-wing punks who took the lyrics of "Kill The Poor", etc. at face value, somehow missing the staggering amount of sarcastic nastiness and irony with which the lyrics were presented. The Kennedys wrote a song in response to this development, tellingly titled "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!".

Jello Biafra continues to be a noted critic of the American political establishment, embarking on lecture tours both before and after his time with the band.

Members

Current lineup

• Jeff Penalty - vocals (May 2003 to present)
• East Bay Ray - guitar (June 1978 to February 1986, November 2001 to present)
• Klaus Flouride - bass (June 1978 to February 1986, November 2001 to present)
• D.H. Peligro - drums (December 1980 to February 1986, November 2001 to present)

Former members

• Jello Biafra - vocals (June 1978 to February 1986)
• Brandon Cruz - vocals (November 2001 to May 2003)
• 6025 - drums (June 1978), guitar (June 1978 to March 1979)
• Ted - drums (July 1978 to December 1980)

Discography

Studio albums

• Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables - September 1980 (# 33)
• Plastic Surgery Disasters - November 1982
• Frankenchrist - October 1985
• Bedtime for Democracy - November 1986

Live albums

• A Scateboard Party - August 1983
• Mutiny on the Bay - February 2001
• Live at the Deaf Club - March 2004

Compilation albums

• Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death - June 1987

EPs

• In God We Trust, Inc. - December 1981

Singles

• California Über Alles - June 1979
• Holiday in Cambodia - May 1980
• Kill the Poor - October 1980 (# 49)
• Too Drunk to Fuck - May 1981 (# 31)
• Nazi Punks Fuck Off! - November 1981
• Bleed for Me - July 1982
• Halloween - December 1982

Videos

• The Early Years Live - July 1987
• The Lost Tapes - July 2003
• Live at DMPO's on Broadway - February 2004

Bootlegs

• The 1978 Demos
• Never Been on MTV

See also

• Punk ideology

References

• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dead Kennedys". All Music Guide. Retrieved May 10, 2005.

External links

• Official site of the Dead Kennedys
• Alternative Tentacles - Record Label Launched by Dead Kennedys
• Alternative Tentacles's Dead Kennedys Biography
• Dead Kennedys Lyrics
• First-hand account from a fan who was at the 2000 DK trial