Q&A: 28 Minutes with Jello Biafra – Vol. 3

Posted by RiffYou On June 13, 2014 0 Comment

Speaking with legendary punk rock frontman, spoken word artist, censorship battler, political activist, and all around thoughtful, yet controversial human Jello Biafra is much like bouncing a rubber ball really hard off of the ground: once your action is complete, you’re not quite sure which direction Biafra will take.

One thing is for certain, and that is the fact that Biafra is not interested in mindless chit chat. When you get into a conversation with him, get into it intelligently, pay attention, and – as much as possible – avoid assumptions. If you can do all that, as well as think on your feet, what you’ll encounter is a very aware individual with a lot of fascinating things to say. He may even let you feel slightly comfortable.

Yes, he was the lead man of Dead Kennedys, and yes he is now a part of Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo Bay School of Medicine. But beyond all that is someone who has seen the world from a ton of different angles.

In Volume 3 of Riffyou.com’s 28 Minutes with Jello Biafra, we talk about his ex-band the Dead Kennedys and tumultuous relationship, or lack there of, the two parties now have. Here, Biafra’s words are far from minced.

In case you missed them, or need a refresher, click here to read Volume 1, and hear for Volume 2.

RY: I have to ask you a little bit about the Dead Kennedys stuff. What are your thoughts now regarding the band being out there touring?

Jello: “Well, is it only Dead Kennedys, or is it the world’s greediest karaoke band? Is it Dead Kennedys, or is it a cover band? It really pisses me off how often my own picture appears in ads for their shows. To me, that is outright fraud. They always point fingers and say that the promoter got the wrong photo off of the Internet. But in my opinion, all they have to do to put a stop to that is put it in their contract that promoters couldn’t do that.”

RY: Even with all of that crap (primarily legal battles) that’s gone on between you and the Dead Kennedys over the years, when you look back at your heyday with that band, are you still able to have fond memories?

Jello: “I think I have more love and respect for our songs, and the band, and our legacy, than anybody else who is [still] in the band. I wasn’t the one who wanted [to place a song] in a Levi’s commercial. I wasn’t the one who wanted to do a cover of “Too Drunk to Fuck” for a brutal, pornographic, rape scene in a movie. That’s not what those songs are for.

“Every artist has to decide for themselves whether they want their music used that way or not. If another artist does, we’re not going to stand in his way. But for my own work and my own sanity, the answer is ‘fuck no!’

“And, I really resent all of their heavy-handed efforts to force me into prostitution.”

RY: Are you disappointed now that these are the things that can easily come to people’s minds first when thinking about Dead Kennedys? Perhaps, it’s even affected the possibility of what the band could’ve been?

Jello: “Well, let’s not get mixed up with the whole idea that every band’s fantasy is to stay together for 20 or 30 years. We broke up before we sucked, and I think that’s a good thing. I’m proud of that. I’m not one of those people who want to freeze in the 1980s and never come up with any new songs.

“There are some songs that I’ve done since that would’ve made great Dead Kennedys songs. And there are other songs that either the DK lineup couldn’t play or wouldn’t want to play. I have to keep doing what I’m doing.

“They can run around and claim that they wrote all the songs all they want to, but on every last thing they’ve lied about in relation to me, I think history is on my side.”

RY: I know it’s well documented already, but how did the DK members manage to get away with taking your writing credits away…

Jello: “It was a fluke verdict by a jury of yuppies and doctors who were successfully bamboozled as to how the music business actually works. [DK] got huge [financial] damages [from me] for lack of promotion, because they weren’t constantly promoted in Rolling Stone, SPIN, or that industry rag Billboard, year after year, after the band broke up.

“Here’s a band that played ‘MTV Get off the Air,’ and still does, wanting damages because they’re not in regular rotation on MTV. The whole thing was just completely sick. I’m not sure that we have anything in common as people anymore, at all…except that years and years ago we were in this really cool band.

“What am I supposed to talk to them about now? Their 401-K accounts? Dollars and cents from licensing images to fancy skate-wear companies or something? I don’t know. That’s not how my brain works…I just don’t want anything to do with that.

“We did some great stuff together, but nowadays, in their hearts, they’ve become Republicans…where the almighty dollar trumps everything else, possibly even including self-respect. I don’t know how they sleep at night.”

RY: In your wildest dreams, could you ever have expected this Dead Kennedys situation to happen?

Jello: “No. I was too trusting of the wrong people. I thought Klaus and D.H. would be my brothers for life, but then Levi’s came calling. Of course, it was the perfect storm, because there had indeed been an accounting error on the part of Alternative Tentacles (Biafra’s label) to which I am sorry, and take full responsibility.

“But, when we, not they, realized where the error was and got the figures together, we paid them. Only after they got that money, did they sue claiming that I had ripped them off. It’s pure and simple sick greed.

“Maybe Klaus will run around and tell the media that I am somehow punishing the fans by not going back to front their current scam, but in my opinion it’s a sullied lineup of what was a really cool band that’s now punishing the fans.

“Some people are going to really, really like them when they see them. But, I don’t look forward to the avalanche of complaint letters I sometimes get after one of their tours. Maybe avalanche is too strong of a word, but you know what I’m saying.

“The other complaint I have gotten repeatedly is that they don’t identify the lead singer by name, and all of these mall kids walk away thinking it was me.”

RY: Wow, that’s weird.

Jello: “Well, it’s also not very honest.”

RY: Does being with the Guantanamo School of Medicine help ease those bad feelings? You guys seem to be on the right path and really enjoying what you’re doing.

Jello: “I guess what means the most to me is when some idea that’s been bouncing around in my head for weeks, months, or years, finally comes to life…and the song is actually working, and doing what it’s supposed to be doing, and feeling like it’s supposed to feel. That’s one of the greatest kinds of gratification I get from all of this.”

-Adam Grant

Tour Dates:

06/14/2014 Reggie’s Rock Club Chicago, IL
w/Negative Approach
06/15/2014 Magic Stick Detroit, MI
w/Negative Approach
06/16/2014 Call The Office London, ONT, Canada
w/Negative Approach
06/17/2014 Opera House Toronto, ONT, Canada
w/Negative Approach
06/19/2014 The Waiting Room Buffalo, NY
w/Negative Approach
06/20/2014 Lost Horizon Syracuse, NY
w/Negative Approach
06/21/2014 Pearl Street Northampton, MA
w/Rough Francis
06/22/2014 Brighton Music Hall Boston, MA
w/Negative Approach, Disaster Strikes
06/24/2014 The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
w/Negative Approach
06/25/2014 Asbury Lanes Asbury Park, NJ
w/Negative Approach
06/27/2014 Highline Ballroom New York City, NY
w/Negative Approach
06/28/2014 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
w/Negative Approach
06/29/2014 The Ottobar Baltimore, MD
w/Negative Approach
06/30/2014 Mr. Small’s Theater Pittsburgh, PA
w/Negative Approach
07/02/2014 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
w/Negative Approach
07/12/2014 Rumble on Pine Long Beach, CA
w/Rev. Horton Heat