Jello Biafra

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Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), better known by his stage name Jello Biafra, is an American singer, guitarist, and spoken word artist.

He is the lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Dead Kennedys, who were active from 1979 to 1986, were known for upbeat music topped by Biafra's sardonic lyrics and biting social commentary, delivered in his "unique quiver of a voice." He took over Alternative Tentacles, the band's most popular independent record label that he founded in 1979 with Dead Kennedys bandmate East Bay Ray.

Biafra was found guilty of breach of employment, theft, and malice in withholding a decade's worth of royalties from his former bandmates for over $200,000 in compensation and punitive damages in 2000; the band later reformed without Biafra.

Biafra has performed as a singer in numerous collaborations, although they have mainly concentrated on spoken word performances. Biafra is a member of the Green Party of the United States and supports various political causes.

In the 2000 presidential race, he ran for the party's presidential nomination, finishing second, behind Ralph Nader.

He is a stead believer in a democratic society and promotes shock value and advocacy in the name of political causes.

Biafra is well-known for using absurd media techniques, especially in the Yippies' leftist tradition, to emphasize issues of civil rights and social justice.

Early life

Eric Reed Boucher was born in Boulder, Colorado, the son of Virginia (née Parker), a librarian, and Stanley Wayne Boucher, a psychiatric social worker and poet. Julie J. Boucher, his sister, was Associate Director of the Colorado State Library's Library Research Service; she died in a mountain-climbing crash on October 12, 1996. He has a Jewish great-grandparent, but was unaware of it until the mid-2000s. He does not identify himself Jewish due to his religious upbringing and a lack of information about his distant Jewish roots until adulthood.

Boucher had an interest in international politics as a youth, which had been nourished by his parents. One of his earliest memories was of the assassination of John F. Kennedy by an avid news watcher. Boucher first discovered rock music in 1965 when his parents mistakenly tuned in to a rock radio station. As a youth, his high school guidance counselor told him not to spend his adolescence planning to be a dental hygienist.

He began his career in music in 1981 as a roadie for the punk rock band The Ravers (who later changed their name to The Nails), and then joined John Greenway in a band called The Healers. The Healers became well-known in the local area for their largely improved lyrics and avant garde music. He began attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the fall of that year.

Personal life

Shesa Soder, a.k.a., was married by Biafra. On October 31, 1981, Ninotchka, lead singer of San Francisco's punk band the Situations, died. The wedding was hosted by Flipper vocalist/bassist Bruce Loose, who became a Universal Life Church minister specifically to address the event, which took place in a graveyard. The wedding reception was held at the Hilton, Black Flag, and D.O.A. At director Joe Rees' Target Video Studios, a party was held. In 1986, the couple was married. Biafra does not generally discuss his personal life. He lives in San Francisco, California.

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Musical career

Biafra responded to an advertisement placed in a bookstore by guitarist East Bay Ray, stating, "guitarist wants to form a punk band" and joining the Dead Kennedys together in June 1978. He began performing with the band under the stage name Occupant, but soon started using his new stage name, a mash-up of Jell-O and the short-lived African nation Biafra. Biafra wrote the band's songs. Despite their serious subject matter, the lyrics were mainly political in character, with a sardonic, often absurd, sense of humor. The Dead Kennedys were one of the first punk bands to write politically themed songs in the tradition of UK anarcho-punk bands like Crass and Subhumans. Biafra's lyrics helped popularize the use of humular lyrics in punk and other forms of hard-core music. Joey Ramone is cited as the source for his humor in his songs (as well as being the musician who made him interested in punk rock), but not in Ramones songs like "Beat on the Brat" and "Now I Want a Sniff Some Glue" are among them.

Biafra first attempted to write music on guitar, but Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Flouride suggested that Biafra simply sang the parts he imagined to the group due to his lack of expertise on the instrument and his own admission of being "a fumbler with my hands." Biafra turned his riffs and melodies into a tape recorder, which he brought to the band's rehearsal and/or recording sessions. When the other members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra over royalties and publishing rights, it became a problem. Biafra is not a conventionally talented musician, including his own, though he and his collaborators (Joey Shithead of D.O.A.) are far from perfect. Punk-oriented commentators and fans, in particular, claim that he is a natural composer and that his work, especially with the Dead Kennedys, is highly admired by punk-oriented commentators and followers.

"California over everything" was Biafra's first hit song by the Dead Kennedys. The song, which spoofed California governor Jerry Brown, was the first of the group and Biafra's many political recordings. The song's success led to it being covered by other artists, including The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (who rewrote the lyrics to parody Pete Wilson), John Linnell of They Might Be Giants and Six Feet Under on their Graveyard Classics album of cover versions. The Dead Kennedys scored their second and biggest success with "Holiday in Cambodia" from their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, which was not long after. This album has been described as "probably the most popular single of the American hardcore scene," according to AllMusic, Biafra's favorite Dead Kennedy's song is "possibly the most popular single of the American hardcore scene." "Kill the Poor" (about possible abuse of the then-new neutron bomb) and a satirical cover of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" were minor hits from the album.

In 1981, the Dead Kennedys caused some controversies around the single "Too Drunk to Fuck." The song became a hit in the United Kingdom, and the BBC feared that it would be a big enough hit to crack the top 30 hits on the national charts, requiring a mention on Top of the Pops. However, the single soared to number 31 in the charts.

Later albums featured hit songs, but with less success than the earlier ones. The EP "In God We Trust, Inc." featured the song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off." A rewritten version of "California over Everything" about Ronald Reagan, as well as "We Have A Bigger Issue Now." Vic Bondi, a Punk musician and scholar, believes that the former album "defined the lyrical agenda of a lot of hardcore music and portrayed the punk's break." Frankenchrist, the band's most popular record, also included "MTV Get Off the Air," which accused MTV of promoting poor quality music and sedating the public. Penis Landscape, a controversial photograph by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, was included in the album.

The Dead Kennedys toured extensively throughout their career, beginning in the late 1970s. They began playing at Mabuhay Gardens (their home base) and other Bay Area venues, later expanding to performances in southern Californian clubs (most notably the Whisky a Go Go Go), but eventually moved to national clubs, including CBGB in New York. They returned to bigger audiences later, including at the 1980 Bay Area Music Awards (where they appeared on "Pull My Strings" for the first time), and they headlined the 1983 Rock Against Reagan festival.

Punk rock fans who believed Biafra was a "sell out" at Berkeley's 924 Gilman Street club on May 7, 1994, a "sell out" attack. Biafra says he was attacked by a man named Cretin, who collided with him while moshing. Biafra's leg was injured in the crash, causing an altercation between the two guys. Cretin yelled "Sell out rock star, kick him," and threatening to pull out his hair during the dispute, but Biafra was knocked to the ground by five or six people of Cretin. Biafra was later hospitalized due to serious illness. Biafra's plans for both a Canadian spoken-word tour and an accompanying album were put on hold, and Pure Chewing Satisfaction's production was halted due to the attack. However, Biafra returned to the Gilman club a few months after the incident, which culminated in a spoken-word performance as an act of mutual understanding with the club.

Biafra has been a central figure in the Californian punk scene and was one of the third generation of the San Francisco punk community. Many late hardcore bands have cited the Dead Kennedys as a major influence. Biafra, according to hardcore's "true king," who was a "strong presence with a burgeoning subculture [and] an inspiration [who] might also be a real prick [performer].

Biafra's latest songs were recorded with other bands, but he only released spoken word albums as solo projects after the Dead Kennedys disbanded, and he didn't return them. These collaborations were less well known than Biafra's earlier work. However, his song "That's Progress" was originally recorded with D.O.A. When it appeared on the album Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1, the Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors attracted a lot of attention. 1.

In April 1986, police officers raided Biafra's house in response to PMRC's allegations (PMRC). Biafra was arrested in Los Angeles in June 1986 for providing "harmful information to minors" in the Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist. The controversy, on the other hand, was not about the album's music nor the lyrics, but rather the design of the H. R. Giger poster Landscape XX (Penis Landscape) included with the album.

Biafra and Alternative Tentacles may have been harmed, according to music blogger Reebee Garofalo, because the organization was a "small, self-managed, and self-funded business that may not be able to afford a protracted court fight." Biafra, Dirk Dirksen, and Suzanne Stefanac founded the No More Censorship Defense Fund, a charity that supports several punk rock bands, to pay for his legal fees, which neither he nor his record label could afford. The jury settled 5 to 7 in favor of acquittal, resulting in a mistrial; despite a motion to reopen the trial, the judge dismissed all charges. The Dead Kennedys disbanded during the trial in December 1986 due to rising legal expenses; in the aftermath of their disbandment, Biafra maintained his spoken word performances.

In the 1988 film Tapeheads, Biafra appears in a cameo role. Tim Robbins and John Cusack play a detective who detains the two protagonists (played by Tim Robbins and John Cusack). When arresting them, they begin to wonder, "Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?" The obscenity lawsuit was lampooning.

Biafra appeared on "Episode 285: Know Your Enemy" in the United States radio show This American Life, which featured a phone call between Jello Biafra and Michael Guarino, the prosecutor in the Frankenchrist trial on March 25, 2005.

In October 1998, three former members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra for a lack of royalties. Biafra, the administrator of Alternative Tentacles, pleaded guilty of an accounting blunder spanning more than a decade, according to the other members of Dead Kennedys. Biafra knowingly concealed the details until a whistleblower at the record label alerted the band rather than informing his bandmates of this blunder, according to the lawsuit.

The suit resulted from his refusal to allow one of the band's most well-known singles, "Holiday in Cambodia," to be used in a commercial for Levi's Dockers, according to Biafra; Biafra says Levi's are opposed to Levi's because of their belief that they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labour. Biafra denied that they had never denied them royalties, and that he had not even been granted royal rights for re-releases of their albums or "posthumous" live albums that had been granted to other labels by the Decay Music partnership. Decay Music denied the charges and have written to his legal name Eric Boucher, who has stated what they suspect to be his cashed royalty checks. Biafra also protested about the songwriting credits on new reissues and archived live albums of songs, alleging that he was the sole performer of songs that were incorrectly attributed to the entire band.

A jury held Biafra and Alternative Tentacles accountable for failing to alert his former colleagues of the accounting mistake and instead withholding the details during subsequent discussions and contractual talks. Biafra was fined $200,000, including $20,000 in punitive damages. The California Court of Appeals upheld all the terms of the 2000 decision against Biafra and Alternative Tentacles following an appeal by Biafra's attorneys in June 2003. In addition, the plaintiffs were granted the right to the majority of Dead Kennedy's works, which represented approximately half of the Alternative Tentacles' sales. Biafra's former bandmates went on tour with a new lead vocalist, now in possession of the Dead Kennedys' name.

Biafra collaborated with musicians Christian Lunch and Adrian Borland (of The Sound) and Morgan Fisher (of Mott the Hoople) in the early 1980s to produce one self-titled EP in its lifetime.

Lard was formed in 1988 by Biafra, with Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker of the band Ministry, and Jeff Ward. Biafra provided vocals and lyrics for the band's new side project for Ministry. According to a new Lard album, which is being shot in Jourgensen's El Paso studio, he and Biafra are working on a new Lard album. In 2021, Jourgensen reported that Biafra was designing a new Lard album. Biafra performed a song for the film's soundtrack while on tour in 1989 with D.O.A. as a result, Biafra worked with D.O.A. Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors is on display on the album Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors. Biafra appeared on Nomeansno's soundtrack, which culminated in their collaboration on the album The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy the following year. "Biotech is Godzilla" is also known as the song on Sepultura's 1993 album Chaos A.D., as Biafra.

Biafra and other members of the anti-globalization movement protested in 1999 in Seattle. He formed the No WTO Combo, a short-lived band formed to help raise the movement's cause along with other well-known West Coast musicians. The band had been supposed to perform at the marches, but the show was postponed due to riots. The band and the hip hop band Spearhead appeared at the Showbox in downtown Seattle the following night (outside of the designated area). Live from the Battle in Seattle, No WTO Combo later released a CD of recordings from the show, titled Live from the Battle.

Biafra appeared with The Melvins under the stage name "Jello Biafra and the Melvins" as late 2005, although fans often refer to them as "the Jelvins." They have performed two albums together and worked on some of the material for a new joint release, much of which was premiered live at two concerts at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, marking Biafra's 50th birthday, the founding of the Dead Kennedys, and the beginning of legalized same-sex marriage in California. Biafra was also performing with Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, which included Ralph Spight of Victims Family on guitar and Billy Gould of Faith No More on bass. This group made their debut at Biafra Five-O.

Biafra appeared in a one-star Southern musician set, including members from Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock, Mojo Nixon, and Down, "Jello Biafra and the New Orleans Raunch & Soul All Stars" who performed an array of classic Soul covers to a packed house at the 12-Bar in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2011. He will then reunite with many of the same artists during the Carnival season 2014 to revisit many of these classics in Siberia, New Orleans. In 2015, a live album from Jindal's Splinters' 2011 appearance, Walk on Jindal's Splinters, and Fannie May/Just a Little Bit were released.

Biafra co-founded Alternative Tentacles, the Dead Kennedys' first album, "California over Everything," in June 1979. The label was created to enable the band to perform without having to cope with pressure from major labels to change their music, but major labels were reluctant to sign the band due to the group's being too controversial. Cherry Red's first album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables was released in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as later pressings of Fresh Fruit on Alternative Tentacles. Biafra has been the company's chairman since the band's break-up, although he does not receive a salary for his work; Biafra has described his position as "absentee thoughtlord" in the company's archives; the exception being live albums that were not released after the band's break-up.

Biafra is an avid collector of unusual vinyl records of all sorts, from 1950s to 1960s ethno-pop recordings by Les Baxter and Esquivel to vanity presses that have circulated regionally to German crooner Heino (for whom he will later appear in the film Heino: Made in Germany); he cites his ever-growing collection as one of his finest musical influences. He gave an interview to RE/Search Publications in 1993 for their second Incredibly Strange Music book, mainly focusing on these songs, and later participated in a two-part series of Fuse TV's program Crate Diggers on the same topic. Wesley Willis, a prolific (and schizophrenic) singer/songwriter/artist who signed to Alternative Tentacles in 1994, long before Willis' major label contract with American Recordings, who was often thought of as outsider music. Biafra's collection grew so much that on October 1, 2005, he donated a part of his collection to an annual yard auction hosted by Alternative Tentacles and held at their Emeryville, California warehouse.

Biafra co-hosting The Alternative Tentacles Batcast, a downloadable podcast hosted by alternativetentacles.com, in 2006. The show mainly focuses on interviews with musicians and bands that have joined the Alternative Tentacles brand, but there are also episodes where Biafra devoted the show to answering fan inquiries.

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