Jello Biafra

Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), better known by the stage name Jello Biafra, is an American punk rock musician and political activist best known as the former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys. In the wake of the band's disbandment, he has become a solo musician and spoken word artist. In his political life, he is an active member of the Green Party and has participated in activism relating to his progressive political beliefs. He is a self-proclaimed anarchist (though not a promoter of anarchy), and advocates civil disobedience and pranksterism in the name of political change. Biafra himself has been known to use absurdist media tactics in the tradition of the Yippies to highlight issues of civil rights, social justice, and anti-corporatism.

Biography

Early years and the Dead Kennedys

Biafra was born in Boulder, Colorado, USA to parents Stanley and Virginia Boucher. Biafra developed an interest in international politics early on, which his parents encouraged him to learn more about. As a child, he would avidly watch the news. One of his earliest memories of his childhood is of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Biafra claims he has been a fan of rock music since first hearing it in 1965, when his parents accidentally tuned in to a rock radio station. During the 1970s, he became involved in activism in reaction to several events of the era including the Vietnam War, the Chicago 7 trial, and the Kent State shootings.{{ref|altten}}

Related Topics:
Boulder, Colorado - USA - John F. Kennedy assassination - 1965 - 1970s - Vietnam War - Chicago 7 - Kent State shootings

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He began his career in music in January of 1977 as a roadie for the punk rock band The Ravers (who would later change their name to The Nails). In the fall of that year, he went on to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. He spent one quarter of the year studying acting and the history of Paraguay before leaving to become involved in San Francisco, California's punk scene. In July of 1978 he responded to an ad put out by East Bay Ray and together they formed the Dead Kennedys. He began performing with the band under the stage name Occupant, but shortly after began using his current stage name. Biafra wrote the band's lyrics, most of which were political in nature and displayed a sardonic, sometimes absurdist, sense of humor despite their serious subject matter. In June of 1979, Biafra formed the record label Alternative Tentacles with which the Dead Kennedys released their first single, "California Uber Alles". The label was created to allow the band to release albums without having to deal with pressure from major labels to change their music (although the major labels were not willing to sign the band due to their songs being deemed too controversial).{{ref|huey}} All later albums by the band would be released on Alternative Tentacles (with the exception of live albums released after the band's break-up, which were compiled from recordings in the band partnership's vaults, but without Biafra's input or endorsement).

Related Topics:
1977 - Roadie - The Nails - Fall - University of California, Santa Cruz - Paraguay - San Francisco, California - 1978 - East Bay Ray - 1979 - Record label - Alternative Tentacles - California Uber Alles

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In the fall of 1979, he ran for mayor of San Francisco as a prank, using the Jello ad campaign catchphrase, "There's always room for Jello", as his campaign slogan. Having entered the race before creating a campaign platform, Biafra later wrote his platform on a napkin while attending a Pere Ubu concert. As he campaigned, Biafra wore campaign t-shirts from his opponent Quentin Kopp's previous campaign and at one point vacuumed leaves off the front lawn of another opponent, current U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Supporters committed equally odd actions; two well known signs held by supporters said "If he doesn't win I'll kill myself" and "What if he does win?" His platform included unconventional points such as forcing businessmen to wear clown suits and a citywide ban on cars (although the latter point was not considered abnormal by many voters at the time, as the city was suffering from serious pollution problems).{{ref|huey}} Biafra has expressed irritation that these parts of his platform attained such notoriety, preferring instead to be remembered for serious proposals such as legalizing squatting in vacant, tax-delinquent buildings and voting for police who patrol the city's neighborhoods.{{ref|rfm}} He finished fourth out of a field of ten, garnering 3.5% of the vote (6,591 votes); the election was resolved in a runoff that did not involve him (Feinstein was declared the winner). In reaction to his campaign (and that of Sister Boom Boom, a drag queen who also ran for mayor), San Francisco passed a resolution stating that no candidate could run under any name other than their given name.

Related Topics:
1979 - Mayor - Ad campaign - Pere Ubu - Quentin Kopp - Dianne Feinstein - Platform - Squatting - Runoff - Given name

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Biafra was married on October 31, 1981 to Therese Soder, aka Ninotchka, lead singer of San Francisco-area punk band The Situations (she can be heard singing background vocals on "Forest Fire" and "Winnebago Warrior" from the Dead Kennedys' album Plastic Surgery Disasters, and playing synthesiser on "Drug Me" from the Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables). Their wedding was conducted by Flipper vocalist/bassist Bruce Loose (who had paid to join the Universal Life Church as a minister just to conduct the ceremony) in a graveyard, while the wedding reception, which was attended by members of Flipper, Black Flag, and D.O.A., was held at director Joe Reis' Target Video studios. The marriage ended in 1986 (during the time of the Frankenchrist trial; see the end of this section) when Soder ran off with then-houseguest and ex-Feederz vocalist Frank Discussion.

Related Topics:
October 31 - 1981 - Therese Soder - The Situations - Plastic Surgery Disasters - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables - Flipper - Bruce Loose - Universal Life Church - Black Flag - D.O.A. - Joe Reis - Target Video - 1986 - Feederz - Frank Discussion

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Biafra became a spoken word artist in January 1986, starting with a performance at University of California, Los Angeles. In his performance he combined his sense of humor with his political beliefs, much in the same way that he did with the lyrics to his songs. Biafra has held this career since, but did not begin recording spoken word records until after the disbandment of the Dead Kennedys.

Related Topics:
1986 - University of California, Los Angeles

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In April of the same year, police officers raided his house in response to complaints by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), an organization founded by Tipper Gore. In June of 1986, Biafra was brought to trial in Los Angeles for distributing "harmful matter" in the Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist.{{ref|trial}} In actuality, the item in dispute was neither the music nor the lyrics from the album, but rather a print of a poster included with the album, Landscape #XX (also known as Penis Landscape), by Swiss surreal artist H. R. Giger. Biafra believes the trial was politically motivated; it was often reported that the PMRC took Biafra to court as a cost effective way of sending a message out to other musicians who have "offensive" content in their music. Allegedly a family claimed that the poster harmed their children. How this alleged harm was discovered and the authorities' decision to press charges were disallowed by the judge. Facing the possible sentence of a year in jail and a $2000 fine, Biafra founded the No More Censorship Defense Fund, a benefit made up of several punk rock bands, to help pay for his legal fees, which neither he nor his record label could afford. The jury deadlocked 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal, prompting a mistrial; despite a district attorney motion to re-try the case, the judge ordered all charges dropped. The Dead Kennedys disbanded during the trial; in the wake of their disbandment, Biafra made a career of his spoken word performances. His early spoken word albums would focus heavily on the trial (especially in High Priest of Harmful Matter), which made him renowned for his anti-censorship stance.

Related Topics:
Parents Music Resource Center - Tipper Gore - Frankenchrist - Penis Landscape - Swiss - Surreal - H. R. Giger - Acquittal - Mistrial - District attorney - Motion - Censorship

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After the disbandment of the Dead Kennedys

In 1988, Biafra and Alain Jourgensen of the band Ministry formed the band Lard. The band became a side project for the members of Ministry, with Biafra providing vocals. In the same year, Biafra was given a cameo in the movie Tapeheads. While working on the film Terminal City Ricochet in 1989, Biafra did a song for the film's soundtrack with D.O.A. As a result, Biafra worked together with D.O.A. on the album Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors. Biafra also worked with Nomeansno on the soundtrack, which lead to their collaboration on the album The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy the following year. In 1991, he played an American border guard in the Canadian film Highway 61.

Related Topics:
1988 - Alain Jourgensen - Ministry - Lard - Cameo - Tapeheads - 1989 - Nomeansno - 1991 - Highway 61

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In May of 1994, Biafra was attacked at the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California by skinheads who believed he was a sell out. Biafra was hospitalized with both his legs broken from the attack.{{ref|huey}}

Related Topics:
1994 - 924 Gilman Street - Berkeley, California - Skinhead - Sell out

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In October of 1998, Biafra was sued by former members of the Dead Kennedys for not allowing them to use the band's songs in advertising. According to Biafra, the suit was a result of his refusal to allow the band's most famous single, "Holiday in Cambodia", to be used in a commercial for Levi's Dockers; Biafra opposed Levi's due to his belief that they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labor. The three former members claim that their motive was not strictly about advertising, but also because Biafra denied them royalties and failed to promote their albums. Biafra maintains that he did not deny them royalties, and in addition, he claims that he is not receiving any royalties on the rereleases of their albums or "posthumous" live albums licensed to other labels by the Decay Music partnership. He has also called foul on the misrepresentation of the songwriting credits of the new reissues and archival live albums, which miscredit songs whose music was composed wholly by Biafra to the entire band (in contradition with existing information on BMI's online database). Band members other than Biafra reunited under the name of "DK Kennedys", replacing Biafra with Brandon Cruz. Many fans have met the new band with criticism due to the lack of Biafra.

Related Topics:
1998 - Holiday in Cambodia - Levi's - Sweatshop - BMI - Brandon Cruz

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In 1999, Biafra along with other members of the anti-globalization movement protested the WTO Meeting of 1999 in Seattle. Along with other famous musicians from the west coast, he formed the short-lived band the No WTO Combo to help promote the movement's cause. The band was originally scheduled to play during the protest, but the performance was canceled due to riots.

Related Topics:
1999 - Anti-globalization - WTO Meeting of 1999 - Seattle - No WTO Combo

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In 2000, Biafra was drafted as a candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination, and a few supporters were elected to the party's nominating convention in Denver, Colorado. Despite the positive reception of his address to the convention, Ralph Nader was overwhelmingly chosen as the party's candidate. Biafra, along with a camera crew, would then go on to report for the Independent Media Center at the Republican and Democratic conventions. Biafra detailed these events in his album Become The Media, which has resulted in him being credited with coining the slogan "Don't hate the media, become the media". Indymedia and related alternative media often use this line, or the now more apt "Don't hate the media, be the media."

Related Topics:
2000 - Presidential - Convention - Denver, Colorado - Ralph Nader - Independent Media Center

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Also in 2000, Biafra was the keynote speaker at the H2K hacker conference. Though Biafra had never used a computer in his life, he was seen by attendants as being capable of drawing insightful connections between hacking and activism.{{ref|h2k}} He has also spoken at the 2002 and 2004 conferences, and audio of these speeches are freely available online for download.

Related Topics:
H2K - Download

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In April of 2001, Biafra took part in a protest against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas conference in Quebec. In 2002, he appeared on-screen in the film Bikini Bandits, alongside other musicians such as Maynard James Keenan of Tool, and Dee Dee Ramone of The Ramones.

Related Topics:
2001 - Quebec - 2002 - Maynard James Keenan - Tool - Dee Dee Ramone - The Ramones

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In 2005, Biafra appeared as a guest vocalist on the Napalm Death album The Code Is Red... Long Live The Code on the song "The Great and the Good".

Related Topics:
2005 - Napalm Death

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