Jello Biafra - Biography
Everything is better with Jello, or at least that's what they say in San Francisco, the adopted hometown of former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra. Back in 1979, a small percentage of the city's population voted for the notoriously opinionated Biafra when he ran for mayor with the catch phrase “There's always room for Jello.” In addition to his mayoral run and tenure with the Dead Kennedys, Biafra is known for the work he has done for freedom of speech. In the 1980s, when rock's rights were compromised and a government committee threatened to selectively silence the music, Biafra was key among those who stepped up to help keep it free.
Jello Biafra was born Eric Boucher on June 17, 1958 to a social worker dad and a librarian mother in Boulder, Colorado. It's safe to say the Bouchers were a free-thinking family and they encouraged their young son's interest in leftwing political activism. As a child of the tumultuous late '60s and early '70s, Boucher's interest in politics was sparked by the Vietnam War, Kent State massacre, and environmental problems in his immediate area. Most notably, the Chicago Seven trial captured his imagination and he remains an enthusiastic follower of the Yippies and their brand of pranksterism/activism. Around that same time, famine in Biafra due to sanctions on its food supply left a deep impression on Boucher.
By 1977, the year that shook rock music, the graffiti was on the wall; Boucher saw The Ramones and his future as a punk rock agitator was sealed. He became a roadie for local punk band The Ravers, who would later become The Nails and score a massive hit in 1982 with their single “88 Lines about 44 Women.” Later in 1977, Boucher left Colorado for California to attend University of California at Santa Cruz where he studied acting and the history of Paraguay. Hearing the call of the wild in nearby San Francisco, he left school almost immediately and dove into the city’s budding punk rock scene.
Centered around a Filipino supper club called Mabuhay Gardens, the early punk scene impressed Biafra, as did its “stars” the Avengers, the Dils, and the Zeros. Not content to sit it out on the sidelines, the born politico/performer formed his own band and controversially named them the Dead Kennedys (and himself Jello Biafra). With Klaus Flouride on Bass, East Bay Ray on guitar, and Ted on drums, they debuted at the Mabuhay Gardens on July 19, 1978. The DKs quickly joined the company of the aforementioned and now legendary San Francisco punk bands. Their first single, “California Uber Alles,” was released in 1979, just one year after their live debut, on the band's own label, Alternative Tentacles. They added 6025 on as a second guitarist and commenced an East Coast tour.
In 1979, Biafra launched an historic mayoral run in San Francisco. His platform suggested that businessmen wear clown suits as well as the more practical banning of cars from the city's center. Biafra never again ran for office in San Francisco, although he did finish fourth out of ten prospective candidates and a run-off election was required. Consequently, all future elections required candidates to run under their legal names.
In 1980, the DK single “Holiday in Cambodia” and debut full-length album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980 Alternative Tentacles) took the worldwide punk underground by storm. Hardcore punk was now a phenomenon in the U.S. and in Europe, and Biafra and the DKs helped to introduce its energy throughout the Western world. During the following year, the band added D. H. Peligro, and then released the ep In God We Trust, Inc. (1981 Alternative Tentacles) and the single “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” which were recorded in reaction to the religious right and the hateful, swastika-wearing element that had begun to infect the punk scene. Thanks to the DKs and a righteous bunch of loud, fast, and furious bands (many of them signed to AT), hardcore continued to gain an audience.
Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982 Alternative Tentacles) was released in 1982 and the band spent the following three years appearing in places as diverse as the Capitol Mall in Washington for the Rock Against Reagan concert and the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in 1984. The next year brought forth the band's most notable album of all, Frankenchrist (1985 Alternative Tentacles). The album included a poster of artist H.R. Giger’s “Work 219: Landscape XX,” which depicts nine penises. Allegedly tipped off by the Parents Resource Music Center (PMRC), California deemed the poster obscene and the band was accused of “distributing harmful material to minors.” After a raid on Biafra’s house, the band and others involved in the distribution of the album were charged with violating the California Penal Code. Although the criminal trial resulted in a hung jury, Frankenchrist was banned from many retailers.
The PMRC, founded in 1985, took a particular dislike to Biafra. Alongside Frank Zappa and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Biafra spoke in favor of rock's right to protection under the First Amendment, establishing him as an outspoken face to the cause of free speech.
1986 marked a turning point in Biafra's career. The DKs decided to call it quits and Biafra began to experiment with the spoken word form. Right about the time the band released its final album, Bedtime for Democracy (1986 Alternative Tentacles), Biafra went solo with No More Cocoons (1987 Alternative Tentacles), his first spoken word album. In 1987, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987 Alternative Tentacles) — essentially a DK's greatest hits compilation — was released. The album was certified gold in 2007.
Biafra detailed the obscenity trial on High Priest of Harmful Matter (1988 Alternative Tentacles) in 1988. That year he also collaborated with Ministry madman Al Jourgensen under the name Lard for The Power of Lard ep (1988 Alternative Tentacles). Lard followed with two full-length albums, The Last Temptation of Reid (1990 Alternative Tentacles) and Pure Chewing Satisfaction (1997 Alternative Tentacles).
1991’s I Blow Minds for a Living (1991 Alternative Tentacles) is Biafra's third spoken word album. He also marked the year by having his genitals cast by famous far-out artist and scenester Cynthia Plaster Caster, who is best known for immortalizing Jimi Hendrix's penis, among others, in dental plaster.
Biafra's next spoken venture, 1994’s Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police (1994 Alternative Tentacles), centers around a general distrust and dislike of the first President Bush. Later that year, Biafra was attacked by a punk kid at 924 Gilman Street, the venue that serves as the center of Berkeley, California’s DIY punk scene. The attack left Biafra with serious injuries and the puzzling insult of being attacked in a scene he helped to create.
If Evolution is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve (1998 Alternative Tentacles), Biafra's fifth word-driven album, was released before he was sidelined by matters pertaining to a protracted lawsuit instigated by his former fellow bandmates disputing Dead Kennedys’ royalties. They charged that Biafra blocked the use of “Holiday in Cambodia” in a Levi's commercial. Biafra claimed that the lawsuit was an opportunistic and vengeful act on the part of the band members, who were intent on destroying the Alternative Tentacles label. As trial proceedings began in 2000, Biafra was nominated as a Green Party presidential candidate. He lost the nomination to Ralph Nader but remained involved in Green Party Politics, campaigning for Nader in 2004 and 2008.
Biafra continues to own and operate Alternative Tentacles, and is committed to delivering all kinds of music and material relevant to the underground nation. He also remains involved in performance, collaboration, and spoken word recording. On In the Grip of Official Treason (2006 Alternative Tentacles), he has his say on hot button topics like FEMA and Guantanamo. Whenever there is a need for a talking head on the subject of San Francisco Punk, hardcore punk, punk and politics, or anything at all, Biafra is there. Not surprisingly, he is a top interview choice among documentary filmmakers everywhere. He has appeared in the films Punk: Attitude (2004) and We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen (2005), just to name two punk films of note. He has also appeared in several films as an actor. Turns out those UC Santa Cruz acting courses came in handy after all!