Ep. #109: Jello Biafra - Kreative Kontrol Skip to the content Search Kreative Kontrol Vish Khanna on music, culture, and more Menu about the podcast Episodes/Guest List Patreon ExKlusives about vk Mich Vish Interracial Morning Show! 2005 Episodes/Interviews 2006 Episodes/Interviews 2007 Episodes/Interviews 2008 Episodes/Interviews 2009 Episodes/Interviews 2010 Episodes/Interviews Discography freelance journalism Signal to Noise Pieces Search Search for: Close search Close Menu about the podcast Show sub menu Episodes/Guest List Patreon ExKlusives about vk Show sub menu Mich Vish Interracial Morning Show! Show sub menu 2005 Episodes/Interviews 2006 Episodes/Interviews 2007 Episodes/Interviews 2008 Episodes/Interviews 2009 Episodes/Interviews 2010 Episodes/Interviews Discography freelance journalism Show sub menu Signal to Noise Pieces Categories Articles News Ep. #109: Jello Biafra Post author By vish Post date June 13, 2014 Jello Biafra was the lead singer of the influential punk band Dead Kennedys and has since gone on to do significant work as an actor, spoken word artist, and vocalist, as well as being the head honcho at the still busy and prolific record label, Alternative Tentacles. His first band since he left Dead Kennedys is called Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine and their new album is called White People and the Damage Done, which they’re touring behind now, including stops at Call the Office in London, Ontario on June 16 and the Opera House in Toronto on June 17. Here Biafra and I discuss things like why Nardwuar the Human Serviette and I can’t pronounce Biafra, why Jello’s name came up in discussions about the Web Fast-Lane Vote spearheaded by the FCC, Guantanamo Bay and Chelsea Manning, the concept of the new album and how it delves into kleptocracy and retroactive feudalism, greed addicts, maximum wage, why “Shock-U-Py!” shows up at the end of the new album, how Jello engages with Canadian politics and our celebrity crackhead goofs, why people should stop talking about Hillary Clinton two years ahead of the election, thinking locally, why we should stop distracting ourselves, communication, reactivating our bullshit detectors, Jello has never felt alone in his thoughts and pursuits, what first turned him onto music as a kid, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Azuma Kabuki music, garage bands, the Music Machine, the Animals and Eric Burdon, Jello used to be able to sing like Robert Plant, East Bay Ray has the Dead Kennedys master tapes, Jello has nothing to do with Dead Kennedys reissues and they seem to be muting his involvement in the band, Jello is proud of Dead Kennedys and doesn’t think the rest of the band cares about the music, Jello’s theatre background in middle school, Jello can play a mean Scrooge, acting in The Hipster Games and being typecast on Portlandia, how Dead Kennedys came together in San Francisco and the emergence of hardcore, how method acting influenced Jello’s vivid lyricism, his roles in Highway 61 and Terminal City Ricochet, Jello’s very first songs were written for Dead Kennedys, why he never played in some early cover band or something, the early D.O.A. cover band Stone Crazy, how and why the GSM is his first proper band since DKs, the Melvins wanted to avenge Jello, why he quoted the DKs song “Soup is Good Food” in the GSM song “Burgers of Wrath,” where he’s at now with the other Dead Kennedys and what it would take for him to agree to play with them again, playing DKs songs with the GSM, Jello’s getting back into spoken word performance, honouring Ralph Nader, the crippling losses he’s suffered lately, how much the Stooges meant to him, the plight of independent musicians and labels like Alternative Tentacles in the age of file-sharing, AT is doing cool stuff with reissues of records by the Dicks, Voivod, and new releases by young bands like Death Hymn Number 9 and Itchy-O, making stuff is important, why the GSM is not playing Amnesia Rockfest in Quebec this month, scams, the song “Burgers of Wrath,” and then it’s bedtime for bonzo. Related links: alternativetentacles.com vishkhanna.com Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes. http://media.blubrry.com/kreativekontrol/www.vishkhanna.com/podcasts/Kreative_Kontrol_June_13_2014.mp3 Podcast: Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS Liked it? Take a second to support vish on Patreon! Tags Alternative Tentacles, Amnesia Rockfest, Azuma Kabuki, “Burgers of Wrath”, “Shock-U-Py!”, “Soup is Good Food”, Call the Office, D.O.A., Dead Kennedys, Death Hymn Number 9, East Bay Ray, Eric Burdon, Highway 61, Hillary Clinton, Itchy-O, Jello Biafra, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Joan Baez, Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Pete Seeger, Portlandia, Ralph Nader, Robert Plant, Scrooge, Terminal City Ricochet, the Animals, the Dicks, The Hipster Games, the Melvins, the Music Machine, the Opera House, The Stooges, Voivod, Web Fast-Lane Vote, White People and the Damage Done ← Ep. #108: Born Ruffians → Ep. #110: Josh Salter & Matt Peters of Monomyth Search for: Archives Archives Select Month September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 March 2013 December 2012 November 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 Support Kreative Kontrol on Patreon! 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