This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

The No WTO Combo was a one-shot punk rock band started by Krist Novoselic (former Nirvana bassist). The band consisted of Jello Biafra (former frontman of Dead Kennedys); guitartist Kim Thayil of Soundgarden; and the rhythm section of Sweet 75, with Gina Mainwal on drums and Novoselic on bass.

They were originally scheduled to play the Showbox November 30, the night before the WTO meeting of 1999 in Seattle, but the performance was canceled because the venue's staff could not get past the police "curfew zone".

They rescheduled the show for the next night, December 1, but Biafra and Novoselic played a short acoustic set that night down the street at The Central Tavern, where Biafra was approached by local record producer Mark Cavener. Cavener offered to record the album at the Showbox the next evening. The performance itself would be the first formal concert played by Thayil since the demise of Soundgarden a few years beforehand, and only the second time Biafra had played music in a planned live setting since the Dead Kennedys split in 1986.^[1]

Novoselic later asked Jack Endino to mix the recordings, resulting in the bands' only release, Live from the Battle in Seattle, distributed by Biafra's record label Alternative Tentacles.

Band members[link]

• Jello Biafra – vocals
• Kim Thayil – guitar
• Krist Novoselic – bass
• Gina Mainwal – drums

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Official Soundtrack of the Cardboard Turtle Insurrection

This article on a United States punk rock band is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra at Fusion Festival 2010
Background information
Birth name	Eric Reed Boucher
Also known as	Occupant, Count Ringworm, Osama McDonald
Born	(1958-06-17) June 17, 1958 (age 54) Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Genres	Punk rock, spoken word
Occupations	Musician, speaker, record label director, Green Party politician
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Alternative Tentacles
Associated acts	Dead Kennedys, The Melvins, No WTO Combo, D.O.A., Lard, Al Jourgensen, Ministry, Pennywise, The Offspring, Pansy Division, Leftöver Crack, Nomeansno, Sepultura, Tool, Revolting Cocks, Napalm Death, Brujeria, Mojo Nixon, 1000 Homo DJs, Métal Urbain, Body Count, Tumor Circus, Butthole Surfers, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine
Website	AlternativeTentacles.com Alternative Tentacles myspace

Jello Biafra (born Eric Reed Boucher; June 17, 1958, Boulder, Colorado) is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. After he left the band, he took over the influential independent record label Alternative Tentacles, which he had co-founded in 1979 with Dead Kennedys bandmate East Bay Ray. Although now focused primarily on spoken word, he has continued as a musician in numerous collaborations.

Politically, Biafra is a member of the Green Party of the United States^[1] and actively supports various political causes. He ran for the party's Presidential nomination in 2000, finishing second to Ralph Nader.^[2] He is a staunch believer in free society, which is not to be confused with libertarianism or voluntary society (voluntaryism), who utilizes shock value and^[1] advocates direct action and pranksterism in the name of political causes. Biafra is known to use absurdist media tactics, in the leftist tradition of the Yippies, to highlight issues of civil rights and social justice.

Early life[link]

Eric Boucher was born in Boulder, Colorado, to parents Stanley Boucher, a psychiatric social worker and poet, and Virginia Boucher, a librarian, who worked two cubicles away from Ed Sauer.^{[citation needed]} He also had a sister, Julie J. Boucher, the Associate Director of the Library Research Service at the Colorado State Library (who died in a mountain-climbing accident on October 12, 1996).^[3] As a child, Eric Boucher developed an interest in international politics that was encouraged by his parents. An avid news watcher, one of his earliest memories was of the John F. Kennedy assassination.^[4] Biafra says 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.^[5]

He began his career in music in January 1977 as a roadie for the punk rock band The Ravers (who later changed their name to The Nails), soon joining his friend John Greenway in a band called The Healers. The Healers became infamous locally for their mainly improvised lyrics and avant garde music. In the autumn of that year, he began attending the University of California, Santa Cruz.^[6] He studied acting and the history of Paraguay before leaving to become involved in San Francisco, California's punk scene.

Musical career[link]

The Dead Kennedys[link]

In June 1978, he responded to an advertisement placed in a store by guitarist East Bay Ray, stating "Guitarist wants to form punk band",^[7] and together they formed the Dead Kennedys. He began performing with the band under the stage name Occupant,^{[citation needed]} but soon began to use his current stage name, a combination of the brand name Jell-O and the short-lived African state Biafra. 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 the tradition of UK anarcho-punk bands like Crass, the Dead Kennedys were one of the first US punk bands to write politically-themed songs. The lyrics Biafra wrote helped popularize the use of humorous lyrics in hardcore. Biafra cites Joey Ramone as the inspiration for his use of humor in his songs (as well as being the musician who made him interested in punk rock), noting in particular songs by The Ramones such as "Beat on the Brat" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue".^[8]

Biafra initially attempted to compose music on guitar, but his lack of experience on the instrument and his own admission of being "a fumbler with my hands" led Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Flouride to suggest that Biafra simply sing the parts he envisioned to the band.^[9] Biafra sang his riffs and melodies into a tape recorder, which he brought to the band's rehearsal and/or recording sessions. This later became a problem when the other members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra over royalties and publishing rights.^{[clarification needed]} By all accounts, including his own, Biafra is not a conventionally-skilled musician,^[9] though he and his collaborators (Joey Shithead of D.O.A. in particular) attest that he is a skilled composer^[10] and his work, particularly with the Dead Kennedys, is highly respected by punk-oriented critics and fans.

	Holiday in Cambodia noicon "Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys from Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Jello Biafra with the Dead Kennedys

Biafra's first popular song was the first single by the Dead Kennedys, "California Über Alles". The song, which spoofed California governor Jerry Brown, was the first of many political songs by the group and Biafra. The song's popularity resulted in its being covered by other musicians, such as 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. Not long after, the Dead Kennedys had a second and bigger hit with "Holiday in Cambodia" from their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Allmusic cites this song as "possibly the most successful single of the American hardcore scene"^[11] and Biafra counts it as his personal favorite Dead Kennedys song.^[12] Minor hits from the album included "Kill the Poor" (about potential abuse of the then-new neutron bomb) and a satirical cover of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas".

The Dead Kennedys received some controversy in the spring of 1981 over the single "Too Drunk to Fuck". The song became a big hit in Britain, and the BBC feared that it would manage to be a big enough hit to appear among the top 30 songs on the national charts, requiring a mention on Top of the Pops. However, the single peaked at number 31 in the charts.^[5]

Later albums also contained memorable songs, but with less popularity than the earlier ones. The EP In God We Trust, Inc. contained the song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!" as well as "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now", a rewritten version of "California Über Alles" about Ronald Reagan. Punk musician and scholar Vic Bondi considers the latter song to be the song that "defined the lyrical agenda of much of hardcore music, and represented its break with punk".^[13] The band's most controversial album, Frankenchrist, brought with it the song "MTV Get Off the Air", which accused MTV of promoting poor quality music and sedating the public. The album also contained a controversial poster by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger entitled Penis Landscape.

The Dead Kennedys toured widely during their career, starting in the late 1970s. They began playing mostly at southern Californian clubs (most notably the Whisky a Go Go), but eventually they moved to major clubs across the country, including CBGB in New York. Later, they played to larger audiences such as at the 1980 Bay Area Music Awards (where they played the notorious "Pull My Strings" for the only time), and headlined the 1983 Rock Against Reagan festival.^[14]

On May 7, 1994, people who believed Biafra was a "sell out" attacked him at the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. Biafra claims that he was attacked by a man nicknamed Cretin, who crashed into him while moshing. The crash injured Biafra's leg, causing an argument between the two men. During the argument, Cretin pushed Biafra to the floor and five or six friends of Cretin assaulted Biafra while he was down, yelling "Sellout rock star, kick him", and attempting to pull out his hair.^[15] Biafra was later hospitalized with serious injuries.^[16] The attack derailed Biafra's plans for both a Canadian spoken-word tour and an accompanying album, and the production of Pure Chewing Satisfaction was halted. However, Biafra returned to the Gilman club a few months after the incident to perform a spoken-word performance as an act of reconciliation with the club.^[17]

Biafra has been a prominent figure of the Californian punk scene and was one of the founding members of the San Francisco hardcore punk community. Many later hardcore bands have cited the Dead Kennedys as a major influence.^[18] Hardcore punk author Steven Blush describes Biafra as hardcore's "biggest star" who was a "powerful presence whose political insurgence and rabid fandom made him the father figure of a burgeoning subculture [and an] inspirational force [who] could also be a real prick... Biafra was a visionary, incendiary [performer]."^[19]

After the Dead Kennedys disbanded, Biafra's new songs were recorded with other bands, and he released only spoken word albums as solo projects. These collaborations had less popularity than Biafra's earlier work. However, his song "That's Progress", originally recorded with D.O.A. for the album Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors, received considerable exposure when it appeared on the album Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1.

Obscenity prosecution[link]

In April 1986, police officers raided his house in response to complaints by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).^[20] In June 1986, L.A. deputy city attorney Michael Guarino, working under City Attorney James Hahn, brought Biafra to trial in Los Angeles for distributing "harmful material to minors" in the Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist.^[21] In actuality, the dispute was about neither the music nor the lyrics from the album, but rather the print of the H. R. Giger poster Landscape XX (Penis Landscape) included with the album. 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 with content considered offensive in their music.^[22]

Music author Reebee Garofalo argued that Biafra and Alternative Tentacles may have been targeted because the label was a "small, self-managed and self-supported company that could ill afford a protracted legal battle."^[23] Facing the possible sentence of a year in jail and a $2000 fine, Biafra, Dirk Dirksen, and Suzanne Stefanac 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 5 to 7 in favor of acquittal, prompting a mistrial; despite a motion to re-try the case, the judge ordered all charges dropped.^{[citation needed]} The Dead Kennedys disbanded during the trial, in December 1986, due to the mounting legal costs; in the wake of their disbandment, Biafra made a career of his spoken word performances. His early spoken word albums focused heavily on the trial (especially in High Priest of Harmful Matter), which made him renowned for his anti-censorship stance.

Biafra has a cameo role in the 1988 film Tapeheads. He plays an FBI agent who arrests the two protagonists (played by Tim Robbins and John Cusack). Whilst arresting them his character asks "Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?" lampooning the obscenity prosecution.

On March 25, 2005, Biafra appeared on the U.S. radio program This American Life, "Episode 285: Know Your Enemy", which featured a phone call between Jello Biafra and Michael Guarino, the prosecutor in the Frankenchrist trial. The episode was about Guarino's change of opinion and the reconciliation between Guarino and Biafra.

Lawsuit by former band members and reunion activities[link]

In October 1998, former members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra for nonpayment of royalties. According to Biafra, 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; Biafra opposes Levi's because he believes that they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labor.^[24] The three former members claimed that their motive had nothing to do with advertising, and that they had filed suit because Biafra had denied them royalties and failed to promote their albums. Biafra maintained that he had never denied them royalties, and that he himself had not even received royalties for rereleases of their albums or "posthumous" live albums which had been licensed to other labels by the Decay Music partnership. Decay Music denied this charge and have posted what they say are his cashed royalty checks.^[25] Biafra also complained about the songwriting credits in new reissues and archival live albums of songs that Biafra claims he composed himself to the entire band. In May 2000, a jury found Biafra liable for fraud and malice and ordered him to pay $200,000, including $20,000 in punitive damages, to the band members.^[26] After an appeal by Biafra’s lawyers, in June 2003, the California Court of Appeal unanimously upheld all the conditions of the 2000 verdict against Biafra and Alternative Tentacles.^[27]

The other band members reunited in 2001 without Biafra under the name of "DK Kennedys" (later returning to the original band name), replacing Biafra first with Brandon Cruz, then with Jeff Penalty, and finally with Ron "Skip" Greer. Biafra himself has openly criticized his former bandmates' legal tactics and reunion tours, most notably in the song "Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)", which he performed with The Melvins.

Other bands[link]

In 1988, Biafra, with Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker of the band Ministry, and Jeff Ward, formed Lard. The band became yet another side project for Ministry, with Biafra providing vocals and lyrics. According to a March 2009 interview with Jourgensen, he and Biafra are working on a new Lard album, which is being recorded in Jourgensen's El Paso studio.^[28] 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 with D.O.A. on the album Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors. Biafra also worked with Nomeansno on the soundtrack, which led to their collaboration on the album The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy the following year. Biafra also provided lyrics for the song "Biotech is Godzilla" for Sepultura's 1993 album Chaos A.D..

In 1999, Biafra and other members of the anti-globalization movement protested the WTO Meeting of 1999 in Seattle. Along with other prominent West Coast musicians, 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. The band performed a short set the following night at the Showbox in downtown Seattle (outside the designated area), along with the hiphop group Spearhead. No WTO Combo later released a CD of recordings from the concert, entitled Live from the Battle in Seattle.

As of late 2005, Biafra was performing with the band The Melvins under the name "Jello Biafra and the Melvins", though fans sometimes refer to them as "The Jelvins." Together they have released two albums, and have been working on material for a third collaborative release, much of which was premiered live at two concerts at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco during an event called Biafra Five-O, commemorating Biafra's 50th birthday, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Dead Kennedys, and the beginning of legalized same-sex marriage in California. Biafra is also working with a new band known as Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, which includes Ralph Spight of Victims Family on guitar and Billy Gould of Faith No More on bass. This group debuted during Biafra Five-O.

In 2011, Biafra appeared in a singular concert event with an all-star cast of Southern musicians including members from Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock, Mojo Nixon and Down entitled, "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.^[29]

Alternative Tentacles[link]

In June 1979, Biafra co-founded the record label Alternative Tentacles, with which the Dead Kennedys released their first single, "California Über Alles".^[30] 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).^[31] After dealing with Cherry Red in the UK and IRS Records in the US for their first album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, the band released all later albums (and later pressings of Fresh Fruit) on Alternative Tentacles (with the exception of live albums released after the band's break-up, which the other band members compiled from recordings in the band partnership's vaults without Biafra's input or endorsement)^{[citation needed]}. Biafra has been the owner of the company ever since its founding, though he does not receive a salary for his position (Biafra has referred to his position in the company as "absentee thoughtlord").^[12]

Biafra is an ardent collector of unusual vinyl records of all kinds, from 1950s and 1960s ethno-pop recordings by the likes of Les Baxter and Esquivel to vanity pressings that have circulated regionally, to German crooner Heino; he cites his always growing collection as one of his biggest musical influences. In 1993 he gave an interview to RE/Search Publications for their second Incredibly Strange Music book focusing primarily on these records. His heavy interest in such recordings (often categorized as outsider music) eventually led to his discovery of the prolific (and schizophrenic) singer/songwriter/artist Wesley Willis, whom he signed to Alternative Tentacles in 1994, preceding Willis' major label deal with American Recordings. His collection grew so large that on October 1, 2005, Biafra donated a portion of his collection to an annual yard sale co-promoted by Alternative Tentacles and held at their warehouse in Emeryville, California.^[32]

In 2006, along with Alternative Tentacles employee and The Frisk lead singer Jesse Luscious, Biafra began co-hosting The Alternative Tentacles Batcast, a downloadable podcast hosted by alternativetentacles.com. The show primarily focuses on interviews with artists and bands that are currently signed to the Alternative Tentacles label, although there are also occasional episodes where Biafra devoted the show to answering fan questions.

Spoken word[link]

Biafra in an appearance in Aarau, Switzerland

Biafra first 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 disbanding of the Dead Kennedys.

His ninth spoken word album, In the Grip of Official Treason, was released in October 2006.

Biafra was also featured in the British band Pitchshifter's song As Seen on TV reciting the words of dystopian futuristic radio advertisements.

Politics[link]

Mayoral campaign[link]

In the autumn of 1979, Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco, using the Jell-O 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 where Dead Kennedy's drummer Ted told Biafra, "Biafra, you have such a big mouth that you should run for Mayor." 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, to mock her publicity stunt of sweeping streets in downtown San Francisco for a few hours. He also made a whistlestop campaign tour along the BART line. 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?"^[34]

In San Francisco any individual could legally run for mayor if a petition was signed by 1500 people or pay $1500. Biafra paid $900 and got signatures over time and eventually became a legal candidate, meaning he received statements put in voters pamphlets and equal news coverage.

His platform included unconventional points such as forcing businessmen to wear clown suits within city limits, erecting statues of Dan White (who assassinated Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978) all over town and allowing the parks department to sell eggs and tomatoes with which people could pelt them, hiring out of job workers, due to a tax initiative, to become pan handlers in wealthy neighborhoods (one being where Diannne Feinstein lives), and a citywide ban on cars (although the latter point was not considered completely outlandish by many voters at the time, as the city was suffering from serious pollution).^[31] 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 requiring police officers to keep their jobs by running for election voted by the people of the neighborhoods they patrol.^[34]

He finished fourth out of a field of ten, receiving 3.79% of the vote (6,591 votes); the election ended in a runoff that did not involve him (Feinstein was declared the winner).

Presidential campaign[link]

Biafra discussing politics

In 2000, the New York State Green Party drafted Biafra as a candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination, and a few supporters were elected to the party's nominating convention in Denver, Colorado. Biafra chose death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal as his running mate. Despite the fact that his address to the convention was positively received, the party overwhelmingly chose Ralph Nader as the presidential candidate with 295 of the 319 delegate votes. Biafra finished in a second place tie with Stephen Gaskin; both received 10 votes.

Biafra, along with a camera crew (dubbed by Biafra as "The Camcorder Truth Jihad"), later reported 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 his 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."

Post-2000[link]

After losing the 2000 nomination, Jello became highly active in Ralph Nader's presidential campaign, as well as in 2004 and 2008.

During the 2008 campaign Jello played at rallies^[35] and answered questions for journalists in support of Ralph Nader. After Barack Obama won the general election, Jello wrote an open letter making suggestions on how to run his term as president.^[36]

Boycott of Israel[link]

In the summer of 2011 Jello Biafra and his band were scheduled to play at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv. They came under heavy pressure by the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and finally decided to cancel the gig – after a debate which according to Biafra "deeply tore at the fabric of our band (,,,) This whole controversy has been one of the most intense situations of my life - and I thrive on intense situations". Biafra then decided to travel to Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories, at his own expense, and talk with Israeli and Palestinian activists as well as with fans disappointed at his cancellation. In the article stating his conclusions he wrote: "I will not perform in Israel unless it is a pro-human rights, anti-occupation event that does not violate the spirit of the boycott. Each artist must decide this for themselves. I am staying away for now, but am also really creeped out by the attitudes of some of the boycott hardliners, and hope someday to find a way to contribute something positive here. I will not march or sign on with anyone who is more interested in making threats than making friends.

"I do not regret speaking out. It has been quite a learning experience along the way. I can't very well shut up now. It's as if I've been covered with someone else's chewing gum, and I'll never be able to scrape it all off. As my friend said, "it gets in your blood" - and it has definitely gotten in mine.

I loved Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem was hardly the "dead city" at night that some Tel Aviv hipsters claim it is. I want to go back. I want to play. But I, too, am as sickened as the next person that not all the cool people I met in the West Bank can cross into Israel and enjoy Tel Aviv - or even worship in Jerusalem. That unnecessary checkpoints prevent them from reaching their farms, schools or even hospitals. Forty-four years of brutal occupation has done no more to solve the problem than the United States has accomplished in its War on Drugs. You can't just keep almost four million people in prison." ^[37]

Personal life[link]

Biafra married Therese Soder, aka Ninotchka, lead singer of San Francisco-area punk band The Situations on October 31, 1981.^[38] The wedding was conducted by Flipper vocalist/bassist Bruce Loose, who became a Universal Life Church minister just to conduct the ceremony, which took place in a graveyard.^[39] The wedding reception, which members of Flipper, Black Flag, and D.O.A. attended, was held at director Joe Rees' Target Video studios.^[40] The marriage ended in 1986.

Musical samples[link]

	I Wanna Be A Drug Sniffing Dog noicon "I Wanna Be A Drug Sniffing Dog" by Lard from Pure Chewing Satisfaction Ban Everything noicon "Ban Everything" by Jello Biafra from Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police Yuppie Cadillac noicon "Yuppie Cadillac" by Jello Biafra and the Melvins from Never Breathe What You Can't See Full mp3 file from Alternative Tentacles' website
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Partial discography[link]

For a more complete list, see the Jello Biafra discography.

Dead Kennedys[link]

• 1980 - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
• 1981 - In God We Trust, Inc.
• 1982 - Plastic Surgery Disasters
• 1985 - Frankenchrist
• 1986 - Bedtime for Democracy
• 1987 - Give Me Convenience OR Give Me Death

Spoken word[link]

• 1987 - No More Cocoons
• 1989 - High Priest of Harmful Matter: Tales From the Trial
• 1991 - I Blow Minds for a Living
• 1994 - Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police
• 1998 - If Evolution Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve
• 2000 - Become the Media
• 2002 - The Big Ka-Boom, Pt. 1
• 2002 - Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand
• 2006 - In the Grip of Official Treason

Lard[link]

• 1989 - The Power of Lard
• 1990 - I Am Your Clock
• 1990 - The Last Temptation of Reid
• 1997 - Pure Chewing Satisfaction
• 2000 - 70's Rock Must Die

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine[link]

• 2009 - The Audacity of Hype
• 2011 - Enhanced Methods of Questioning

Collaborations[link]

• 1990 - Supernaut with 1000 Homo DJs - "Hey Asshole" (credited as Count Ringworm)
• 1990 - Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors with D.O.A.
• 1990 - In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up by Ministry (appears on the video release where he recites his own version of the Pledge of Allegiance)
• 1991 - The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy with Nomeansno
• 1991 - Tumor Circus with Steel Pole Bath Tub by Tumor Circus
• 1992 - Body Count with Body Count - "Freedom of Speech"
• 1993 - Chaos A.D. with Sepultura - "Biotech Is Godzilla" (credited on the lyrics)
• 1994 - Prairie Home Invasion with Mojo Nixon
• 1995 - Raza Odiada with Brujeria - "Raza Odiada (Pito Wilson)" (as the voice of Pete Wilson)
• 1997 - Helter Skelter with The D.O.C. - "Secret Plan"
• 1997 - Ixnay on the Hombre with The Offspring - "Disclaimer"
• 1998 - Every Home a Prison with Coldcut
• 2000 - Deviant with Pitchshifter - "As Seen on T.V."
• 2000 - Live from the Battle in Seattle with No WTO Combo
• 2001 - Nation with Sepultura - "Politricks"
• 2004 - Never Breathe What You Can't See with The Melvins (credited on the inner sleeve as Osama McDonald)
• 2005 - The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code with Napalm Death - "The Great and the Good"
• 2005 - Sieg Howdy! with The Melvins (credited on the inner sleeve as J Lo)
• 2005 - 13 Ft. and Rising with Throw Rag - "Children of the Secret State"
• 2005 - Hell's Winter with Cage - "Grand Ol' Party Crash" (credited on the Cage as the voice of George W. Bush)
• 2006 - J'Irai Chier dans Ton Vomi with Métal Urbain
• 2006 - Cocked and Loaded with Revolting Cocks - "Dead End Streets" and "Viagra Culture"
  (credited on the inner sleeve as Jello Biafra as well as all of his former stage names including Occupant, Smegma Pigvomit, Osama McDonald, and J Lo)
• 2006 - Rio Grande Blood with Ministry - "Ass Clown"
• 2007 - Deadline with Leftöver Crack - "Baby-Punchers"
• 2008 - Everybody Make Some Noise! with The A.K.A.s
• 2009 - All Sewn Up: A Tribute to Patrik Fitzgerald with Motorpsycho - "Punch"
• 2009 - That's So Gay with Pansy Division - "Average Men"

Filmography[link]

• 1977 - This Is America, Pt. 2
• 1978 - Massacre at Central High
• 1981 - Urgh! A Music War
• 1983 - Anarchism in America
• 1986 - Lovedolls Superstar, directed by Dave Markey
• 1987 - Household Affairs, directed & filmed by Allen Ginsberg
• 1988 - Tapeheads, directed by Bill Fishman
• 1990 - Terminal City Ricochet
• 1991 - Highway 61, directed by Bruce McDonald
• 1994 - Skulhedface, directed by Melanie Mandl
• 1997 - Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore, directed by Sarah Jacobson
• 1999 - The Widower
• 1999 - Virtue
• 2001 - Plaster Caster
• 2002 - Bikini Bandits, directed by Steve and Peter Grasse
• 2004 - Death and Texas
• 2004 - Punk: Attitude
• 2005 - We Jam Econo: The Story Of The Minutemen
• 2006 - Punk's Not Dead, directed by Susan Dynner
• 2006 - Whose War?, directed by Donald Farmer
• 2007 - American Drug War: The Last White Hope, directed by Kevin Booth
• 2008 - Nerdcore Rising, directed by Negin Farsad
• 2009 - Open Your Mouth And Say Mr.Chi Pig, directed by Sean Patrick Shaul
• 2010 - A Man Within, directed by Yony Leyser

References and footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jello Biafra

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jello Biafra

• Jello Biafra at the Internet Movie Database
• Jello Biafra at AllRovi
• Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Dave Grohl
Grohl, Milton Keynes National Bowl, July 3, 2011
Background information
Birth name	David Eric Grohl
Also known as	Davy Grolton, Dale Nixon, Late! (pseudonym for his solo album Pocketwatch), and Dr. G (as Tenacious D's drummer) .
Born	(1969-01-14) January 14, 1969 (age 43) Warren, Ohio
Genres	Alternative rock, grunge, post-grunge, hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar, bass guitar, piano
Years active	1986–present
Labels	RCA, Capitol, DGC, Dischord
Associated acts	Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Scream, Dain Bramage, Probot, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Tenacious D, The Muppets, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Notable instruments
Gibson SG Custom Gibson DG-335/Trini Lopez[1] Gibson Firebird[2][3] Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi[4]

David Eric "Dave" Grohl (born January 14, 1969)^[5][6] is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and founder of the Foo Fighters, prior to which he was the drummer in the grunge band Nirvana. He is also the drummer and co-founder of the rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. Grohl has additionally written all the music and performed all the instruments for his short-lived side projects Late! and Probot, as well as being involved with Queens of the Stone Age numerous times throughout the past decade. He has performed session work (as a drummer) for a variety of musicians, including Garbage, Killing Joke, Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Slash, Juliette Lewis, Tenacious D, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Lemmy Kilmister.

Early life[link]

As a child, Grohl's family relocated from Warren, Ohio, to Springfield, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Three years later, when Grohl was six, his parents divorced,^[7] and Grohl grew up living with his mother.

At the age of twelve, Grohl began learning to play guitar. He quickly grew tired of lessons and instead taught himself, and began playing in bands with friends.^[5][8] A year later, Grohl and his sister spent the summer in Evanston, Illinois, at their cousin Tracy's house. Tracy introduced them to punk rock by taking the pair to shows by a variety of punk bands. His first concert was in 1982 to see Naked Raygun at The Cubby Bear in Chicago when he was 13 years old.^[9] "From then on we were totally punk," Grohl explained. "We went home and bought Maximumrocknroll and tried to figure it all out."^[8]

In Virginia, Grohl attended Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman and sophomore. He was elected vice president of his freshman class and played bits of songs by bands like the Circle Jerks and Bad Brains over the school intercom before his morning announcements. During his junior year, Grohl and his mother decided that he should transfer to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria because his marijuana usage was affecting his grades.^[8]

While in high school, Grohl played in several local bands, including a stint on guitar in a band called Freak Baby. While playing in Freak Baby, he taught himself to play drums.^[5] When Freak Baby kicked out its bass player, Grohl decided to switch to drums, and the new band called themselves Mission Impossible.^[8] During his developing years as a drummer, Grohl cited John Bonham as his greatest influence, and eventually had Bonham's three-circle logo tattooed on his wrist.^[10] Mission Impossible later rebranded themselves Fast before breaking up, after which Grohl joined the post-punk-influenced hardcore punk band Dain Bramage.^[11][12]

Many of Grohl's early influences were gained at the 9:30 club, a live music venue in Washington D.C.: "I went to the 9:30 club hundreds of times. I was always so excited to get there, and I was always bummed when it closed. I spent my teenage years at the club and saw some shows that changed my life."^[13]

Musical career[link]

Scream (1986–1990)[link]

Dave Grohl with Scream, 1990.

At the age of seventeen, Grohl auditioned with local DC favorites Scream to fill the vacancy left by the departure of drummer Kent Stax. In order to be lined up for the audition, Grohl had lied about his age, claiming he was 20.^[14] To Grohl's surprise, the band asked him to join. After waffling for a brief period, Grohl accepted the offer. Grohl dropped out of high school in his junior year; he said, "I was seventeen and extremely anxious to see the world, so I did it."^[15] Over the next four years, Grohl toured extensively with the band, recording a couple of live albums (their May 4, 1990 show in Alzey, Germany being released by Tobby Holzinger as Your Choice Live Series Vol.10) and two studio albums, No More Censorship and Fumble, on which Grohl penned and sang vocals on the song "Gods Look Down".

While playing in Scream, Grohl became a fan of Melvins and eventually befriended the band. During a 1990 tour stop on the west coast, The Melvins' Buzz Osborne took a couple of his friends, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, to see the band.^[16]

Nirvana (1990–1994)[link]

A few months later, Scream unexpectedly disbanded following the departure of its bass player. Grohl called Osborne for advice, and the latter gave Grohl's phone number to Krist Novoselic, who invited Grohl to Seattle. Grohl subsequently auditioned for Nirvana, and soon joined them full-time.^[17]

At the time that Grohl joined Nirvana, the band had already recorded several demos for the follow-up to their debut album Bleach, having spent time recording with producer Butch Vig in Wisconsin. Initially, the plan was to release the album on Sub Pop, but the band received a great deal of major label interest based on the demos. Grohl spent the initial months with Nirvana traveling to various major labels as the band shopped for a deal, eventually signing with DGC Records. In the spring of 1991, the band entered the studio to record the album.

Upon its release, Nevermind exceeded all expectations and became a massive success, catapulting the band to worldwide stardom. At the same time, Grohl was struggling with his status in the band. While his drumming style was a significant element in the band's success, Grohl saw himself as just another in a long line of drummers. In his mind, Nirvana was the band that recorded Bleach; his arrival had altered that sound dramatically, and as he saw it, not necessarily in a positive way. Though Grohl had been writing songs for several years, he declined to introduce his songs to the band for fear of damaging their chemistry. Instead, he compiled and recorded them himself, releasing a cassette called Pocketwatch in 1992 on indie label Simple Machines. Rather than using his own name, Grohl released the cassette under the pseudonym "Late!".

In the later years of Nirvana, Grohl's songwriting contributions increased. In Grohl's initial months in Seattle, Cobain overheard him working on a song called "Color Pictures of a Marigold", and the two ended up working on it. Grohl would later record the song for the Pocketwatch cassette. During the sessions for In Utero, he decided to re-record the song, and the band released this version as a B-side on the "Heart-Shaped Box" single, titled simply "Marigold". Grohl also contributed the main guitar riff for "Scentless Apprentice". Cobain conceded in a late 1993 MTV interview that he initially thought the riff was "kind of boneheaded", but was gratified at how the song developed (a process captured in part in a demo on the Nirvana box set With the Lights Out). Cobain noted that he was excited at the possibility of having Novoselic and Grohl contribute more to the band's songwriting.

Prior to their 1994 European tour, the band scheduled session time at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle to work on demos. For most of the three-day session Cobain was absent, so Novoselic and Grohl worked on demos of their own songs. The duo completed several of Grohl's songs, including future Foo Fighters songs "Exhausted", "Big Me", "February Stars", and "Butterflies". On the third day of the session Cobain finally arrived and the band recorded a demo of a song later named "You Know You're Right". It was the band's final studio recording.

Foo Fighters (1994-present)[link]

Following Cobain's death in April 1994, Grohl retreated, unsure of where to go and what to do with himself. In October 1994, Grohl scheduled studio time, again at Robert Lang's Studio, and quickly recorded a fifteen-track demo. With the exception of a single guitar part on "X-Static" played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, Grohl performed all of the instruments himself..

At the same time, Grohl wondered if his future might be in drumming for other bands. In November, Grohl took a brief turn with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including a memorable performance on Saturday Night Live. Petty asked him to join permanently, but Grohl declined. He was also rumored as a possible replacement for Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzzese and even performed with the band for a song or two at three shows during Pearl Jam's March 1995 Australian tour. However, by then Pearl Jam had already settled on ex- Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons and Grohl had other solo plans in the works.

After passing the demo around, Grohl found himself with considerable major label interest. Nirvana's A&R rep Gary Gersh had subsequently taken over as president of Capitol Records and lured Grohl to sign with the label. Grohl did not want the effort to be considered the start of a solo career so he recruited other band members: former Germs and touring Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, and two members of the recently disbanded Sunny Day Real Estate, William Goldsmith (drums) and Nate Mendel (bass). Rather than re-record the album, Grohl's demo was given a professional mix by Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock and was released in July 1995 as Foo Fighters' debut album.

During a break between tours, the band entered the studio and recorded a cover of Gary Numan's "Down in the Park". In February 1996, Grohl and his then-wife Jennifer Youngblood made a brief cameo appearance on The X-Files third season episode "Pusher". (The two can be spotted walking in the FBI building, just after the Pusher character has put on his phony pass. Grohl pauses to look at his watch.)

After touring for the self-titled album for more than a year, Grohl returned home and began work on the soundtrack to the 1997 movie Touch. Grohl performed all of the instruments and vocals himself, save for vocals from Veruca Salt singer Louise Post on the title track, keyboards by Barrett Jones (who also co-produced the record) on one track, and vocals and guitar by X's John Doe on "This Loving Thing (Lynn's Song)". Grohl completed the recording in two weeks, and immediately joined Foo Fighters to work on their follow-up.

In the midst of the initial sessions for Foo Fighters' second album, tension emerged between Grohl and Goldsmith. According to Goldsmith, "Dave had me do 96 takes of one song, and I had to do thirteen hours' worth of takes on another one. ... It just seemed that everything I did wasn't good enough for him, or anyone else." Goldsmith also believed that Capitol and producer Gil Norton wanted Grohl to drum on the album.^[18] With the album seemingly complete, Grohl headed home to Virginia with a copy of the rough mixes, and found himself unhappy with the results. Grohl penned a few new songs, recording one of them, "Walking After You", by himself at a studio in Washington, DC. Inspired by the session, Grohl opted to move the band, without Goldsmith's knowledge,^[18] to Los Angeles to re-record most of the album with Grohl behind the kit. After the sessions were complete, Goldsmith officially announced his departure from the band.

Speaking about the tension surrounding the departure of Goldsmith in 2011, Grohl said, "There were a lot of reasons it didn't work out... but there was also a part of me that was like, you know, I don't know if I'm finished playing the drums yet." He would also state, "I wish that I would have handled things differently..."^[19]

Dave Grohl on stage, 2006

The effort was released in May 1997 as the band's second album, The Colour and the Shape, which eventually cemented Foo Fighters as a staple of rock radio. The album spawned several hits, including "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Monkey Wrench". Just prior to the album's release, former Alanis Morissette drummer Taylor Hawkins joined the band on drums. The following September, Smear (a close friend of Jennifer Youngblood) left the band,^[7] citing a need to settle down following a lifetime of touring. Smear was subsequently replaced by Grohl's former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. (Stahl departed the band prior to recording of Foo Fighters' third album^[7] and was replaced by touring guitarist Chris Shiflett, who later became a full-fledged member during the recording of One by One.)

Grohl's life of non-stop touring and travel continued with Foo Fighters' popularity. During his infrequent pauses he lived in Seattle and Los Angeles before returning to Alexandria, Virginia. It was there that he turned his basement into a recording studio where the 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose was recorded.

In 2000, the band recruited Queen guitarist Brian May to add some guitar flourish to a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar", a song which Foo Fighters previously recorded as a b-side. The friendship between the two bands resulted in Grohl and Taylor Hawkins being asked to induct Queen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Grohl and Hawkins joined May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor to perform "Tie Your Mother Down", with Grohl standing in on vocals for Freddie Mercury. (May later contributed guitar work for the song "Tired of You" on the ensuing Foo Fighters album, as well as on an unreleased Foo Fighters song called "Knucklehead".)

Near the end of 2001, Foo Fighters returned to the studio to work on their fourth album. After four months in the studio, with the sessions finished, Grohl accepted an invitation to join Queens of the Stone Age and helped them to record their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf. (Grohl can be seen drumming for the band in the video for the song "No One Knows".) After a brief tour through North America, Britain and Japan with the band^[7] and feeling rejuvenated by the effort, Grohl recalled the other band members to completely re-record their album at his studio in Virginia. The effort became their fourth album, One by One. While initially pleased with the results, in another 2005 Rolling Stone interview, Dave Grohl admitted to not liking the record: "Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life. We rushed into it, and we rushed out of it."^[20]

On November 23, 2002, Grohl achieved a historical milestone by replacing himself on the top of the Billboard Modern Rock chart, when "You Know You're Right" by Nirvana was replaced by "All My Life" by Foo Fighters. When "All My Life" ended its run, after a one week respite, "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age took the number one spot. Between October 26, 2002 and March 1, 2003 Grohl was in the number one spot on the Modern Rock charts for 17 of 18 successive weeks, as a member of three different groups.

Grohl and Foo Fighters released their fifth album In Your Honor on June 14, 2005. Prior to starting work on the album, the band spent almost a year relocating Grohl's home-based Virginia studio to a brand new facility, dubbed Studio 606, located in a warehouse near Los Angeles. Featuring collaborations with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Norah Jones, the album was a departure from previous efforts, and included one rock and one acoustic disc.

Foo Fighters's sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace was released on September 25, 2007. It was recorded during a three-month period between March 2007 and June 2007, and its release was preceded by the first single "The Pretender" on September 17. The second single, "Long Road to Ruin", was released on December 3, 2007, followed by the third single, "Let It Die", June 24, 2008.

On November 3, 2009 Foo Fighters released their first Greatest Hits collection, consisting of 16 tracks including a previously unreleased acoustic version of "Everlong" and two new tracks "Wheels" and "Word Forward" which were produced by Nevermind's producer Butch Vig. Grohl has been quoted saying the Greatest Hits is too early and "...can look like an obituary." He does not feel they have written their best hits yet.^[21]

The Foo Fighters' seventh studio album, Wasting Light, was released on April 12, 2011. It is the first Foo Fighters album to reach #1 in the United States.

Other projects[link]

Apart from his main bands, Grohl has been involved in other music projects. In 1992, Grohl played drums on Buzz Osborne's Kiss-styled solo-EP King Buzzo, where he was credited as Dale Nixon, a pseudonym that Greg Ginn adopted to play bass on Black Flag's My War. Grohl also released the music cassette Pocketwatch under the pseudonym Late! on the now defunct indie label, Simple Machines.

In 1993, Grohl was recruited to help recreate the music of The Beatles' early years for the movie Backbeat.^[22] Grohl played drums in an "all-star" lineup that included Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, indie producer Don Fleming, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum. A music video was filmed for the song "Money (That's What I Want)" while Grohl was with Nirvana on their 1994 European tour, footage of Grohl was filmed later and included.

Later in 1994, Grohl played drums on two tracks for Mike Watt's Ball-Hog or Tugboat?. In early 1995, Grohl and Foo Fighters played their first US tour opening for Watt, and helped make up Watt's supporting band. Nicknamed the "Ringspiel" tour, Watt's band featured Grohl and William Goldsmith on drums, Eddie Vedder and Pat Smear on guitar, and Watt on bass.

Grohl at the Roskilde Festival in 2005

During the early 2000s, Grohl spent time in his basement studio writing and recording a number of songs for a "metal" project. Over the span of several years, Grohl recruited his favorite metal vocalists from the 1980s, including Lemmy of Motörhead, Conrad "Cronos" Lant from Venom, King Diamond, Scott Weinrich, and Max Cavalera of Sepultura, to perform the vocals for the songs. The project was released in 2004 under the moniker Probot.^[23][24]

Also in 2003, Grohl stepped behind the kit to perform on Killing Joke's second self-titled album. The move surprised some Nirvana fans, given that Nirvana had been accused of stealing the opening riff of "Come as You Are" from Killing Joke's 1984 song "Eighties". However, the controversy failed to create a lasting rift between the bands. Foo Fighters covered Killing Joke's "Requiem" during the late 1990s, and were even joined by Killing Joke singer Jaz Coleman for a performance of the song at a show in New Zealand in 2003.

Grohl lent his drumming skills to other artists during the early 2000s. In 2000, Dave played drums and sang on a track, "Goodbye Lament", from Tony Iommi's album Iommi. In 2001, Grohl performed on Tenacious D's debut album, and appeared in the video for lead single "Tribute" as a demon. He later appeared in the duo's 2006 movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny as the devil in the song Beelzeboss, and performed on its soundtrack. In 2002, Grohl helped Chan Marshall of Cat Power on the album You Are Free and played with Queens of the Stone Age on their album Songs for the Deaf. Grohl also toured with the band in support of the album, delaying work on the Foo Fighters' album One by One. In 2004, Grohl drummed on several tracks for Nine Inch Nails' 2005 album With Teeth. He also drummed on the song "Bad Boyfriend" on Garbage's 2005 album Bleed Like Me. Most recently, he recorded all the drums on Juliette and the Licks's 2006 album Four on the Floor^[25] and the song "For Us" from Pete Yorn's 2006 album Nightcrawler. Beyond drumming, Grohl contributed guitar to a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting For You" on David Bowie's 2002 album Heathen.