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Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra
Biafra performing at the 2014 Fun Fun Fun Fest
Biafra performing at the 2014 Fun Fun Fun Fest
Background information
Birth nameEric Reed Boucher
Also known as
Born (1958-06-17) June 17, 1958 (age 66)
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • speaker
  • politician
Years active1976–present
LabelsAlternative Tentacles
Member of
Formerly of

Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.[1]

Initially active from 1979 to 1986, Dead Kennedys were known for rapid-fire music topped with Biafra's sardonic lyrics and biting social commentary, delivered in his "unique quiver of a voice".[2] When the band broke up in 1986, he took over the influential independent record label Alternative Tentacles, which he had founded in 1979 with Dead Kennedys bandmate East Bay Ray. In a 2000 lawsuit, upheld on appeal in 2003 by the California Supreme Court, Biafra was found liable for breach of contract, fraud, and malice in withholding a decade's worth of royalties from his former bandmates and ordered to pay over $200,000 in compensation and punitive damages; the band subsequently reformed without Biafra.[3] Although now focused primarily on spoken word performances, Biafra has continued as a musician in numerous collaborations. From 1979 to 1981, he contributed to the San Francisco punk zine Damage.[4] He has also occasionally appeared in cameo roles in films.

Politically, Biafra is a member of the Green Party of the United States[5] and supports various political causes. He ran for the party's presidential nomination in the 2000 presidential election, finishing a distant second to Ralph Nader.[6] In 1979 he ran for mayor of San Francisco, California. He is a supporter of a free society and utilizes shock value and advocates direct action and pranksterism in the name of political causes.[5] Biafra uses absurdist media tactics, in the leftist tradition of the Yippies, to highlight issues of civil rights and social justice.

  1. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (December 18, 2023). "Dead Kennedys' punk classic 'Fresh Fruit' achieves gold status after 43 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Young, Jon. "Dead Kennedys". TrouserPress.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Biafra Drops Suit Against Ex-Bandmates". Billboard. July 13, 2004. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018., Billboard, 2004
  4. ^ "Damage". The Rock Mag Archive. rockmagarchive.com. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Biafra, Jello (Spring 2000). "Jello Biafra for President". Synthesis/Regeneration (22). Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via greens.org.
  6. ^ "Global Green Party History Chronology – 2000". Global Greens. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2012. With 295 votes, Nader received 92% of the convention total, followed by ten votes each for Jello Biafra and Stephen Gaskin

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