Lifeless Kennedys had been one of many first, and definitely probably the most influential, US hardcore punk bands. The San Francisco band break up following the discharge of their fourth album, 1986’s Bedtime For Democracy, the tensions between vocalist Jello Biafra and his bandmates East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Fluoride (bass) and D.H. Peligro (drums) spilling into the general public in 1998, when Biafra was sued by the trio over alleged unpaid royalties. A Californian court docket subsequently discovered Biafra and Various Tentacles, the label he co-founded with East Bay Ray responsible of “malice, oppression and fraud”, and the singer was ordered to pay out the cash with-held.
In a brand new interview with Guitar World, East Bay Ray means that lingering bitterness over the case implies that the band will not be reuniting with their former anytime quickly, regardless of receiving provides to take action, from festivals akin to Chicago’s Riot Fest.
“It’s not a problem for me or Klaus,” the guitarist insists [Peligro died in 2022]. “It’s Biafra that turns down any provides for us to do one thing; we don’t have any drawback. He acquired caught along with his arms within the until and desires responsible us for getting caught, however he ought to by no means have put his arms in there within the first place.”
Within the interview, East Bay Ray additionally shoots down the concept Biafra was the band’s major songwriter throughout their time collectively.
“We really wrote as a band, the place in impact, as a result of chemistry between us, it was a case of two and two equaling 5,” he says. “None of us has had a solo profession that was greater than Lifeless Kennedys, which, to me, exhibits the ability of a bunch of gifted individuals getting collectively and creating one thing that was far better than the sum of its elements.”
“Jello didn’t carry within the songs,” he insists. “I do know he’s created the parable that he wrote all of them, however the query right here is that if he did, why didn’t he ever do something important after leaving the band?
“Iggy left the Stooges and had a profession; ditto Lou Reed with the Velvet Underground or Morrissey with the Smiths. The place’s Biafra’s solo profession with a bunch of nice songs? The songs had been written in quite a few alternative ways. [Holiday In] Cambodia began as a jam within the rehearsal studio.
“Different instances, I’d have concepts for riffs that I’d placed on cassettes and Biafra would discover lyrics in his pocket book. Klaus was necessary, too, in that he was probably the most educated musician within the band, and he was good at placing issues collectively. Only a few songs had been written by one particular person.”
The band have upcoming exhibits in Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand on the docket.
