Dead Kennedys

selected Dead Kennedys TShirTS, PosTerS & Prints

The Dead Kennedys (often known by their initials DK, as in "decay") are a punk band from San Francisco, California. During the 1980s, the Dead Kennedys gained a large underground following in the international punk and hardcore music scenes. Their music mixed the more experimental elements of English 1970s punk with the raw energy of the 1980s American hardcore punk scene. The Dead Kennedys' songs mix the deliberately shocking lyrics of punk with a humorous, acerbic, satirical, and sarcastic left-wing commentary on current social and political issues. At the same time, some of their songs also mocked the hypocritical stances of some liberal elites. Many of the Dead Kennedys's songs criticize the right-wing ideologies of the religious right and the Ronald Reagan administration.

In the late 1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the US over the 1985 Frankenchrist album, which included a poster with art that depicted penises ("Penis Landscape" by H. R. Giger). The band was charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors, but the trial ended with a hung jury. The Dead Kennedys officially disbanded in 1986. From 1998-2004, the Dead Kennedys was embrolied in an acrimonious lawsuit over royalties and rights to the Dead Kennedys's music. In 2001, the Dead Kennedys re-formed and began touring with a new vocalist over the objections of former lead singer Jello Biafra, who, after losing the lawsuit and being found liable for fraud, filed two appeals that he later lost.

The Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978, after guitarist East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) advertised for bandmates after seeing a punk show at the Mabuhay Gardens. The original DK lineup consisted of Jello Biafra (Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) on guitar, Klaus Flouride (Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, and 6025 (Carlos Cadona) on drums. This lineup recorded their first demos. In early July, the Dead Kennedys wanted a more experienced drummer, so they recruited Ted (Bruce Slesinger). Drummer 6025 left the Dead Kennedys, but he was invited back as second guitarist. Their first concert was on July 19, 1978, at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California.

Dead Kennedys played numerous shows at local venues afterwards. Due to the band's provocative name, they sometimes played under pseudonyms, including "The Sharks", "The Creamsicles",and "The Pink Twinkies". The name, despite popular belief, was not meant to insult the assassinated Kennedy brothers, but to quote Biafra, "to bring attention to the end of the American Dream". 6025 left the Dead Kennedys in March of 1979. In June of 1979, the Dead Kennedys released their first single, "California Über Alles", on the Alternative Tentacles label. They followed with a well received East Coast tour.

On March 25, 1980, the DKs were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of music industry bigwigs to give the event some "New Wave credibility," in the words of the organizers. The day of the show was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit, "California Über Allies." In typically subversive, perverse style, the Dead Kennedys became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a new wave band."

The band, who all wore white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song "Pull My Strings", a barbed, satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry. which contained the lyrics, "Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?". The song also referenced The Knack's biggest New Wave hit, "My Sharona". The song was never recorded in the studio but this performance, the first and only time the song was ever performed, was released on the posthumous compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. The Dead Kennedys were never invited to play the awards show again.

During the spring of 1980, the Dead Kennedys recorded and released "Holiday in Cambodia". In the fall, the Dead Kennedys released their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. It reached #33 in the UK Albums Chart. In January of 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February. His replacement was D.H. Peligro (Darren Henley).

Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the Dead Kennedys to sign a major label deal with Polydor Records; according to Biafra, he was prepared to quit the group if the rest of the Dead Kennedys wanted to sign the deal, which Ray denies happening, Ray recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor balked after they learned that the Kennedys were planning their next single to be "Too Drunk to Fuck".

In May, the Dead Kennedys released the single "Too Drunk to Fuck". The song caused much controversy in the UK as BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30; this would require a mention of the song on Top of the Pops. However, this never came to be as the single peaked at #31. It is also likely that had "Too Drunk to Fuck" hit the top 30, it would have been banned from playing, in the fashion of The Exploited.

The EP In God We Trust, Inc. (1981) and album Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982) showed a development in musical style, and their music became a political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right and Ronald Reagan. The Dead Kennedys continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, during the 1980s and gained a large underground following.

The release of the album Frankenchrist in 1985 caused a furor with the newly formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the Wherehouse Records store in Los Angeles County. The girl's mother wrote letters of complaint to the Attorney General for the State of California and to Los Angeles prosecutors. In 1986 members of the band Dead Kennedys, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors.


The store where the girl actually purchased the album was never named in the law suit. The criminal charges focused on an illustration by H.R. Giger, titled "Work 219: Landscape XX" (also known as Penis Landscape). Included as a poster with the album, Penis Landscape depicts nine copulating penises.

Members of the Dead Kennedys and others were each charged with violating the California Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics. The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam Records), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying Frankenchrist to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.

In August of 1987 the criminal trial was submitted to the jury with the two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager). In August of 1987, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury. The split on the jury was 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal for all of the defendants. District Attorneys Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by The Honorable Susan Isacoff, Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles. The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.

In January of 1986, the DKs decided to break up to pursue other interests. They played their last concert on February 21. During the summer they recorded Bedtime for Democracy, which was released in November. In December, the Dead Kennedys announced their split. Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Flouride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.

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