As much as Dead Kennedys fans would love to see the legendary punk band reunite with original singer Jello Biafra, guitarist East Bay Ray insists it’s not gonna happen, and that Biafra is to blame.
Despite long-standing animosity and contentious legal disputes, East Bay Ray told Guitar World in a new interview that he and bassist Klaus Fluoride would be open to performing with Biafra again but that the singer continues to turn down offers for a reunion (including an apparent lucrative one from Riot Fest in 2017).
“It’s not an issue for me or Klaus,” said East Bay Ray. “It’s Biafra that turns down any offers for us to do something; we don’t have any problem.”
The guitarist then referenced a lawsuit that he and his Dead Kennedys bandmates brought against Biafra in 2000 over withholding band royalties, which resulted in the singer having to pay not only back royalties but punitive damages.
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“He got caught with his hands in the till and wants to blame us for getting caught, but he should never have put his hands in there in the first place,” remarked East Bay Ray.
The guitarist also took exception to the notion that Biafra singlehandedly wrote most of the songs during his run in Dead Kennedys from their 1978 formation through their initial breakup in 1986.
“We actually wrote as a band, where in effect, due to the chemistry between us, it was a case of two and two equaling five,” noted East Bay Ray. “None of us has had a solo career that was bigger than Dead Kennedys, which, to me, shows the power of a bunch of talented people getting together and creating something that was far greater than the sum of its parts.”
He continued, “Jello didn’t bring in the songs. I know he’s created the myth that he wrote them all, but the question here is that if he did, why didn’t he ever do anything significant after leaving the band?,” adding, “Iggy left the Stooges and had a career; ditto Lou Reed with the Velvet Underground or Morrissey with the Smiths. Where’s Biafra’s solo career with a bunch of great songs? The songs were written in numerous different ways. [“Holiday in Cambodia”] started as a jam in the rehearsal studio.”
Dead Kennedys reunited in 2001 without Biafra. Original members East Bay Ray, Klaus Fluorider, and classic drummer D. H. Peligro (who replaced original stickman Ted in 1981) re-formed the band with singer Brandon Cruz. Peligro sadly passed away in 2022, but East Bay Ray and Flouride, along with current singer Ron “Skip” Greer and new drummer Steve Wilson, continue to tour as Dead Kennedys.
Having wrapped up a handful of US dates in March and April, Dead Kennedys will play Spain and Portugal in June, and Australia and New Zealand in September. Pick up tickets here.