PG/KT; Jello Biafra Speaks Out

[Joe Turner <cutter%umb.umb.edu@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>]

PG News... found an import of "Don't Give Up". A-side is the album version
of DGU, b-side is "In Your Eyes (Special Mix)" and "This is the Picture".
Album cover is just like the "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes" covers, except
the "Peter Gabriel" logo has a "Kate Bush" logo directly underneath it, in
purple:
         _________________
         | Peter Gabriel |
         -----------------
         | Kate Bush     |
         -----------------

Credit where credit is due...


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OK folks. Here it is, straight from "The Rock & Roll Evening News", a cable
show with a slightly progressive bent (their spotlight artist of the week
was Stan Ridgeway)...

Interviewer #1: You've probably heard of Jello Biafra and his band
	"Dead Kennedys". They hail from San Francisco, run their own
record company, and give extremely lively performances. In fact, they
probably seem like a lot of other avant-garde punk groups, and they were,
until last spring. Joining us tonight is Jello Biafra. He and his band "Dead
Kennedys" have been surrounded by controversy since April 15, when he was
arrested by police officers for alledgedly distributing pornography to
minors. The charges followed a complaint by a Los Angeles mother of a
teenager who noticed that the insert of the DK's latest album FRANKENCHRIST
displayed graphics of male genitalia. She filed her complaint with the LA
city attorney's office. Jello, did it occur to you, when you chose this
design for the album insert, that it could be construed as pornography?

Jello Biafra: Well, pornography is in the eye of the beholder, and I thought
	our country had grown up from the Nixon and McCarthy era, so this
kind of thing wasn't gonna happen anymore. I mean, we have people even in
the attorney general's office now who seem to think the Constitution
itself is pornography, and even wanna, maybe, put a black brush on Darwin's
theory of evolution in textbooks in the schools; this is just trickle-down from
a nationwide power-play by people on the far right and religious right to
try and start censoring as many different points of view as possible, in as
many different ways they can.

I1: You were not expecting the uproar that has come about?

JB: I thought our country could do better than that.

Interviewer #2: Jello, would you do it again? Knowing what happened this time,
	is it going to be a financial intimidation towards you?

JB: It has been, in a way. It's been a tremendous strain on my time, and a
	distraction... we have a new album called "Bedtime for Democracy"
that should have been done last June, and it's only coming out this week,
and the rest of the band has been in various degrees of, uh, they've been
freaking out a bit, too, so we haven't even played since February, and may
never perform again.

I1: All right. Also joining us tonight on the other side of the issue is
	Darlene Pedeniccio. She's the spokesperson for a group called "Back
in Control", they have a center in Orange, CA. She is also the author of
"The Punk Rock and Heavy Metal Handbook". Darlene, can you describe "Back in
Control" for us, briefly?

DP: Yes. "Back in Control" is a program which designated [sic] to assist
	parents to help them regain control of their child's behavior.

I1: All right. How does your organisation and others like the PMRC, with which
	you are allied, respond to this kind of record and it's graphics?

DP: Well, I know one of the things we're concerned about at Back In Control is
	that parents have a right to protect their children, and children, be-
cause of their age, their immaturity, their inexperience, they need structure
and guidance.

I1: Did you find the graphics in Dead Kennedy's album pornographic?

DP: I found they were pornographic in that I don't think that's material
	that should be easily accesible to children.

I1: [to Jello] Your response to that?

JB: Well, I think what's equally dangerous is some of the things you've put in
	your "Punk and Heavy Metal Handbook". For example: you classify the
Star of David as a symbol of the occult. The Star of David is the symbol of
the Jewish faith. You also list, uh, I have it right here, actually [pulls
out slips of paper!].. we have "Elements of Satanism and the Occult: the
colors are black" (like the Oakland Raiders) "blue, green, and white" and
under "animals", we have "cat, donkey, eagle, lion, and frog". Does that mean
the "Muppet Show" has to go, to??? [audience applauds] I mean, your manual
reeks of bigotry, and it reeks of recklessly poor research. I mean, if you
ask Devo, or Echo & the Bunnymen if they're a punk band, or Husker Du if
they're a speedmetal band, they will do what I did: they will laugh at you.
But we also realise people like you are very dangerous, and that's why we're
fighting this charge, because there's even probation departments now that are
ordering kids and parents to attend your seminars... and the methods you say
you have for, uh, "cleaning up" these kids of "rock addiction" is the same
kind of thing -- it strikes me as being the same kind of thing they do at
Soviet "re-education centers", for political prisoners.

I1: [unsure] Okay... I'm not quite certain if Ms. Pedeniccio minds if Back in 
	Control is laughed at by groups such as yours... [to DP] what is
your response to what he has to say?

DP: I think one of the things is, he's taken the booklet entirely out of
	context, and I don't think you can pull out "a" star and say "this
is the symbol of it", one of the things ---

JB: You did!

DP: Excuse me. If you read the entire booklet, you will find that it *does*
	designate that these are some of the signs and symbols of children
who have been involved in the occult, and that has been verified.

JB: [wryly] Well, you also list high-top tennis shoes as evidence that children
	are involved in the occult. [audience laughs]

DP: But, one of the things we're talking about are the kinds of things that
	we see kids involved in, that become involved and obsessed - and I'm
talking about an obsession and an addiction with punk rock and heavy metal
music. I don't think we can take any one thing out of context and say ---

JB: You took PLENTY of things of out context! You called us a "nazi punk
	band"!

DP: We didn't do that.

JB: Oh yeah!

DP: No, we didn't do that.

JB: I've got that, too...

I1: OK, let's go on to something else. What about the controversy surrounding
	the album? Now, from an economic standpoint, as far as you're con-
cerned, doesn't that help sales of the album, or ---

JB: It hasn't!

I1: --- or doesn't it help publicise the group?

JB: It hasn't, because in the fine tradition of the Joe McCarthy era, there's
	been a "chill factor" now. A lot of stores are afraid to carry our
records, because they're afraid of being dragged to the nearest kangaroo
court by the local gendarmes, or some public official trying to make a name
for themselves.

I2: Jello, are there any limits you would put on an artist? Is there anything
	you think an artist shouldn't be allowed to put in an album, or on an
album package?

JB: No! I mean, the stuff that offends me is, say, Sammy Hagar's "Voice of
	America" video, and some of these really racist and sexist heavy-
metal AND country-western artists who glorify beating up women. I don't
think that should be *censored*, I just think it gives *us* an obligation, as
an artist, to offer an alternative, and to attack and lampoon this kind of
junk in our own music. But not censor it!

I2: Darlene, are you speaking of censorship, yourself, or are you just talking
	about education of parents?

DP: I'm talking about education of parents, and what I'm talking about is
	I think parents in their own family have a right to decide what's
acceptable for their children, and I'm talking about *children*. As far as
adults, you're free to write, and draw, and post anything you choose... but
I don't think that should be avalible and accessible to children as it is on
album covers.

I2: Could I ask you, in terms of the percentage of kids who listen to punk or
	heavy metal, what percentage are you talking about when you say they
become "obsessed" with it? 5%? 2%? 1%?

DP: It's real difficult to define percentage, but one thing we do see is ---

I1: I'm sorry, we have to take a break. Uh, thank you both. Uh, we've covered
	a very controversial issue, I wish we had a little more time. Thank
you, Jello Biafra, and ---

JB: Thank *you*.

I1: --- and thank you, Darlene Pedeniccio, for joining us tonight on our
	weekly discussion. Jello, we'll be watching your trial which is coming
up with interest in the next few months ---

JB: Well, so will I!

I1: When we come back, we'll have more of Level 42 in concert.

[standing ovation for Jello, screams and cheers]


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Ya know, you see the most INNNNteresting things on late-night cable tv..


BTW, new Shriekback album isn't 'mersh at all. OK, so "Gunning for the
Buddha" has a happy melody, and so "Cradle Song" is a lullabye. This album
still knocks "Oil and Gold" straight on it's ass. Barry Andrews does some
singing, and finds he has a voice. The writing is much better. The production
is MUCH better. The best stuff yet. I love it. You may not. Reminds me of
"Simple Minds", actually. (No wonder - they're included in the thank-you's...)


"we're on the road and we're gunning for the buddha"
-joe