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10.06.05
- DEAD KENNEDYS PULL OUT OF “WAKING THE DEAD”
SHOW AT OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM IN LOS ANGELES ON OCTOBER
29TH
Coors Beer Sponsorship of Event Reeks of Bad
Politics and Corporate Greed
Dead Kennedys announced today that they have pulled
out of the “Waking The Dead” show at the
Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on October
29, 2005. The event will go ahead as scheduled without
the Dead Kennedys but will include Suicidal Tendencies,
the Germs, Flipper, and Marky Ramone as previously
announced.
Dead Kennedys have decided to pull out of the show
for political reasons as the band was not informed
that there would be corporate sponsors when they agreed
to play the show and were specifically unaware that
Coors would be a major sponsor until advertisements
for the show appeared in LA Weekly. Dead Kennedys
immediately contacted the organizers of the event
to object to and discuss the removal of Coors' sponsorship,
but a suitable arrangement could not be made.
A Google search of Coors will turn up information
on a company that for years has funded right-wing
groups such as the Nicaraguan Contras, the anti-gay
Moral Majority, and the notoriously anti-punk Parents
Music Resource Center (PMRC). Coors has also broken
numerous unions, is anti-environment, and has funded
lawsuits against affirmative action. More disturbing
facts about the company can be found at www.corporations.org/coors.
“Dead Kennedys have always been wary of corporate
sponsorship and steer clear of lending our name to
promote a product,“ said Dead Kennedys guitarist
and founding member East Bay Ray. “Because we
were not alerted to the ultra conservative, right-wing
sponsor for this event, we could not see a reason
to go ahead and perform at this show in good conscience.
Dead Kennedys want nothing to do with this event or
Coors and I am disgusted that they are now sponsoring
punk shows, something they are politically at odds
with.”
Dead Kennedys apologize to their fans, but hope to
serve as an example to the punk rock community that
certain ideals shouldn't be sacrificed. The band looks
forward to playing an L.A. date in the near future
to celebrate the 25th anniversary re-release of "Fresh
Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" and encourages
you to think before you drink….Coors.
09.30.05
- BLAME CANADA (AND BLAME THE X GAMES, TOO!)
It has been a landmark month for Dead Kennedys, starting
with the band playing the 11th annual X Games in front
of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The crowd battled
sunburn and high-priced lemonade to come out and see
the show. The band had been instructed to deliver
a "PG" set, which, of course, didn't sit
too well in our anti-censorship stomachs. Rather than
let the corporate sponsors hog the spotlight, we decided
to play anyway...and to find some loopholes...
Instead of ditching the song "Police Truck"
in a town so notoriously plagued with police corruption,
we changed the second verse to specifically suit the
times and the venue: "We gassed protestors at
the DNC / We covered up the murder of B.I.G. / Read
it in the papers, watch it on T.V. / It don't faze
us, we're the L.A.P.D.!" And for the bridge:
"You think it ended with Rodney King? / Believe
me, baby, we ain't changed a thing / Try to start
a riot, you'll never learn / We'll sit back and watch
your city burn!" Having said that on stage, Klaus
and Jeff were a little concerned when they were approached
by two L.A.P.D. officers after the set, but thankfully
it turned out they were fans who just wanted to congratulate
the band on a good performance
Other than "Police Truck", the band wanted
to keep the rest of the lyrics intact, so before "Nazi
Punks Fuck Off" Jeff explained to the audience
that DK had been asked not to say any dirty words
and that we had agreed to such a condition in the
interest of spreading important ideas (such as providing
a counterpoint to the Navy recruitment booth across
the parking lot). He went on to explain that the band
still vehemently opposes censorship, however, and
that in this case the audience would need to lend
their assistance to the fight. So we sang "Nazi
Punks" and the audience enthusiastically assisted
with the "Fuck Offs." It was a beautiful
moment of solidarity.
A week later, DK headed to Canada for the first time
in years. For those Americans who have been considering
a move to Canada since election day, Dead Kennedys
can now say first hand that it's not such a bad idea!
With sold out club dates in London and Montreal and
a headlining spot at Toronto's Wakestock Festival,
our tour of the Great White North was a huge success
and a great time. Thanks to the Canadian fans for
being so overwhelmingly supportive and for putting
up with our broken French!
Aside from having a good time and meeting some great
folks, we were also reminded of the ever-present pro-America
slant of our home country's media. For the duration
of our tour in Canada, the front page story in their
major newspapers was a trade
dispute. If you haven't heard, it seems the U.S.
has been levying unfairly high tariffs on Canadian
lumber since 2002. Last year, a NAFTA panel ordered the U.S. to stop imposing the tariffs
and pay Canada back 5 billion Canadian dollars ($4.1
billion U.S.) that the U.S. had collected over the
years. In early August the U.S. lost its appeal, but
still refuses to pay back the money. And what's more,
the U.S. CONITNUES to levy import duties on Canadian
lumber. It 's like something out of "Judge Judy",
only less mature.
Again: front page news every day in Canada. But hardly
a whisper of it in the American media. So for those
who still wonder why America is not looked upon favorably
around the world, take a moment to think about the
numerous other things our government has done to other
countries that simply go unreported. And for those
who think that NAFTA was anything other than a ploy
to thicken the purses of a bunch of corporate overlords,
read up and think again. (And fight CAFTA while you're at it...!)
So remember:
FAIR trade, not "free" trade.
Fight censorship.
And skate hard!
Dead Kennedys |
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09.20.05
- DEAD KENNEDYS TO REISSUE ONE OF PUNK ROCK’S
GREATEST RELEASES OF ALL TIME ‘FRESH FRUIT FOR
ROTTING VEGETABLES SPECIAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’
WITH BONUS MATERIAL
October 25th Reissue to Feature Original Album
and Artwork along with Bonus DVD Documentary of Previously
Unreleased Archival Live Footage and New Interviews
on Manifesto Records
Los Angeles, Calif., & San Francisco, Calif.,
(September 14, 2005) – Seminal punk rock band
Dead Kennedys announced today that they will be reissuing
one of the greatest punk albums of all-time, “Fresh
Fruit For Rotting Vegetables - Special 25th Anniversary
Edition” on Manifesto Records with bonus material.
The October 25, 2005 reissue of “Fresh Fruit”
(originally released September 1980) will feature
the band’s original album on compact disc as
well a new bonus DVD documentary of previously unseen
archival live footage and new interviews about the
record. The 55 minute bonus DVD includes some of the
earliest known live footage of Dead Kennedys performing
tracks such as ‘California Uber Alles’
at the San Francisco venue Mabuhay Gardens, ‘Kill
The Poor’ from Sproul Hall on the U.C. Berkeley
campus a mere two months after the band formed, ‘Holiday
in Cambodia’ shot during the band’s only
live date in France, ‘Viva Las Vegas’
from the Mabuhay and a newly edited two-camera shoot
of ‘Funland at the Beach’ from the Mabuhay
as well. Manifesto Records reissued a single-disc,
audio-only version of “Fresh Fruit” without
the bonus DVD in September 2005.
“25 years on, ’Fresh Fruit For Rotting
Vegetables’ has become something no one in the
Dead Kennedys could have predicted when we recorded
it – a truly important punk rock record that
stands the test of time,” said founding member
East Bay Ray. “The thing that we felt could
improve this release for the fans of the original
record was a bonus DVD of unreleased archival live
performances, interviews with the band and the people
who were there from the beginning and rare images
of the Dead Kennedys from day one. This record was
about changing the way people looked at their government
and sadly, that very same thing seems to be needed
even more 25 years later.”
The bonus documentary DVD on the 25th anniversary
of “Fresh Fruit” touches on the early
days of Dead Kennedys and goes in-depth about the
recording of the album, the songs that were featured
on the album, the significance of the band itself
and rare images of early pressings of the album, promotional
campaigns, posters, early singles (45s), rare posters
and articles written about the band. New interviews
were conducted with Dead Kennedys’ guitarist
East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride, Ninotchka (former
lead-singer Jello Biafra’s ex-wife), Dead Kennedys
first manager Chi Chi, Dirk Dirksen, promoter of the
Mabuhay Gardens where the band got their start, Oliver
DiCicco who engineered ‘Fresh Fruit’ and
other Dead Kennedys albums, Iain McNay, co-founder
of Cherry Red Records who owns “Fresh Fruit”
as well respected music journalists, Johnny Angel,
Eric Himmelsbach and Craig Rosen. Former lead-singer
Jello Biafra was asked to participate and chose not
to.
07.15.05
- Moon Over Miami
Dead Kennedys would like to send a shout out to everyone
who came out to our recent shows in Florida. We had
an unforgettable time on the road and were stoked
to hear everyone's compliments on the shows. Our special
thanks go out to the crowd in St. Petersburg, who
asked us back for an unprecedented third encore, and
also to the fans who traveled all the way from Venezuela,
Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica and other countries of
South and Central America to catch our show in West
Palm Beach!
Among the many good memories we have of the tour,
one that sticks out is meeting two police officers
who told us that the song "Police Truck"
inspired them to become cops so that they might fight
the tide of police corruption. The members of Dead
Kennedys are always energized to hear that music can
inspire positive action and look forward to continuing
to spread the band's message further.
In West Palm Beach, the band dedicated "Police
Truck" to the memory of the Notorious B.I.G.,
due to recent allegations that his murder was facilitated
by some of L.A.'s finest. Read the latest on the B.I.G.
case HERE,
and read more about police misconduct and how to curb
it HERE.
And keep an eye on deadkennedys.com for new pictures,
tour updates, and more coming soon.
Thanks again,
Dead Kennedys
06.13.05
- American Idol Apologizes to Dead Kennedys
From: "Susan Slamer"
To: Dead Kennedys
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 6:29 PM
Subject: Apology from American Idol
I wish to express our sincere apology to the Dead
Kennedy's and their fans for the inadvertent use of
their version of the song "Viva Las Vegas"
in American Idol, Season IV.
Susan Slamer
Music Supervisor
Susan
----------------------------
For the whole story regarding this apology, please
read this.
04.05.05
- Dead Kennedys Respond to False Idol
"While some bands like to keep
their legal battles private, some record labels STILL
insist on conducting witch hunts without researching
the facts. Or, even worse, by taking the word of someone
at Fox! For those who are interested in the Dead Kennedys/American
Idol controversy, please read the fax below and note
the date it was sent. For everyone else, feel free
to move on with your lives."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHILLIPS,
ERLEWINE & GIVEN LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER. 23RD FLOOR
SAN FRAN CISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111
March
17, 2005
BY FAX
Ms. Susan
Slamer
American idol Productions, Inc.
7800 Beverly Blvd., Suite 251
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Re: DEAD
KENNEDYS - "Viva-Las Vegas" Unauthorized
Master Use
Dear Ms.
Slamer:
We represent
the popular music group DEAD KENNEDYS.
It recently
came to the band's attention that "American Idol"
used an approximately 15-second clip from the band's
1980 recording of "Viva Las Vegas" in episode
four of season four of the show without authorization,
The band
zealously guards the integrity of its musical repertoire.
Be assured that the band had no intention ever to
grant approval for this use.
Accordingly,
the band requires the following:
(1) The
use must be deleted from any and all further broadcasts
or other uses of the episode in question, with written
confirmation of same;
(2) The
production company must pay twice its most favored
nations rate for the unauthorized use, of which half
will be payable to the band and the other half will
be payable to the Scholarship Fund for the Blue Bear
School of American Music in San Francisco.
Payment
should be forwarded care of the undersigned.
We look
forward to hearing back from you soon.
Very truly
yours,
David M. Given
01.26.05
- East Bay Ray Confirmed for Panel at LA’s D.I.Y.
Convention
DK guitarist, East Bay Ray has been
confirmed to take part in a panel at the D.I.Y. Convention
(www.diyconvention.com)
on Friday Feb. 11th, 2005 in Hollywood Ca. Ray’s
panel, THE STATE OF PUNK will include Warped Tour
founder Kevin Lyman, TSOL/Coheed and Cambria manager
Blaze James, Rubio/Thrice manager Nick Bogardus, Michael
Steele, program director at influential LA radio station
Indie 103 FM and will be moderated by noted music
industry attorney Anita Rivas.
01.21.05
- Klaus Flouride invited as a guest this past weekend
at the NAMM
DK bassist Klaus Flouride was an invited
guest this past weekend at the NAMM show (www.namm.com)
at the Anaheim Convention Center on Jan. 21-23, 2005.
Klaus was there to hang out, sign autographs, test
some new equipment and play the bass till his hearts
content. . The massive international convention is
a bi-annual event featuring the latest music products
from around the world.
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