Jello Biafra

Dead Kennedys are an American punk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of... the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk rock community, and were one of the first American hardcore bands to make a significant impact in the United Kingdom. Their eclectic music encompassed their trademark loud and fast hardcore, but also spaghetti western, psychedelic, garage rock and rockabilly. Jello Biafra's biting lyrics tackled the sociopolitical concerns of the Reagan era with a distinct sense of morbid humor and satire, following in the footsteps of such earlier rock satirists as Frank Zappa and non-musical countercultural figures like Abbie Hoffman and Lenny Bruce. In the mid-1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the United States over the artwork of their album Frankenchrist , which included the explicit titular subject of H. R. Giger's Penis Landscape. The band was charged with "distribution of harmful matter to minors", but the trial ended with a hung jury. Dead Kennedys released five studio albums before disbanding in 1986.
more

Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an... independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray and vocalist Jello Biafra formed the original Alternative Tentacles partnership, but the label is now run by Biafra, who became the sole owner in the mid-1980s. Alternative Tentacles went on to launch some of the most original bands of the alternative/punk scene including releasing records by bands including The Dicks, 7 Seconds, and the Butthole Surfers. The early compilation titled Let Them Eat Jellybeans! served to introduce American punk to the rest of the world. Some of the best known bands that have come through Alternative Tentacles are Dead Kennedys, NoMeansNo, D.O.A. and Alice Donut. In addition to musical acts, Alternative Tentacles also publishes spoken word albums, many by Jello Biafra himself.
more

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and in the... United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo. The first heavy metal bands, such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, eventually attracted large audiences, though many were critically reviled , a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".
more