Jello Biafra: Last News

Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra has said a forthcoming reissue of the band’s 1980 debut album ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ was done “intentionally” behind his back.The band announced the reissue earlier this month, which has been mixed by Grammy-winning studio engineer Chris Lord-Alge. It’s slated for release on September 30 via Manifesto Records.Though the reissue was approved by the band’s current lineup, Biafra, who hasn’t been part of the outfit since their 1986 disbandment, made his disapproval of the project clear.“People are asking, so I guess I have to say something,” he wrote on Alternative Tentacles, the website for his independent record label. “LISTEN BEFORE YOU BUY!!”Read his lengthy statement below in full:“This was done almost totally behind my back.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music A gold or platinum record doesn’t just happen: Even if an album, single or EP passes 500,000 (gold) or 1,000,000 (platinum) sales or their streaming-age equivalent, it must be certified by the Recording Industry Association of America, which is a whole process that involves submissions and research and certification and other bureaucratic official-ness. It’s something most commonly associated with chart-topping acts, but as years and sales and streams accumulate, some unexpected artists and albums pass that threshold… including an album and a group that were hardly met with open arms by the record industry establishment when they debuted in 1979: the influential and controversial San Francisco-based punk quartet the Dead Kennedys and their debut album, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables,” which was certified gold by the RIAA on Friday, some 43-plus years after its October 1980 release.