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12.05.02 - Dead Kennedys
Digitally Remastered Back Catalog Hits 100,000+ Total
Annual Sales, 130,000+ for Whole Catalog
Band Celebrates 33% Jump in Sales
by Reissuing Entire Back Catalog on Vinyl
Dead Kennedys announced that sales of the their Digitally
Remastered, reissued back catalog on Manifesto Records
in the United States and Plastic Head Distribution
in Europe have surpassed the 100,000 mark in total
annual sales.
To date, Manifesto Records and Plastic Head Distribution
have sold more than 100,700 compact discs of the band’s
back catalog. This sales figure represents a whopping
33% increase in record sales since the band took control
of their back catalog a year ago from their previous
label, Alternative Tentacles. When the sales of the
more than 30,200 compact discs from their new release
Mutiny On the Bay are added in, total sales are up
by 73% or 130,900 total sales. To celebrate this milestone,
Dead Kennedys have launched a campaign to reissue
their entire remastered catalog on vinyl in 2002 and
into 2003. The first releases to be reissued on vinyl
were Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and Give Me
Convenience or Give Me Death, in September 2002.
"The Dead Kennedys reissue campaign on Manifesto
Records has been an absolute success," said Dead
Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "With the band
controlling the very music we helped create, not only
have sales of the our back catalog increased but we
have also released a fantastic live CD Mutiny on the
Bay and re-released The Early Years Live - Target
Video on Music Video Distributors. The new remasters
sound fantastic as the band’s full sound from
the original studio tapes has been restored. Obviously,
we are doing something right."
Dead Kennedys albums/EPs scheduled to be released
on vinyl from Manifesto Records are:
· Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
Release date: September 3, 2002
· Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987)
September 24, 2002
· Mutiny on the Bay (2001) January 14, 2003
· In God We Trust (1981) January 14, 2003
· Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982) February
4, 2003
· Frankenchrist (1985) February 4, 2003
· Bedtime for Democracy (1986) February 4,
2003
12.03.02
- San Francisco Show Sells Out
Despite the difficulties the Dead Kennedys encountered
in their hometown of San Francisco, CA, the fans spoke
for themselves and the November 21st show there sold
out. The band was initially banned from playing in
San Francisco, then one of the weeklies deliberately
left out relevant facts in its show preview. The shows
in Sacramento, CA and Santa Cruz, CA also sold out.
Thank you Northern California.
At the Dead Kennedys show in Phoenix, AZ on November
15, the band had the Arizona Advocacy Network (AzAN)
set up a table in the lobby to enlisted people for
various causes. AzAN is a coalition of progressive
and radical organizations seeking to shift the balance
of power out of the hands of the moneyed special interests
and back into the hands of the citizens. Member organizations
include the AZ Human Rights Fund, Alliance for Peaceful
Justice, AzCLU, Native American Community Organizing
Project, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, AZ Consumers
Council, CAP Gun Violence, Clean Elections Institute,
NOW, Communications Workers of America, AZ Coalition
to End Homelessness, AZ Conservation Alliance, and
many more.
11.03.02
- Dead Kennedys No Longer Banned From Playing Live
in San Francisco
Studio Z, formerly known as Transmission Theater,
Books Dead Kennedys for Nov. 21, 2002 with legendary
punk rock band, Fear
Los Angeles, Calif., & San Francisco, Calif.,
(October 28, 2002) - Legendary San Francisco punk
rock band, Dead Kennedys are no longer banned from
playing live in their hometown of San Francisco, California.
Studio Z, formerly known as the Transmission Theater,
has booked Dead Kennedys band members East Bay Ray,
Klaus Flouride, D.H. Peligro together with Brandon
Cruz, to play the venue on November 21, 2002 with
influential punk rock band Fear. Located at 314 11th
St. in San Francisco’s South of Market district,
Studio Z has been the only good size San Francisco
venue to offer Dead Kennedys the opportunity to play
in their own hometown. Recently, Dawn Holliday, booker
of Slim’s and The Great American Music Hall
had banned Dead Kennedys from playing either San Francisco
venue. She is a close personal friend of the band's
former singer.
"In a city that considers itself liberal and
free-thinking, there are precious few venues that
are willing to book the music of Dead Kennedys in
their own hometown,” said the band’s guitarist,
East Bay Ray. “Studio Z is a true punk rock
club in every sense of the word. Now when Klaus and
I are approached nightly by Bay Area music fans asking
about when we going to play, we can tell them, ‘Come
see us at Studio Z on November 21st.’”
Several weeks ago, Dead Kennedys booking agent called
the booker of Slim’s and The Great American
Music Hall in search of an established local venue
to book an upcoming West Coast tour in the Bay Area.
Currently the band is in support of their recently
released live disc MUTINY ON THE BAY on Manifesto
Records. Booker Dawn Holliday informed them that the
band would never be welcome in either club and was
told, "Good luck finding a gig in San Francisco."
Playing together for almost a year now, Ray, Flouride,
Peligro and Cruz, the lead singer from the seminal
Oxnard, Calif. punk rock band Dr. Know, have received
a steady stream of overwhelmingly positive press and
frenzied fan interest. The band recently completed
a 25 date European tour in Summer 2002, where they
played 14 countries where two-thirds of the shows
were full capacity.
10.19.02
- Dead Kennedys Banned in San Francisco
Local Talent Booker of Slim’s and The Great
American Music Hall Tells Band, “Good Luck Finding
a Gig in San Francisco”
Los Angeles, Calif. & San Francisco, Calif.,
(October 15, 2002) - Influential San Francisco punk
band, Dead Kennedys, have been banned from playing
in their hometown at two well-known venues, Slim’s
and The Great American Music Hall. Ironically for
Dead Kennedys band members East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride,
D.H. Peligro together with Brandon Cruz, this news
comes at a time when the band is currently enjoying
popularity as great as at any time in its past.
Banning the Dead Kennedys from performing live at
Slim’s and The Great American Music Hall is
talent booker Dawn Holliday. When recent calls were
made to Holliday in search of an established local
venue to book an upcoming West Coast tour with legendary
punk rock band, Fear, Dead Kennedy’s were informed
that they would never be welcome in either club. Holliday
was quoted as saying to the bands agent, “The
Dead Kennedy’s don’t exist. You can forget
about this place (Slim’s) and The Great American
Music Hall. Good luck finding a gig in San Francisco.”
“It’s surprising in this day and age
that some people still think that hate is a constructive
way to make things better,” said guitarist East
Bay Ray of Dead Kennedys. “When people let their
insecurities rule theirs and other people’s
lives, it only divides people further apart. Banning
talented musicians such as Klaus Flouride and D. H.
Peligro from playing the very music they created is
one example of what’s wrong with the current
music scene in San Francisco.”
“Isn’t the whole idea of a music scene
and its community to rise above this sort of petty
stuff?” asked Klaus Flouride, the band’s
bassist.
Playing together for almost a year now, Ray, Flouride,
Peligro and Cruz have received a steady stream of
overwhelmingly positive press and rabid fan interest,
even convincing the skeptics. Having recently completed
a 25 date European tour in Summer 2002, Dead Kennedy’s
played 14 countries where two-thirds of the shows
were at full capacity. Shows in a 1,000 seat venue
in Amsterdam sold out almost a month before the Dead
Kennedys arrived. The band also played to over 46,000
fans on the main stage at the With Full Force Festival
in Leipzig, Germany. Additionally, the band was able
to play in former communist countries like Poland
and the Czech Republic.
“One thing our shows give people, is the chance
to hear the lyrics and think deeply about politics,”
concluded Ray. “Who knows, it might even inspire
more critical thinking about today’s situation.”
09.03.02
- Dead Kennedys Tour Europe
East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, D.H. Peligro and Brandon
Cruz have just returned from a highly successful European
tour. Dead Kennedys' music and message are intensely
well loved and clearly have a place in the current
music and political scene. The band played 25 shows
in 14 countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland,
Belgium, Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic,
Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden). Two-thirds
of the shows drew full-capacity crowds.
"I was amazed at the amount of respect that
the band found in Europe," said new singer Brandon
Cruz. "The crowds were insane." "Overwhelming,
awesome and astronomical!" declared drummer D.H.
Peligro.
The momentum started when the Dead Kennedys show
in Amsterdam, Holland, sold out to over 1,000 fans
more than a month in advance. At the With Full Force
festival in Germany, DKS performed for its biggest
audience ever - 46,000 attended the festival. The
band played on the main stage before Biohazard and
the headliner Slayer, and the metal crowd were thrilled
to see and hear the DKs live. The band traveled to
Krakow, Poland, and played their very first performance
in what was once part of the communist world. In Prague,
Czech Republic, it was like Beatlemania - the crowd
was screaming so loudly that they almost drowned out
the music. Also in the Czech Republic, the DKs headlined
at the Rock for People festival and performed for
over 8,000 fans. There was a crowd of 4,000 people
rockin' at the Extrafestival in Turin, Italy. And
at Holidays In the Sun punk festival, in the United
Kingdom, the band drew an over-capacity crowd of more
than 3,500; the biggest audience of the whole festival.
The band wants to thank all the fans who came out
with open minds and thought for themselves; who did
not acquiesce in being told what to think. That's
always been an integral part of the band's message.
"The shows gave people a chance to hear Jello
Biafra's lyrics and think deeply about politics,"
observed guitarist East Bay Ray. "It might even
inspire more critical thinking about today's situation.
If Biafra is still passionate about politics, he certainly
would favor raising consciousness by any method."
Here are some of the other bands that Dead Kennedys
performed with in Europe.
WITH FULL FORCE FESTIVAL in Leipzig, Germany - Motorhead,
Machine Head, Dropkick Murphys, No Means No, Agnostic
Front, D.R.I., The Dickies
FESTIVAL SENSE NOM, Barcelona, Spain - The Subhumans,
D.O.A., Angelic Upstarts, MDC, Vice Squad, Raw Power
HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN FESTIVAL, Blackpool, UK - The
Business, The Adicts, Suicidal Tendencies, The Exploited,
UK Subs, Chron Gen, Peter and the Test Tube Babies,
G.B.H, 999, Varukers, Down By Law, Leftover Crack
On a side note, as backstage guests of the Red Hot
Chili Peppers at the Peppers' show in London, East
Bay Ray and Brandon Cruz met the ultra cool singer
Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame) and the glamorous
actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Due to the great response for Dead Kennedys at the
Holidays In the Sun, in England, the band will be
headlining at the Holidays In the Sun in Asbury Park,
New Jersey, Sunday Sept. 8, 2002, at the Stone Pony.
Other featured bands are: The Business, The Exploited,
UK Subs, Oxymoron, Youth Brigade, The Adicts, G.B.H,
Partisans, MDC, The Skeptix, Special-Duties, Leftover
Crack, Conflict, Anti Nowhere League and The Casualties. http://www.holidaysinthesun.net/
08.29.02
- Henry Knowles of Agression passes away
Henry Knowles of the Nardcore band Agression passed
away August 29, 2002 at 2:00 a.m. from leukemia and
hepatitis c. He was an amazing friend and guitarist,
leaving behind a daughter, two grandchildren, and
countless friends and fans. There will be memorials
and benefits coming up. We will post more when we
know what will be happening. Nardcore has lost one
of its own. We are in shock, saddened, and glad that
Henry is no longer in pain.
Rest In Peace, our friend.
The Nardcore Family
06.06.02
- Dee Dee Ramone Found Dead In Los Angeles
from www.mtv.com
Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of punk pioneers
the Ramones, died Wednesday night in his Hollywood
home, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles
County Coroner's office.
Ramone (born Douglas Glenn Colvin) was found unresponsive
by his wife at 8:25 p.m. She called 911, and fire
department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene
at 8:40 p.m.
A coroner's office spokesperson said the case will
be treated as a possible accidental drug overdose.
Investigators found a syringe and other drug paraphernalia
on Ramone's kitchen counter. An autopsy was conducted
Thursday, though the cause of death remains unknown,
pending the results of toxicology tests by the coroner's
pathologist, which normally takes up to six weeks.
The process is often expedited, however, when media
attention surrounds a case, the spokesperson said.
Dee Dee formed the Ramones in the Forest Hills section
of Queens, New York, in 1974 with guitarist Johnny
Ramone (John Cummings), drummer Tommy Ramone (Tom
Erdelyi) and singer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hyman), who
died of lymphoma last April. During his Ramones tenure,
Dee Dee wrote or co-wrote such tunes as "Rockaway
Beach," "Strength to Endure," "Too
Tough to Die," "Teenage Lobotomy,"
"Psycho Therapy" and "Chinese Rocks."
Dee Dee left the band following the release of 1989's
Brain Drain to adopt the persona of rapper Dee Dee
King and was replaced by C.J. Ramone (Christopher
John Ward).
When his rap debut, 1988's Standing in Spotlight,
proved less than successful, he formed the Chinese
Dragons.
Dee Dee returned to the Ramones fold in the '90s,
penning "Pet Sematary," the group's musical
contribution to the Stephen King film of the same
name, and several tracks for the Ramones' studio swan
song, 1995's Adios Amigos. He reunited with the Ramones
in August 1996 for a show at the Hollywood Palace
that featured cameo performances by Pearl Jam's Eddie
Vedder, Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, Rancid's
Lars Frederiksen and Tim Armstrong, and Soundgarden's
Chris Cornell and Ben Shepherd. The performance later
resulted in the 1997 live album We're Outta Here!.
"He was a star and the most influential punk
rock bassist," Johnny Ramone said in a statement.
"I believe he has influenced every kid playing
bass that saw him perform. ... He was my friend and
I will always miss him."
He last shared a stage with his fellow Ramones in
March, when the group was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
"I'll never forget Dee Dee's classic acceptance
speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony,
"Ramones manager Gary Kurfirst said in a statement,
"when he walked up to the microphone and said,
'I would like to thank myself, and congratulate myself,
and if I could, I would pat myself on the back.' That
was Dee Dee, direct and to the point. ... Dee Dee
Ramone was punk rock. I'm really going to miss him.
He was truly a unique individual and there will never
be anyone like him."
"He was sort of a wacky guy who wrote great
songs," said Deborah Harry, whose band Blondie,
like the Ramones, emerged from New York's CBGB scene.
"He was a really good songwriter, though a little
self-destructive. He was always nice to me, and we
always had a good time together. He was a lot of fun.
"He had this sort of manic energy," she
added. "I always thought that the Ramones were
this tactical force, like the Marines jumping out
of a plane or something. They had this focus and energy
that I really admired."
"I was still working out the final details on
Joey's headstone when I got the shocking word that
another brother in our extended family was gone,"
said Mickey Leigh, Joey Ramone's brother. "For
me, he was one of the greatest rock and roll songwriters
alive. Today, sadly, another life becomes legend.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to his wife, family
and friends."
03.01.02
- Dead Kennedys To Play SXSW
Thursday, March 14th, at The Back Room, with Unwritten
Law and others, Dead Kennedys will be playing a set
of all the classics that you grew up with. The singer
may be different, but the message is the same. Think
for yourself, and see one of the most vital, controversial
punk bands of all time. East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride,
D.H. Peligro, along with Brandon Cruz from Dr. Know,
have made believers of many skeptics; and keep alive
the spirit in which DKs were founded for long time
fans. Punk always has been controversial, so why stop?
Come to this show and see for yourself. Until you
know both sides of a story, you won't be able to make
an intelligent decision. Dead Kennedys fans have always
been among the most intelligent fans in the scene,
and in Austin, they will be there in force to welcome
the return of one of the most thought provoking and
unique sounding bands to ever play.
01.22.02
- Mutiny On the Bay tour
The live shows have been going great with hot performances
and lots of sold out houses! The band played for 3,000
fans in Santiago, Chile and for 2,000 fans in Curitiba,
Brazil, plus lots of enthusiastic and intelligent
sold out smaller shows from San Diego, California
to Sao Paulo, Brazil to Breckenridge, Colorado! Santa
Cruz, California sold out at 800 capacity, unfortunately
resulting in some ticket scalping out front. Read
the reviews of the performances at Live Reviews plus
more shows are being added all the time, see Tour
Dates. The new line up of three original members,
East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H. Peligro, plus
Brandon Cruz on vocals go by the name of Dead Kennedys.
Someone has said, let the audience decide; and the
audience, as well as the journalists and promoters,
have been calling the new line up Dead Kennedys all
along, so that's what it is.
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