12.29.04: Jeff Penalty on East Village Radio
12.07.04:
Dead Kennedys Warn of UK Rip-off Artist
11.09.04:
Dead Kennedys In The Daily Show's "America"
11.04.04:
Bedtime For Democracy? Tune in and find out!
08.10.04:
Dead Kennedys Invade Hollywood!
08.03.04:
Jeff Penalty Live on KUCI and HollywodMusic.tv
07.13.04:
Record Label Drops All Legal Action Against Dead Kennedys
05.20.04:
Web Update - New Reviews, Pictures and MP3's
04.05.04:
An Open Letter to DK Fans
03.08.04:
DK Release Archival Recording "Live at the Deaf Club"
03.05.04:
Dead Kennedys Announce Nine Date UK Tour
01.22.04:
Update on Lawsuits Against DK

Current News
News Archives

12.29.04 - Jeff Penalty on East Village Radio

Jeff Penalty will be interviewed on East Village Radio on Monday, January 3rd between noon and 2pm Eastern time (9am--11am Pacific) on the "Modern Products" show, hosted by Harris Smith. Listeners can stream the program live from www.eastvillageradio.com. Non-listeners can use their imaginations...

12.07.04 - Dead Kennedys Warn of UK Rip-off Artist

Dead Kennedys regretfully have to blow the whistle on a United Kingdom booking agency that failed to pay the band as promised for a live show. The agency that did not honor their contract is Vicious Promotions, run by Tim Scargill. This announcement comes after months of requests, phone calls and emails. Vicious Promotions would always promise to pay by a certain date, but they never did. One time they even sent a check and then put a stop payment on it. They were always coming up with some convenient excuse - it was classic all talk and no action. The band hopes that other musicians will be helped by this warning.

The show was booked by Chris Monk who worked at Vicious Promotions at the time of the booking, he is now at Allied Autonomy. Chris Monk took no active measures to see that the band was paid. Ray Bailey, who is associated with Tim Scargill, also made promises to the band to pay them in an email dated January 15, 2004, but he never did. Tim Scargill and Ray Bailey are part of a charity in the United Kingdom called Punk Aid.

11.09.04 - Dead Kennedys In The Daily Show's "America"

Dead Kennedys were alerted this week that they are mentioned in the New York Times #1 best-selling book, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART PRESENTS AMERICA (THE BOOK): A CITIZENS GUIDE TO DEMOCRACY INACTION written by the writers of The Daily Show and show host and comedian Jon Stewart. On page 8 in the section entitled "What type of Government best suits you?," DKs; and a host of other bands including Black Flag, The Clash, Sex Pistols and Devo; can be found in the Favorite Punk Rock Band section if you were living under a Totalitarian Regime! Maybe the book is predicting something about the US? Hmmm? Anyway, we would like to congratulate Stewart on his much-needed interview on CNN's Crossfire last October. FINALLY, someone was able to lay into Tucker Carlson who really needs to stop sucking up to his high-ranking political guests and start asking the hard questions. Go Jon, go!

11.04.04 - Bedtime For Democracy? Tune in and find out!

For all you cable junkies out there, tune in to CNNfn's THE BIZ
(http://money.cnn.com/ontv/thebiz/) on Friday Nov. 5th to see East Bay Ray and Klaus Flouride chatting with Ted Turner's finest anchors about politics and their recently released CD, LIVE FROM THE DEAF CLUB and the DVD, IN GOD WE TRUST INC. - THE LOST TAPES. The show airs live at 9:30am Pacific, 12:30pm Eastern.

08.10.04 - Dead Kennedys Invade Hollywood!

“Kinky Sex Makes The World Go ‘Round” featured in new version of the film THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep

In a rather ironic twist of fate, punk rocks most controversial band Dead Kennedys have been embraced by Hollywood. Sort of. The track “Kinky Sex Makes The World Go ‘Round” featured on GIVE ME CONVENIENCE OR GIVE ME DEATH (Manifesto Records) is featured in the new Jonatha Demme film, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE starring Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.

Updating the cold war classic directed by John Frankenheimer, Demme’s remake is a cautionary tale of devious corporate and government practices that takes place in the midst of the Gulf War where soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes. To learn more about The Manchurian Candidate, click here.

08.03.04 - Jeff Penalty Live on KUCI and HollywodMusic.tv

Oops...it was reported earlier that Jeff Penalty would be on the "Shock Rock" show on www.hollywoodmusic.tv on Saturday night, August 7th, but in fact the show is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, August 10th. Apologies for any inconvenience...but log on on Tuesday night to see an extended video interview with Jeff and to hear some great music! The video of the show will be available for download for the remainder of the week, for more info check out www.hollywoodmusic.tv.

Jeff Penalty will be sitting in on UC Irvine's "The Free-For-All" radio show on KUCI 88.9 FM on Wednesday night, August 4th, from 6pm to 8pm (Pacific Time). He'll be talking with host The Lil' Heater, playing music, and taking calls from listeners, who can call in live by dialing (949) 824-5824. Orange County listeners can tune into 88.9 on their FM dials, everyone outside of O.C. can listen in live at www.kuci.org!

07.13.04 - Record Label Drops All Legal Action Against Dead Kennedys

In the word’s of Roy Orbison, “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!” Yes, Dead Kennedys’ misguided former record label has thrown in the towel and withdrawn its last lawsuit (there have been 5!) against the band. Reality has finally impinged on their nuttiness. The man who said he was going to fight to the end - didn’t. The man who said he would prove startling new facts - didn’t. Yes, the man who made it ugly and recently said “…it’s far from over, uglier than ever, with no end in sight” is finally ending it - the case is over!
By dropping all legal action against Dead Kennedys, the San Francisco Superior Court’s earlier decision at a jury trial in May 2000 is now final. The band’s former record label, Alternative Tentacles Records, was convicted of knowingly and fraudulently shortchanging Dead Kennedys; the jury awarded the band compensatory and punitive damages totaling more than $200,000.

“The record industry has been skimming royalties owed artists since the beginning,” said Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. “This case is no different from blues musicians being taken advantage of in the twenties and thirties. Many people doubted the claims we made against our former record label back in 1998 but with this announcement there is no denying we were the victims here. Now maybe it’s time for Klaus, D.H., Biafra, and myself to move on with our lives - more music and less lawyers!”

It has been four years since the San Francisco Superior Court ruling. The California Court of Appeals in June 2003 unanimously upheld all the verdicts against the former record label and its owner; everything in their appeal was denied. The record label in its appeal did not dispute that it acted deceptively. In contrast, the court did overturn the one verdict against East Bay Ray. The label had sought to overturn more than 20 years of band history and take sole control of Dead Kennedys by breaking up the band partnership, known as Decay Music. The ruling means that all band members will continue to maintain the band’s two-decade old partnership with all four members, including Biafra, sharing equally in ownership and control of the bands’ creative works.

When the original trial began in 1998, the band’s motives were questioned by some in the media and the punk community who had been lured into believing many fabricated statements made by the band’s former record label. The tactic used was to turn any statement of fact into a question of motive. The band was accused of wanting to profit from a mythical television commercial, yet they have never allowed their music in a commercial. The band was accused of greed, yet it was the label who took money from them. The band was accused of wanting to sign to a major record label, yet they signed to independent label Manifesto Records. The band was accused of wanting to destroy their former record label, yet the label is still in business. Lo and behold, all these claims against the band were false from the beginning.

Since taking control of the Dead Kennedys catalog following the trial court’s judgment in January 2001, the band has remastered and reissued their entire back catalog on both CD and vinyl. The band has also released their first live record, MUTINY ON THE BAY, a compilation of tracks recorded from 1982-1986 on Manifesto Records as well as the Target Video, DEAD KENNEDYS - EARLY YEARS LIVE DVD via Music Video Distributors. A new DVD, DEAD KENNEDYS, IN GOD WE TRUST, INC. - THE LOST TAPES and live recording from 1979 entitled LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB were released on CD from Manifesto Records in late 2003/early 2004. Since reissuing the band’s catalog in 2001 with superior, remastered sound and original artwork, music fans everywhere have recognized the improvement and continue to grab up more Dead Kennedys’ CDs than they ever did from the band’s previous label.

05.20.04 - Web Update - New Reviews, Pictures and MP3's!

There are some great thing added to the site today. First off visit the discography section and browse through the album pages to check out some free MP3's! Yup they are free and yours to keep! Next up we have some fantastic new show reviews including one fan review, so check them out! And last but not least, visit the pictures section for some great shots of the guys from The Academy Bristol, UK show that was on April 4, 2004. Also I would like to remind you that if you would like to contribute any pictures, photos, reviews etc. just email me at scott@deadkennedys.com.

04.05.04 - An open letter to DK fans

An open letter to DK fans:

A couple of weeks ago, there was a nutty posting on the Internet concerning Dead Kennedys' new "Live at The Deaf Club" CD. Let's just say: We had to laugh like hell. The posting was rife with inaccuracies and embraced immoral smear tactics in a pathetic "I am not a crook" attempt to influence public opinion. If it hasn't been said enough: don't believe everything you read...especially on the Internet.

The self proclaimed "whistleblower" derides the packaging and quality of the "Deaf Club" CD, and claims he was never consulted during the process of it's creation. Again: We had to laugh like hell. After all, how did he know he didn't like the artwork if he was never contacted about it? And for the record, there are copies of faxes, Fed-ex receipts, etc. up the wazoo to confirm he was kept informed about the project all along. Moreover, his lawyer was recently sent a fax asking them to take down these absurd comments. He was well aware of the CD but in fact chose not to participate in its production. Decay music is a democracy, not a dictatorship.

And let us not forget the non-existent Levi's ad (more appropriately termed the never-anywhere-never-happened Levi's ad!) and claims of an ongoing lawsuit that is only ongoing due to the efforts of our beloved "whistleblower" and his law firm. By our count he's lost 8 out of 8 cases in court. This is where our "whistleblower" starts sounding more like a "mad conspiracy theorist who gets too little sleep" and spends too much time thinking up "what ifs" rather than what IS.

He went on to warn the poor, unenlightened public about the "mentality" behind the making of a 22 minute DVD, referring to "In God We Trust, Inc. - The Lost Tapes", whose actual running time is 55 minutes, and then asked about "where the money is really going" from the aforementioned CD and DVD. We looked at his cashed royalty checks and thought to ourselves, "Mystery solved!"

And then, again, we had to laugh like hell.

For the record:

*Anyone concerned with the quality of the new "Live At The Deaf Club" CD can read unbiased reviews at www.allmusic.com, in the March 2004 Mean Street magazine, and in the May 2004 Guitar World.

*Anyone concerned with the fair distribution of royalties should be aware that Dead Kennedys and Decay Music are a partnership with each band member sharing equally. Additionally, all band members are paid on a regular basis on their music publishing based on the songwriting credit on each song. Thank you for listening.

-Dead Kennedys

03.08.04 - Dead Kennedys Release Archival Recording "Live at the Deaf Club"

Previously Unreleased Live Concert from 1979 Features a Never-Before Released Track “Gaslight,” a Disco Version of “Kill The Poor,” Two Unconventional Covers, an Early Version of “When You Get Drafted” and is the Bands Final Performance as a Five-Piece

Los Angeles, Calif., & San Francisco, Calif., (March 8, 2004) – The Dead Kennedys announced today they will be releasing a new, previously unreleased concert from 1979 entitled, LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB on March 9th, 2004 from Manifesto Records.

Recorded live in its entirety on March 3rd, 1979, LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB features rare, unheard music from the bands last show in its early five-piece line-up. The 14 track CD features the never before released song, “Gaslight,” an early version of “When You Get Drafted” entitled “Back in Rhodesia” and several oddities including a disco version of “Kill The Poor,” covers of The Beatles (“Back in the USSR”) and The Honeycombs (“Have I The Right”). The 3-panel digipak includes artwork from the original flyer for the Deaf Club show and participation from longtime band associates artist Eric Goodfield and was mastered by John Cuniberti. Band members include Klaus Flouride (Bass), Jello Biafra (vocals), East Bay Ray (Guitar), 6025 (Guitar) and Ted (Drums).

"LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB from 1979, is an excellent document of the Bay Area punk rock scene at its very beginning,” said East Bay Ray, guitarist of Dead Kennedys. “When the band regained control of our master tapes from our previous label in 2001, we wanted to give our fans the opportunity to hear the band as very few ever had before. This is a great document of the band at its very beginning with all the immediacy, importance and humor. We spent the better part of a year working on the artwork, packaging, mastering, and production of this CD and it shows.”

The Deaf Club, as the San Francisco Club of the Deaf, Inc. was affectionately known, was an underground hall in San Francisco's Mission District where bands performed in late 1978 and throughout the year of 1979. This Dead Kennedys' recording is a document of their entire show, which also featured the Germs from Los Angeles on the bill. In 1980, a compilation of live recordings made at different shows at the Deaf Club was released called, CAN YOU HEAR ME? MUSIC FROM THE DEAF CLUB. The limited run vinyl LP featured only a few songs each from the Mutants, K.G.B., the Offs, Pink Section, Tuxedo Moon and Dead Kennedys.


03.05.04 - Dead Kennedys Announce Nine Date UK Tour

Band Will Play England and Scotland in March and April 2004 in Support of Soon-to-be-Released Archival Recording LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB

Los Angeles, Calif., & San Francisco, Calif., (March 5, 2004) – The Dead Kennedys announced today that they are touring the United Kingdom in March and April 2004.

The nine-date UK tour will begin March 25th, 2004 and coincides with the release of an archival DKs live recording from San Francisco in 1979 entitled LIVE FROM THE DEAF CLUB. The CD will be available in the US on Manifesto Records March 9th and in Europe from Plastic Head Distribution on March 22nd, 2004. Tour dates on this extensive UK tour are listed here.

"Dead Kennedys have always wanted to do a comprehensive tour of the UK since we reformed in 2001," said Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "We have been to the UK twice in the last few years for select shows and while we have nothing but positive response from our fans, I don’t anticipate we will be back for quite some time. So expect these shows will be very special."

View upcoming show dates by clicking here.


01.22.04 - Update on Lawsuits Against DK
Following a California Appellate Court’s verdict last June, two of the three active lawsuits filed against the Dead Kennedys by their former record company, Alternative Tentacles Records (A.T.R.), have been dropped. A Federal Court action and an Alameda County Superior Court action filed against the band by the company were officially withdrawn in October of last year. These lawsuits were in addition to the label’s California Appellate Court case against the band.

Unfortunately, A.T.R. is continuing its legal action against Dead Kennedys with papers filed in San Francisco Superior Court in November 2003. Each lawsuit by the record company has been an attempt to destroy the band's equal partnership of more than twenty years, Decay Music. Decay is a joint partnership between Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H. Peligro.

Both Decay Music and Dead Kennedys have been tied down in court by the record company for more than five years now. In September 1998, the band decided to leave the label after it was discovered that A.T.R. was deliberately being dishonest with the band about royalties owed and wrongly profiting for over 10 years on the band’s share of the income.

Dead Kennedys won a jury trial in San Francisco Superior Court in May 2000 as well as the appeal filed against them by A.T.R. in the California State Appellate Court in June 2003. In that case, the three Appellate Court Justices unanimously upheld the earlier Superior Court’s decision that Alternative Tentacles Records was guilty of knowingly and deliberately defrauding Dead Kennedys members, East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D. H. Peligro, out of royalties owed them as members of Dead Kennedys and that the record company had issued the DK’s catalog without their permission. The Appellate Court also found that, despite wild accusations by the company, the band members had done absolutely nothing wrong and were entitled to their equal voice. In the court of public relations, however, the company has persisted in a cynical “blame-the-victim” campaign against the band. The company’s false attacks against the band have fallen on deaf ears. The band did not and has not signed to a major label, nor have they ever allowed their music to be used in any TV commercial.

As A.T.R.’s actions were being brought to light, other bands have left the record company and have not been taken to court for doing so. D.O.A., Neurosis, No Means No, Zen Guerilla and others have all left the label without being sued nor were subjected to a media name-calling campaign such as the one directed at Dead Kennedys.

Said the L.A. Weekly in August 2003, "…[though] a legal victory held Jello Biafra responsible for withholding tens of thousand of DK dollars due his cohorts, the band couldn't even get booked in Frisco until recently—the work of a weird moral majority, made stranger by the fact that all the band members sought was to be recognized as equal partners."

A lot of negativity and name calling has been heaped upon Dead Kennedys but one has to wonder why the finger has not been pointed in such other directions as A.T.R.’s lawyers and their failed strategy? Instead of simply acknowledging the label’s wrongful actions and correcting them, the lawyers have cost ATR several $100,000’s of dollars in legal fees.