So then, here's the some-what complete story of one of the best punk rock bands to emerge.

    The Dead Kennedys were formed by five guys who wanted to bring the punk scene of the U.K. to America.  Here is all the members of the band.

Name	AKA	instrument	notes
Eric Boucher	Jello Biafra	vocals	Ran for gov. of California in '79
	East Bay Ray	guitar	Started band by putting  an ad in the paper
	Klaus Fluoride	bass
Bruce Slesinger	Ted	drums
	6025	guitar	Left in March '79
	D.H. Peligro	drums	Replaced Slesinger in mid '81

 
    The Damned and The Sex Pistols toured the US in '77 and '78 respectively.  These bands and a trip to the UK in '77 made Eric interested in starting a scene similar to the UK bands but with an American touch.

    DK played their first gig in July of '78.    Then tension and provocation between band and audience that night set the standard for what was to follow.  Initially, DK had a beefy guitar sound, rumbling bass, and drums that were whacked to death.  The lyrics for the Kennedys songs were enticing, the band could actually play.  These things raised the group well above most other punk bands.  Eric was a great lyricist.  His songs were comprised of bashing various things.  Big business, the American Government, especially Ronald Reagan.  He poked fun at the Klan and the unworthy responses the these problems by the American liberals.  The Kennedys' early songs satirised and lampooned the twin elements of extreme vilence and extreme conservatism which characterise much of American life.

     Obviously, the Dead Kennedys' purpose was to offend many people.  They quickly attracted the attention of many politico-religious groups.  Many of DKs gigs were in the presence of a grand police force.  And because of the bands' controversy, no major labels would pick them up.  So the Dead Kennedys released records in punk's time-honoured DIY fashion.

    In 1979, Alternative Tentacles, the American brach of DKs private label, was alive.  A string of singles was released in the early '80s under the labels Fast and Cherrys Red.  They were "California Uber Alles", "Holiday in Cambodia", "Kill The Poor", and " Too Drunk to Fuck.

    The bands first album, "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" was horribly managed, causing what would have been one of the best punk albums to become life-less.