Lifeless Kennedys reveals what’s holding again a reunion

Lifeless Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray has spoken about what's stopping the band from reuniting with their former frontman, Jello Biafra.

The musician (actual identify Raymond Pepperell) co-founded the San Francisco punk outfit again in 1978. They introduced their cut up in 1986 earlier than releasing their fourth and last studio album, ‘Bedtime For Democracy’.

In 2001, Lifeless Kennedys reformed with Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride and drummer D.H. Peligro within the line-up. The latter had changed unique drummer Ted (actual identify Bruce Slesinger) in 1981.

Former Dr. Know singer Brandon Cruz stepped in for Biafra initially, however was changed by Jeff Penalty in 2003. The latter departed Lifeless Kennedys 5 years later, with present frontman Ronald ‘Skip’ Greer taking on the function.

Following Peligro’s demise in 2022, the group have performed with each Santi Guardiola and Steve Wilson behind the equipment.

Throughout a brand new dialog with Guitar World, East Bay Ray opened up a couple of potential reunion for the unique Lifeless Kennedys line-up. The interviewer alluded to his fraught relationship with Biafra, asking if “an excessive amount of had occurred” between them for a comeback.

“It’s not a difficulty for me or Klaus. It’s Biafra that turns down any presents for us to do one thing; we don’t have any downside,” the guitarist responded. “He acquired caught together with his arms within the until and needs in charge us for getting caught, however he ought to by no means have put his arms in there within the first place.”

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It was famous that Lifeless Kennedys had accused Biafra of withholding royalties in a lawsuit again in 1998. Biafra misplaced the authorized battle two years later, and was required to pay his ex-bandmates excellent royalties and punitive damages.

Moreover, he was additionally compelled at hand over the rights to a majority of Lifeless Kennedys’ again catalogue. This allowed the remaining members to reissue previous albums, together with a 2022 re-release of their debut file ‘Contemporary Fruit For Rotting Greens’. Based on Biafra, this was executed “deliberately” behind his again.

Elsewhere within the latest Guitar World interview, Pepperell recalled Lifeless Kennedys’ “chemistry” and artistic course of, claiming that they “wrote as a band”.

“None of us has had a solo profession that was larger than Lifeless Kennedys, which, to me, reveals the ability of a bunch of proficient individuals getting collectively and creating one thing that was far higher than the sum of its elements,” he continued. “Jello didn’t convey within the songs. I do know he’s created the parable that he wrote all of them, however the query right here is that if he did, why didn’t he ever do something important after leaving the band?”

He added: “Iggy left the Stooges and had a profession; ditto Lou Reed with the Velvet Underground or Morrissey with The Smiths. The place’s Biafra’s solo profession with a bunch of nice songs?” The guitarist went on to say that “only a few songs had been written by one individual” within the band.

Lifeless Kennedys just lately performed a run of dwell reveals within the US. However in keeping with Pepperell, he and Klaus “have determined to wind issues down a bit”.

He continued: “We’re lowering the variety of reveals, and we gained’t be doing lengthy excursions. We’re not 20 anymore, and we don’t play the type of music you could sit right down to play [Laughs].”

In 2017, the band turned down a suggestion from Chicago’s Riot Fest to reunite the unique line-up. “Lifeless Kennedys had a honest invitation to play a reunion present at Riot Fest in Chicago this fall,” wrote on Fb on the time. “Jello Biafra turned it down. Klaus Flouride, DH Peligro and I had been wanting ahead to doing it.”