Jello Biafra on origin of name Dead Kennedys ('82) + Black Flag interview ('84)

A young Jello Biafra on the origin of the name Dead Kennedys (It says "81 but it was definitely 1982) + Bill Stevenson and Henry Rollins of Black Flag talk about unoriginal music and closed minded punks (1984). Taken from "Punk 1976-79," on MuchMusic (Canada), which aired in the early 90s. This documentary had a big influence on me when I was younger.

[@zecchinoroni]

I could listen to Jello Biafra talk all day. I swear he could read a phone book out loud for like 5 hours and I would still be intrigued.

[@AmberAmber]

Same!!!!

[@gusplays3145]

He has a KZbin. What Would Jello Do

[@fazbell]

Jello is very easy to talk to in person. Saw him in 1982 in Atlanta. Despite his theater background, a very non-pretentious person.

[@jcerullo5015]

I seen him doing his spoken words in Toronto years ago felt like I was at church preaching to the already converted. Still one of the best front man

[@blazindragon7721]

Always room for Jello! 🤘❤️

[@cra83]

What Henry said is dead right, in my experience! Never seen so many people, judging others so much, more than at a punk festival. It feels like 3 days of "you dont have enough studs in your leather jacket" or "you have NORMAL coloured hair?! ew!!" Totally forgetting the idea of punk rock...

[@robdixson196]

The same douche bags that name off a bunch of shitty obscure bands just so they can feel superior when you shockingly don't know or care about them.

[@cra83]

@@robdixson196 yup! Just snobs with no life! The ones who know the score don’t pass judgement based on looks, the ones that do are poseurs themselves from what I’ve seen

[@danieljones8876]

Well said. A group of people who preach tolerance yet are the most judgmental, narrow-minded people.

[@joesmith5159]

much like the left the more abnormal the better the left always seeks to destroy society while offering nothing in return in its place thes morons always looking to destroy the best places in the world and glorify grabage countries

[@TeunVerhoeven]

A "dresscode" is everything but punk!

[@DavidMendoza-pd3pr]

End of American dream and beginning of the Me Generation holy shit he was and is right.

[@arnonuhm4022]

Yes. He saw Trumpism rise long before anyone else in the US saw how they were played. It's kind of funny how so many punks were wise as kids and turned into Dumbledores and Gandalfs if they didn't submit to drugs or pure materialism.

[@craigjackson6883]

Don't get it twisted. He wasn't talking about Millenials or Gen Z but Reagan Era yuppie fucks and the Bruce Springsteen cheering everyman.

[@DavidMendoza-pd3pr]

@@craigjackson6883 I am not getting it twisted because the people he was talking about at the time are the parents and grandparents of Millennials and Gen Z. What I am saying is this has been going on a lot longer than we thought. It just that people kept getting softer and softer.

[@craigjackson6883]

@@DavidMendoza-pd3pr yes you're right

[@mjstecyk]

They had Reagan to deal with at the time, trumpism is like reaganism on steroids and meth

[@fazbell]

I was fortunate enough to see both Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys in Atlanta at the old 688 Club. Good shows in a very small space. During intermission, Henry Rollins and his bandmates jumped off the stage and headed for the bar in the back of the club. Very friendly guys.

[@rayanna7188]

That's so cool! I wish I was there. I also kinda wanna meet Henry Rollins too. He seems a bit intimidating tho

[@GodWeenSatan]

Rollins with all that hair!

[@remenarpavlovic1479]

So much hair 😆

[@chazzmikol3966]

gotta love it

[@stevemandl5140]

henry rollins with hair holy cow.jello looks like a kid

[@Laura-kg9le]

Steve Mandl Henry Rollins was still totally the same. I think he learned young that people would actually listen to him. Something about his intensity when it camr to obvious points always bothered me, but now i wonderif that problem is mpre to do with myself. Jello was cute....smart guy alway.

[@QBert904]

henry rollins looks kinda like ozzy in this vid

[@Mitchery]

@@QBert904 Like Greg Ginn, he's also a fan of Black Sabbath.

[@MrJadePinwheel]

Jello hasn't changed a bit

[@gnuPirate]

Thank the stars! Apart from he's just gotten ever wiser.

[@soylentramen7795]

@@gnuPirate Yyyyyeah that "become the media" thing worked out fantastically, I must say.

[@kennethmalone2856]

Although I would say I do not buy into some of his conspiracies, he is actually really smart. I met him in Deland Florida.

[@arnonuhm4022]

Kenneth Malone Which conspiracies?

[@davidspears4550]

Henry hasn't changed either,he is still a dick.

[@imdead1922]

I love the shape of jellos face

[@greg6500]

"Punk rockers can be some of the most one way close minded, fascistic people" That cant be true, lets go ask Johnny Rotten about that. Oh... oh shit.

[@JohnSmith-rk6jy]

How is Jonney Rotten close minded and Fascist?

[@derekanderson706]

@@JohnSmith-rk6jy LOL

[@greg6500]

@@JohnSmith-rk6jy hes a burnt up Trump weirdo.

[@winstonsmiththx1138]

@@greg6500 no he isn't he likes to piss people off, remember when he used to wear Nazi paraphernalia just to get a rise out of people? Just because he's been seeing wearing a Maga hat doesn't make him supporter

[@greg6500]

@@winstonsmiththx1138 I dunno, I saw him going on and on about how much he loves Trump, seems pretty earnest about it.

[@tkmcnichols]

Jello is such a cool dude, would love to meet him one day. He’s not only gotten wiser by now

[@skateboarder-yr9qg]

Hahah your joking right? Your brainwashed

[@joesmith5159]

hes a clown repeating stupid leftist talking points as it it was 40 years ago

[@raddadization]

him and greg graffin.

[@pinkpumpkinn]

I love Henry's lisp

[@danielscissorhands]

+pinkpumpkinn It doesn't compare to Jello's lisp.

[@randallblatchley7846]

+danielscissorhands do you have the whole documentary? This is dope. Some rare footage of Flag with Bill Stevenson

[@danielscissorhands]

+Shane Clare-Thayer Here's part 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jafbemCuhKZ7la8 The person uploaded it in 6 parts, but part 3 seems to be blocked in Canada due to copyright. Not sure if it is blocked in the US.

[@randallblatchley7846]

thanks homie

[@danielscissorhands]

+Shane Clare-Thayer My pleasure, my friend. If you can't find part 3 due to copyright issues, you might try going to proxfree.org's youtube proxy thing.. and choose another country like france or the netherlands or whatever, and then search for part 3, and it might come up. ;)

[@nateblack8669]

Jello has such pretty eyes 😆❤

[@sammyscotch9945]

Does he have braces on his teeth?

[@kennethmalone2856]

Are you also a Queen fan?

[@blushingfrieza]

Him and young norm macdonald have the same eyes

[@shocklobster]

Welp. Look at things right now. Jello called the fuck out of that.

[@lipgloss-and-cigarettes]

Henry Rollins with a Robert Plant haircut is super weird to me

[@LuminousVeil]

more jim morrison than anything

[@danmalone7649]

It seemed super weird when he finally shaved his head again in 1987. After five years of Henry the Hippy, it was like "Woah, what the fuck? Are we back in 1981"

[@pen64]

I remember seeing him during that period. It was pretty radical for a Punk to have long hair... and a lot of dudes grew their hair out because Hank did!

[@johnjeczalik8960]

I agree with Bill especially nowadays. Anytime people like us try to make anything new and something that’s never been done before (or bring back old stuff and put our own spin on it) you always have people who only care for people and artists that only do what everybody else does. Sad isn’t it?

[@ethanhill9331]

Best band name period in music history. Stunned then flattered by name when I first saw it in print on a handbill. Punks are intellectuals, I thought, and Kennedys are killed, or escape death (tried to kill Ted but he swam to safety, unlike Mary Jo), in public view, therefore the name was brilliantly beyond bickering.

[@danielscissorhands]

Tried to kill Ted? He was drinking and driving and he drove off a pier, and left a woman for dead.

[@robfromvan]

Punks are intellectuals!!????

[@squirlmy]

You have to put on a tinfoil hat to understand! Although it's logical enough, if you think a nefarious group (whoever you believe them to be) can assassinate a President, without being outed for 59 years, it follows they might try to assassinate Ted, and set him up as a drunk driver. After all, he held his post in the Senate while many had to resign for much less. I grudgingly admire the attempt to explain the weirdness of it all.

[@ChasMusician]

@@danielscissorhands there are theories that Ted was set to get killed by the same people who killed JFK and RFK. But Ted escaped and had to take the blame for it so his reputation would not be bigger and therefore making him a candidate…

[@danielscissorhands]

@@ChasMusician I don't think that's what happened, Chas.

[@sebastiangaleano2041]

JB has always been so eloquent

[@bigmaz4002]

This is badass

[@junkbox_]

This from The New Music. It was a long running show on CityTV. Jeannie Bekker, Daniel Richler, and JD Roberts (John Roberts) were some of the shows original hosts. The new Music covered a lot of punk and metal bands when they came through Toronto. This show pre-dated MTV and MuchMusic and The New Music ran for about 30 years until the company was purchased by big corporate and immediately dissolved. The list of bands covered on this independent channel's long running weekly TV show is too long to list.

[@Ulfnarr]

1:33 private pyle, on stage, throws a guy in the thick of the mosh

[@frateroiram_5706]

LOL

[@AndrewJames91]

Whoa is that really him? I heard he was a doorguy/bouncer

[@InkedMisfit]

JELLO FOR PRESIDENT

[@yannisgk]

INDEED!!! :)

[@nyansybones4983]

Didn’t he run for mayor one time?

[@bobbywilson1132]

Jello, hitting the nail on the head. Henry, perfectly describing his future self. Bill, well, that was just drivel.

[@orpheusx]

A very punk rock response 😀

[@MissSiobhanCatherine]

Nice hair Henry Garfield very cool👍

[@TheRealCaptainFreedom]

I’ve been a Black Flag fan forever and I knew that Henry Rollins used to have long hair, but I had never seen it with my own eyes until just now.

[@DumPhuc]

That's the ticket!..no pain no gain!!..I like your workout!

[@souldavidthompson4854]

I saw Black Flag in 1984 at the 688 Club & Dead Kennedy's the same year at the Metroplex (both in Atlanta).

[@mrkrinkle72]

I seen them same year on a double bill at a teen club in the same strip mall that the very first Papa John's pizza was in here in Jeffersonville IN.

[@souldavidthompson4854]

@Spitch Grizwald Yes, I was there.. Good days then 👍

[@DoucheWaffe]

That intro is fucking priceless

[@tedsexton5406]

Post-modernism seemed like such a good idea then.

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

hahahaha Galaxy brain comment found

[@perriannesimkhovitch1127]

I hugged Jello briefly in the reception area? So long ago. DEVO, Blondie. We were all in our prime Nico played the Mabuhay. Jennifer Miro sang the ballad of surrender

[@Collateral0]

Nothing much has changed, sad thing is most of the modern “counter culture” is a parody of itself just like people became parodies of themselves then.

[@bugglemagnum6213]

@Ashli Babbit was murderedbythestate you're advocating for a "police murder" for the first time under those circumstances, if that's not self parody you might be up there with sloppy joe in dementiopolis

[@mundaneallaround]

Any ideology can take on authoritarianism.Hitler was pro animal rights and was a vegetarian. The current Left is very much fascist in pushing their word view on others. Rollins was correct.

[@RiseSteadyNC]

This seems to get truer everyday. I consider myself fairly liberal but these hardcore leftists of today will not tolerate a dissenting opinion and I think that's very sad.

[@mundaneallaround]

@@RiseSteadyNC Yeah,I've been a liberal for a long time but I'm not insane about it like many are today.

[@mitchelltrotter8406]

@@bugglemagnum6213 some ppl and have been asking for that for year's

[@Ojb_1959]

Thanks for this upload? I got to see the DK’s at Jeds on Oak St in New Orleans sometime in the early 80’s & Black Flag at The Dream Palace on 11/3/84 in NOLA too. Needless to say I was quite impressed 🎭

[@leoclayton6319]

So was l

[@leoclayton6319]

I also saw you all at the mabuha gardens off Broadway street in San Francisco back in 1979 around August.

[@Xnocturnus]

Jesus...I'd forgotten just how wild mosh pits used to be back in the day. Nothing like that anymore!

[@thehairyclevage1645]

Bollocks. Go to a drum'n'bass rave and get back to me.

[@craigjackson6883]

Yes there are.

[@airlinesecret6725]

Was not even called Moshing but Wrecking !

[@Aster_Risk]

Mosh pits are still just like that in modern times.

[@elvisisalive2716]

This is so fitting in today's day and age, shaw governments, the great reset. I still have my Dead Kennedy's tshirt from 86!

[@MrUndersolo]

Ah, 'The New Music'! Absolutely one of the best music programs ever aired!

[@mayfieldgage]

We’re in the me generation

[@yannisgk]

@Circuit Trainee i agree, but don't forget that underground is pointing into the future!!! ;)

[@yannisgk]

@Circuit Trainee indeed!!!(thumbs up)

[@josef2012]

The more things change...

[@Aster_Risk]

@Circuit Trainee It's incredibly funny that you think punks enjoyed hurting the feelings of everyday people who are disenfranchised or already being screwed over. You learn to be nice to people in kindergarten. If you haven't figured out how to do that as an adult, you're the one with the problem. Complaining about having to not be a jerk all the time just makes you look even more immature.

[@pen64]

@Circuit Trainee The “Me Generation” is a 70’s concept that Jello was echoing here. The "Me" generation is a term referring to Baby Boomers in the United States and the self-involved qualities that some people associate with it. The 1970s were dubbed the "Me decade" by writer Tom Wolfe. Christopher Lasch was another writer who commented on the rise of a culture of narcissism among the younger generation of that era.The phrase caught on with the general public, at a time when "self-realization" and "self-fulfillment" were becoming cultural aspirations to which young people supposedly ascribed higher importance than social responsibility.

[@righteousdingo35]

love bill stevenson but damn dude.

[@sknnyvinny2157]

Mikey Heywood this is probably due to the growth in his head prior to it being removed

[@nateblack8669]

Lol. Is it cus he was stuttering so much?

[@Brewzerr]

What? Because he's likely completely exhausted and sleep deprived from Black Flag's relentless touring schedule.

[@daoust26]

Playing in 2 bands and hooked on caffeine can do that lol

[@lowfatricemilk1860]

this is the most intensely ive heard Rollins' speech impediment!

[@99problemsbutafishaintone35]

God Bless Jello and the gang!

[@jonathanmitchell9886]

I don't have it in front of me so I can't quote it exactly, but in an interview with *Thrasher* magazine (early 1991), Biafra said the name "Dead Kennedys" had been floating around the San Francisco scene and that he just appropriated it.

[@squirlmy]

Yeah, it's funny that people accept what band members say to the media is gospel truth. If they're intelligent, they will say things to promote themselves, or even just to mess with the interviewers. Never let the truth spoil a good story!

[@camerondailey2627]

​@@squirlmyKurt is a really great example of this. He was incredibly savvy and driven

[@LetsGoMetsGo33]

I wonder if Jello was influenced in thinking of the name by the Misfits' "bullet" single and artwork. I know for a fact that he had that single and was a fan, he mentioned it somewhere (maybe a Nardwuar interview). That would have been about 1978, right around the time DK started.

[@agathisrobusta]

Does anyone know where I can get more of the Black Flag performance at the end? The sound is pretty good.

[@AmberAmber]

I have a warbly vhs copy & a bootlegged cassette of this. They aren't even playable anymore - I hope someone does have a better copy!

[@pukingblood4256]

Dope

[@majorblitz7219]

I was actually at the Black Flag live in 84 show at the stone in SF. Used to see them and DK alot. Plastic Surgery disaster is now.... The government Flu is here. Covid1984 Jello was wise beyond his years.

[@JamesCraigWhoop]

Whats the reasons for the name ? It shocks...it sells

[@clownrituals587]

Henry with the lovely, long locks!

[@marinadelosriscos7178]

Punk Not Dead.. NEVER!!!! ❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

1:09 best definition of musical elitism ever.

[@jarretc110]

you mean rollins unironically describing himself?

[@SherryHoltzclaw-rp7mn]

​@@jarretc110Henry is super cool and laid back these days

[@rainbowrotcod]

never seen jello so young before, jesus

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

I cannot decide which is the better rock 'n roll name, Jello Biafra or Wavy Gravy.

[@azhbaha]

Punk rockers, and rockers in general, can be some of the most one-way, close-minded, fascistic people grouped together that I've ever seen. - Henry Rollins

[@danielscissorhands]

Yes, but look up John Lydon Wear what you want (on KZbin)

[@azhbaha]

​@@danielscissorhands I don't think Jello was thinking of the quintessential musicians primarily, but rather primarily of the bandwagon hoppers identifying with them; it was the latter that Lydon was addressing in that excerpt starting with "It is not about uniforms, it is not about clothes or hairdos."

[@phillynott2459]

This was a much better answer that I thought. I figured he just thought it was funny that all the kennedy's were dead or something, which is really messed up

[@davidperez5089]

0:09 look at that tiny bassdrum. Must've been a makeshift substitute.

[@petermgruhn]

TV Party tonight!

[@TheJimtanker]

DK 4 life.

[@jasmineblack9778]

Total legend

[@still-standingrunner810]

Back when Henry looked like Richard Ramirez

[@aaarrrggghhhh]

That's interesting what Henry Rollins said because John Peel said the same when he started to play punk records on his show in the 70s. People (hippies) who had listened to him for years just weren't open to new sounds or ideas. Horrible complacency.

[@squirlmy]

Hippies not liking punk, and punks being hypocritical are entirely different things. Maybe you missed the point?

[@NWHPjpplayer1]

Can you give me any more information on "Punk 1976-79," on MuchMusic? Believe it or not, I want to use this interview in a research paper, but I can't find any trace of the source online. Greatly appreciate any help you can give me!

[@danielscissorhands]

+NWHPjpplayer1 Not really any extra information. Have you tried Googling it?

[@zargmatt]

Will you do the world a favor and publish your research online for us?

[@bobocop777]

I did a little research and I think it aired on March 8th 1992. And you can get a copy of the full program here: www3.sympatico.ca/nathetcarol/musicvarcomp.html

[@piiman5748]

whats the show the "slip it in" footage is from?

[@danielscissorhands]

No idea.

[@SaintMartins]

The clip of Black Flag performing "slip it in' is from a Canadian TV show named "New Music Magazine" It was filmed at the "Opera House" in Toronto in 1984. Sadly not from a filmed concert video.

[@jackedkerouac4414]

Holy shit the Me generation started 43 years ago

[@pen64]

People were taking about the “Me Generation” in the late 70’s...

[@Atomicsuplex]

Jello wasn't wrong.

[@sarcasmo57]

This is just one of the reasons my son is named Jello.

[@craigjackson6883]

The other reason is you're a dipshit

[@devilman7670]

@@craigjackson6883 🤣🤣🤣

[@DarkstarDarth]

Awesome🤖

[@petargrahovac1703]

What's the black flag song at the end?

[@danielscissorhands]

+Petar Grahovac Slip It In.

[@newgrounds90]

slip it in.

[@danielscissorhands]

+newgrounds90 I already answered him, but thank you anyway. ;)

[@newgrounds90]

+danielscissorhands oh shit i didnt see that lmao

[@danielscissorhands]

It's all cool. :-)

[@beckettmurtaugh3170]

_F A C I S T I C_

[@martinrodzzz5329]

"Fascistic". An important word at this time in history. It would probably be good if we all know how to spell it correctly.

[@stuffwithsoph8264]

Holy shit he was so right 😭😭

[@entertain7us148]

These bands are so * coool *

[@clementlee263]

Holiday in cambodia

[@caseyculpepper3574]

What’s the DK song playing at the beginning?

[@danielscissorhands]

Police Truck

[@BarfyMan_362]

“Punk was officially over by 1979” oh wow so the council decided it was over then huh?

[@soylentramen7795]

Just another cheap product for the consumer's head................

[@craigjackson6883]

Yeah dude Punk IS dead

[@Grrizo]

There's no council, that's why people think it survived.

[@robspencer35]

That didn't end well.

[@cherylchaison5085]

Jello seems intelligent

[@hsatin20]

As true now as it was back then

[@maryhinge128]

who's that kid at the back of the room?

[@magnumpineapple277]

Is it just me or does the fan on stage throwing the guy off at 1:34 look like the singer of Siege?

[@danielscissorhands]

I had never heard of Siege, but after a cursory google search, perhaps it looks like him, but this show was in Toronto, so I doubt it was him.

[@magnumpineapple277]

You're more than likely right. All the skinheads back then looked quite alike.

[@festersuncle6298]

I liked Black Flag back then. I can't figure out why.....many people my age still do. I can't figure out why. That's ok. I guess I'm progressive.

[@johnnyoranges]

Biafra and Rollins were and are speaking philosophically and politically, but the comments section seems to focus on their pretty hair and faces. Who cares? And what about the name 'Dead Kennedys', as opposed to 'DK's' ? That's what we're told this is about, and that's what made me want to check these guys out 40 years ago. They seemed to be attacking establishment liberalism from the left. Plus of course the music. Never underestimate the skill of East Bay Ray in particular.

[@playbackproductions1]

I recall J S Bach said the exact same thing

[@hugoduarte9018]

Bill!!!!!

[@christopherfritz3840]

Birdbrains.. punk rock was OOOVER in the early 80's! It peaked in 1978 in England after the collapse of the Sex Pistols USA tour..

[@bobhughes9628]

We've got a bigger problem now...

[@hinjurock70]

You... slip... it... INNNN!

[@nicktheg123]

After the Damaged Album Black Flag was incredibly terrible

[@siftwram]

Terrible take

[@txzz4688]

When it meant something

[@rubenverheij4770]

Kennedys wan- ted peace, but war is big busi- ness. "The war- machine must go on (and ne- ver ever stop)".

[@finnkdy]

ALL about de dolla' .

[@pantoponrosegoatoe4129]

Jello had me from the beginning ❤️

[@lucianofigueiredo4877]

Grande lenda

[@walterkersting6238]

This they call progress...

[@lucianofigueiredo4877]

Verdade

[@gabbogaffe1477]

God Jello was hot... they all were

[@gabbogaffe1477]

Lmao Jello definitely had that autism accent I just realized

[@Amy_Ramirez03]

Jello is soo cute 🥰 Henry Rollins so incredibly handsome #HardcorePunk

[@danielscissorhands]

You ain't bad yourself. 😉

[@perriannesimkhovitch1127]

Black Flag Anti Flag Electric Flag 🚩 I watched the indepth history of ww1 on the History Channel wow. I sensed something wrong with the mandated pledge of Aledgence at age ten. Led to me being permanently barred for employment for life

[@LeahDyson-kq4bd]

Young bill Stevenson charming 💕

[@wetdroidedition2549]

Wow. I expected a stupid answer

[@HoweyDamus]

A lot of lisp in one short clip

[@Aster_Risk]

@Colby Carter Take your homophobic comments elsewhere.

[@revxncha]

BILL

[@anonymous-yk9sz]

how can someone be so handsome though????

[@nunyanunya4147]

play music where even the band name is deeper than lyics are now days. we need a smash mouth iconoclastic truthsayer today. where have all the anarachist gone?

[@nathanielward7241]

In comment sections, too busy caught in the lie to open their own creative flow.

[@robyintro1102]

Mio papà

[@natemarchesi3472]

Bill fuckin Stevenson

[@danielscissorhands]

No, Bill Stevenson Fuckin', Bill Fuckin Stevenson is another guy.

[@antichrist7608]

why he look like norm macdonald

[@danielscissorhands]

Why you no speak English?

[@antichrist7608]

@@danielscissorhands my apologies, good sir. what i meant to say was that this gentleman shares an appearance with a comedian named norm macdonald, but due to the fact this is a youtube comment, i do not give shit how i type it out. good day to you

[@danielscissorhands]

@@antichrist7608 lol

[@haitolawrence5986]

Fun fact: It was actually Kennedy that put American troops in Vietnam in the first place.

[@winstonsmiththx1138]

Fun fact in 1961 Kennedy authorized 500 Special Forces troops and military advisors to support the 11,000 that were already in Vietnam when he took office. Nice try right wing nut job too bad you don't know what you're talkin about

[@squirlmy]

Although Ike and Nixon greatly increased their number. I believe there were still French troops in Vietnam at the time It was the phony Gulf of Tonkin incident that really amped up the war.