What Wouldn't Jello Do? Play Punk in the park
Everyone's favorite punk rock leather daddy Jello Biafra at No Values—photo ©dickslaughter.com
(Editor's note: Thanks to Dick, we have a new disclaimer at the bottom of every page now.)
It was just announced yesterday that the Dead Kennedys, in their current incarnation, will be playing Brew Ha Ha's Punk in the Park and they just became aware that the owner, Camron Collins, donated two hundred and fifty dollars to the 2024 Trump presidential campaign. They say they are going to do it for the fans. I'm afraid I can say without a doubt that the Dead Kennedys in their current incarnation are full of shit.
Dead Kennedys-ITCI think they are the Dropkick Murphys, but they are a little late to that party.
Perhaps they missed it when it came out last year, no one told them, or they somehow didn’t see the thousands of posts and comments on social media. Maybe they missed the whole thing with the Dropkick Murphys in Denver last year. To be honest, most of the behind-the-scenes crowd has known about Collins’ Trump leanings since 2023, if not before. Shawn Stern, founder of Punk Rock Bowling, said when Collins and Punk in the Park came up during an interview we did two weeks ago (watch for it in LA TIMES and here on ISM), “Well, it was not a secret that Cameron was a Trump supporter. I mean, I knew. Didn’t you?”
Skip Greer, current singer of the Dead Kennedys- ITCI—photo ©dickslaughter.com
I told him I had heard it a while before it became public but wasn’t sure if it was true, and I asked what he thought about the Dead Kennedys playing the festival. “Well, it’s not the Dead Kennedys without Jello,” he said, “but it’s still disappointing.” He also mentioned he’d been told Brew Ha Ha was planning something with Sublime, more of a reggae ska direction. Then he added, “You know fucking Sublime played at Mar-a-Lago.”
(Editor’s note: It was not Mar-a-Lago; it was one of Trump’s golf courses for Donald Jr.)
East Bay Ray didn't respond to my message on his Instagram.—photo ©dickslaughter.com
The idea that the band just heard about the donation is laughable. I personally reached out to the band for comment through their management company, the band’s website, and social media before the lineup was officially announced, asking for a response. I followed up with a list of questions. I also requested a quote from their former bandmate Jello Biafra, who was kind enough to return my message with a quote for the article.
Klaus Flouride doesn't have an Instagram.—photo ©dickslaughter.com
One of the many messages I sent to the Dead Kennedys in their current incarnation.
Hello, My name is Dick. I’m a photographer and pseudo music journalist with In Spite Magazine, and I’m working on an article about DK playing Punk in the Park. I was wondering if I could possibly get a quote or if you’d be willing to answer a few of my smart-ass questions.
Dick: Were you contractually obligated to play before this came out?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: Are they paying you double?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: Are you guys more about keeping politics out of punk now?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: Do you think this will hurt the band’s legacy?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: What would Jello do?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: Are you going to play “Nazi Punks Fuck Off"?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: America first? or Israel first.
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: Have you been to Epstein Island or any of his other properties?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Dick: If Brew Ha Ha gives all the punks free beer, do you think we would vote Trump in for a third term?
DK-ITCI: NO COMMENT
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Dick
Oddly, I asked a bunch of the same questions to Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, and he answered them all. Not all punk rock legends are created equal. Some still have balls.
(Watch for Blag and Dick talk about Punk in the Park and Coke on ISM in the coming days.)
The man who, according to my mother, ruined my life. Jello Biafra—photo ©dickslaughter.com
Well, what did Jello have to say, you ask?
Dick: What do you think about your former bandmates playing Punk in the Park and basically taking a shit on the band’s legacy?
Jello: “The real Dead Kennedys would never have let this happen in the first place! One more sordid reason I don’t ever want to play with them again.”
Dick: Then yesterday, after the band confirmed on their socials that they had decided to play the show “for the fans,” I received a second quote from Camp Biafra just a couple of hours later.
JELLO: “They’re taking the money $$$ and THEN pulling out?? ‘
Flyer courtesy of the lovely and talented Paul Rotzler.
“What’s the big deal about a two hundred and fifty dollar donation?" you might think. It’s not the millions Meta or Amazon throw around. It’s not billionaires eating babies on an island with Trump, Clinton, and Epstein. Who cares, right?
For some of us, it’s not the money. It’s the statement.
It’s the message sent when any money earned off a culture that prides itself on inclusion, anti-authoritarianism, and freedom goes to a candidate who ran on white nationalism and hate and who is actively dismantling our rights. One cent makes the same statement as a million when it’s saying, “Fuck what these bands and their fans think.” "I'll give your money to Trump and laugh.”
And the scuttlebutt is that most of these bands are trapped by contracts and threats of litigation for pulling out or, for smaller bands, tempted by rumored offers of twice the usual PITP payday. Let’s be honest. If you’re further than second down on those lineups, you’re not rich. You’re lucky to be on a bill like Punk in the Park. It’s an excellent opportunity to get your music in front of a very big crowd and maybe pay the rent on time this month.
So it’s not as easy as just not playing. And for some bands, it doesn’t matter. Blag or Leftöver Crack can play, and we’d probably all laugh. But if you’re pretending to be the motherfucking Dead Kennedys, you’ve got to have some integrity and not try to bullshit your way out of it.
And what makes it even more complicated is that it has effectively divided the punk community between those who don’t care, those who do, and those who somehow actually support Trump and think that is punk.
Get your tickets at punkinthepark.com before DK-ITCI pull out—photo ©dickslaughter.com
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