- Born
- Birth nameEric Reed Boucher
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Jello Biafra is a compelling, enigmatic public speaker and musician. He has sung for many bands: his first band, Dead Kennedys, was a seminal early punk band and continues to define and influence American punk rock and its beneficiaries. A leader and follower of the "Do It Yourself" punk ethic of music production, he founded the Alternative Tentacles record label, which published the entire Dead Kennedys' catalog, and continues to publish established and emerging talent. As a practical joke, Biafra entered the San Francisco mayoral election in 1979, and came in fourth out of ten candidates. Biafra was a casualty in a right-wing U.S. cultural movement of the 1980s to censor adult content from recorded music and associated materials. Biafra was charged and exonerated in court on a charge of "Distribution of Harmful Matter to Minors", namely, an album containing a poster of "Penis Landscape" by H.R. Giger. The police raid on Biafra's home and his subsequent trial became an underlying theme of Biafra's public speeches and lyrics.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Basil White
- Eric Reed Boucher was born to Virginia Boucher and Stanley Boucher. Stanley a psychiatric social worker and poet and Virginia a librarian.
His sister's name was Julie J. Boucher (1963-1996).
As a child, Eric became interest in politics and was encouraged by both his parents. He watched the news a lot, one of has earliest memories is of watching the presidential assassination of John F. Kennedy.
He later became involved in activism due to several events of the time, the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings just to name a few.
His career in music began in January of 1977. He was a roadie for the punk rockers "The Ravers" (The Ravers would later become "The Nails").
Boucher attended the University of California, Santa Cruz. While there he studied acting and the history of Paraguay. Soon after he left to become one of the leaders of the California punk rock scene in the San Francisco area.
He is known the world over by his stage name "Jello Biafra". The name Jello Biafra is from Jell-O brand gelatin product and the name Biafra is from the short lived country in Nigeria.
Biafra attempted to secede in 1966 from Nigeria, but after 4 years of mass starvation and fighting, Nigeria regained control of the Biafran state.
Being that Jello Biafra created his name from a nutritionally lacking mass-produced food product and mass starvation, this shows how ironic Jello Biafra sometimes is.
When Dead Kennedys broke up he became directly involved with politics and political activism. In 1979 he and friend and band mate East Bay Ray took over "Alternative Tentacles" a influential punk rock record label.
He was in many bands such as "Lard" (after the "The Dead Kennedys"), "Body Count","No WTO Combo", D.O.A., "Jello Biafra & The Melvins", Napalm Death, "Metal Urbain" and Nomeansno.
Biafra was also well known for his spoken word art which he very much enjoyed.
In 2000 he finished 2nd to Ralph Nader while running for the Green Party as there Presidential nomination. He believes and supports there leftist political beliefs.
Biafra who is a self-proclaimed advocate for anarchism, cultural disobedience, political pranks, with direct action for political change.
He is known as a person who will use absurd tactics to gain media much needed attention.
Biafra highlights issues of civil and social rights, anti-capitalism, anti-consumerism and economic populism. Also anti-corporatism, He is a peace believing environmentalist who thinks health care should be for everyone. Anti-globalization, feminism, reproductive rights as well as for the separation of church and state are just a few of his beliefs.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Craig M.
- When running for mayor of San Francisco in 1979 his election slogan was, "There's Always Room for Jello".
- Chose his pseudonym as a commentary on starvation. "Jello" is based on "Jell-o", a brand of gelatin dessert with no natural nutritional value. Biafra was a section of eastern Nigeria that proclaimed independence in 1967. All transport was closed off to the breakaway republic by Nigeria, and mass starvation caused the country to collapse in 1970.
- In 1979, he ran for Mayor of San Francisco, California under his stage name, originally as a "gag' candidate, then as a serious one. His campaign platform included requiring all police officers to live in the neighborhoods they were assigned to patrol. He finished 4th in a field of 10 candidates, with 4% of the popular vote. Shortly afterwords, a law was passed in that city prohibiting running for public office under an assumed name.
- In addition to running for mayor, he also tried to run for President in 2000. He named convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal as his running mate. It was merely a publicity stunt for activism on Mumia Abu Jamal's behalf, as his case is believed by some to be a frame-up and is very controversial.
- His home was raided shortly after the release of Dead Kennedys album, "Frankenchrist" by police. The album outraged religious conservatives, who claimed that it disseminated harmful material to minors. He tells a story about this incident on his spoken word CD, "No More Cocoons".
- Don't HATE the media, BECOME the media!
- If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve.
- For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground.
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