Former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra’s band, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine has released two versions of “Shock-U-Py!” as a pay-what-you-want digital download on their Bandcamp page.
The band features Biafra on vocals; Ralph Spight on guitars, keyboards and vocals; Kimbo Ball on guitars; Andrew Weiss on bass and drummer Paul Della Pelle.
Biafra explains the theme behind the EP. “Better late than never, here’s our tribute inspired by the Occupy movement. Not just ‘occupy’ – Shock-You-Py!- since my favorite kind of resistance can have theater, pranks, and other creative sabotage – non violent, of course!”
Physical versions of the EP will be available soon. “Vinyl and CDs will take a few weeks so we’re posting ‘Shock-U-Py’ online now – in two forms,” he explains. “There’s the ‘sing-a-long mix’ from the EP – semi-acoustic and ready made (for the most part) for singing at street protests. Or if you want the usual ‘rip your head off’ approach, there’s the ‘rock-a-long mix’ with the guitars way louder. So hey – now you have freedom of choice: two mixes, pay or don’t pay, you decide. Please help us out there if you can. I’m way in debt trying to finish the album. Benefit compilations for Occupy can just take it. It’s right there!”
The song is from their forthcoming EP of the same name, due out this fall. It will also include “Barackstar O’Bummer” (a non-album track), a remixed version of “We Occupy” which Biafra guested on with legendary punk outfit D.O.A.
“Occupy may be out of the corporate news machine right now, but that hardly means that it’s gone away and it won’t go away until the problems go away,” he said. “To me it’s a reigniting of the anti-corporate ‘spirit of Seattle’ but this time it’s bigger because times are more severe.”
Their brand new full length album, “White People And The Damage Done,” features “Brown Lipstick Parade,” “Werewolves Of Wall Street,” “Road rage,” “Mid-East Peace Process,” “Crapture,” and an updated version of “Burgers of Wrath (originally on the Jello and Mojo Nixon’s “Prairie Home Invasion” album).
“ ‘Burgers of Wrath’ is probably the best song I’ll ever write about unemployment and homelessness and works well as both a punk song and an Americana song,” Biafra says. “I’ve been wanting to play it again for a long time.”
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