When Jello Biafra comes to the UWM Union's Wisconsin Room at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, it won't have the same sense of irony as when the former Dead Kennedys lead singer performed his spoken word work in Milwaukee. On that occasion, the event was held at Varsity Theater at Marquette University.
MU is hardly known for its radical political bent, of course, and it felt extremely surbversive hearing the sardonic, acidic political criticism and satire of Biafra -- whose work with the DKs never failed to turn heads even in the already edgy world of the circa-1980 hardcore punk scene -- in that setting.
Biafra -- rumours of his demise some time ago were clearly errant -- returns to town as part of a tour promoting his new three-disc set, "In the Grip of Official Treason," released in October on his own Alternative Tentacles label. Recorded on tour over the past four years or so, it's his first spoken word record since 2002's "Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand."
Returning is the provocative, cut and paste cover art of Winston Smith, whose work has adorned Biafra records going back to the DK days. And nothing changed in the packaging, either. Jello is on-topic, raging -- in that always simmering but rarely boiling over tone -- about the war in Iraq, voter fraud, the post hurricane New Orleans cock-up, the myth of conservative values and on and on.
From "California Uber Alles" onward, Biafra has taken aim at the powers that be and the powers that he sees as defrauding, defiling and destroying democracy and age has done little to temper his anger. In fact, it seems that as he's grown and traveled and read and learned more and more, he's even more teed off.
Expect him to pull no punches. But, similarly, don't expect a punk rock gig. Jello's all talk this time 'round.
Admission to the UWM performance is $7 and the show was organized by UWM's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
