Punk Icon Jello Biafra Defies Fans to Come to Israel

Image by Catherine Andersen

By Ben Shalev June 28, 2011

Crossposted from Haaretz

Image by Catherine Andersen

Devout listeners to Michal Niv’s program on Army Radio, Hafsakat Esser (10 a..m. Break), will never forget the voice that shouted “California Uber Alles” on her show.

The queen of 1980s alternative radio, Niv often devoted airtime to punks and hardcore musicians, but even among her extreme group of fans, a place of honor is reserved for Jello Biafra, the Dead Kennedys’ former vocalist, who is scheduled to appear at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv on Friday.

Capitalists and fascists who happen on the place by mistake are likely to find themselves under a massive attack by one of the biggest mouths the American music world has ever known. Armed with an acid voice, with the energy of a dozen activists and the understanding that the best way to get people to think critically is to shock them, Biafra dropped anarchist bombs in the shape of short songs that were noisy and provocative.

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