Musicbeat

from March 7, 2013

In Rotation

Jello shot

Jello Biafra

The former singer and principal songwriter of the Dead Kennedys, Jello Biafra is well known for his incisive wit, political insight and provocative humor. His current group, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, has a new album slated for release in April on his record label, Alternative Tentacles. He’ll perform a DJ set at the DebauchA-Reno festival (see this week’s feature story, page 13, for more information). You’re coming up here to Reno to DJ the Debauch-A-Reno festival. How did that come about? Oh, I just got tipped to it by Jesse Luscious, the old singer of the Frisk and the Criminals and Blatz and all that good stuff. He now works for me at Alternative Tentacles. He just thought I might want to know about it. I see The Sonics at the top, and my eyes popped out of my head. I got to find my way to get up there. Maybe I can even make myself useful. Maybe I can even find a way to have some fun and make myself useful. I had just been in Seattle and Portland doing some cameo appearances on the Reverend Horton Heat tour, and the reports from people up there are that the Sonics are still pretty damn good. … They’re one of my favorite bands. One of the most important bands in my life ever. Why? Just the music and the sound itself, and [Gerry] Roslie’s voice. I’d seen them listed as some obscure ’60s punk band in some magazine in L.A.—I can’t remember what it was. It was some pre-fanzine thing, long before punk happened. That was

the first time I saw the term ‘punk’ used for this kind of fierce, primal by rock ’n’ roll. … I made a mental Brad Bynum note to check them out. And then an bradb@ old compilation called Explosives newsreview.com was up on a wall in a store when I moved to San Francisco, and I thought that might be only chance to check them out. So I paid way too much money for it, at least at the time, and brought it home. And unlike most of these things where you expect way more than you’re ever going to get because your expectations are so high, I put it on and was like, my god, this is really, really good. This dude’s voice is amazing. … I thought, wow, the missing link between the Ventures and the Stooges. I would put them in the top five as far as the most important, influential bands of my own music and writing.

“I’m very proud of Dead Kennedys,” says Jello Biafra.

For an extra long version of this interview, visit www. newsreview.com When was the last time you were here in Reno? It’s been a while. … The real Dead Kennedys only played in Reno once. I think the phony Dead Kennedys have been through once or twice, maybe three times.

What’s your relationship with those guys, now? I know there’s been lawsuits. It’s absolutely zero. I get a threat letter from their lawyer every once in a while. And now they have this bum manager who appears he may even be a right-wing Christian, a born-again Christian who runs around cutting deals. People have told me in L.A. that he claims he’s my friend, and that everything’s cool, but that’s not the case at all. They still can’t seem to stop all these promoters putting pictures of the band with me in the ad. As far as I’m concerned it’s one of the lowest points punk has ever reached. … But people shouldn’t get this wrong. I’m very proud of Dead Kennedys and very grateful people are still that into the music this many years later. I have no regrets about the band, the music or what we did. I have terrible regrets about what those guys turned into afterwards. They’ve become Republicans. … They can claim they wrote the songs all they want to, but where are the new songs? The new songs are all with me. Ω

Itʼ s happening in

ACTIVITIES

SPARKS SHAMROCK SHUFFLE 5K FUN RUN On St. Patrick’s Day! Athlete in You welcomes all ages to downtown Sparks on Victorian Square to show your Irish spirit. Su, 3/17, 1PM, $32/adults, $22/youth. Victorian Square, Victorian Ave. pat@athleteinyou.com WINTER PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES Presented by Michael Janik. Learn how to correctly prune fruit fruit trees. Proper tools and techniques will also be covered. Please RSVP. Sa, 3/9, 11AM & 1PM. Free with canned food donation. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551 EZ PICK BAREFOOT FRUIT TREES Presented by James Sho-L.E. Cooke. You can have an orchard in even the smallest areas with these specially trained varieties. Sa, 3/16, 11AM & 1PM. Free with canned food donation. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551 FUN WITH DRAWING Give your child a lifelong gift learning the fundamentals of drawing. Your child will learn value, shading and an introduction to perspective while developing techniques. Th, 5:15-6:15PM through 3/14. Opens 2/7, $45 for six classes. Alf Sorensen Community Center, 1400 Baring Blvd. (775) 353-2385 E-READER CAFE Learn how to download library e-books and audiobooks to your electronic device. Please bring your library card, device with USB cable and a basic understanding. Th, 4-5PM through 3/28. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200 CONVERSATION CORNER Washoe County Library presents a series of English language learning sessions. W, 4:30-6PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200 FOUR SEASONS BOOK CLUB The book club meets the fi rst Saturday of each month. Call to fi nd out each month’s book title. 1-2PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200 CONVERSATION CAFE The drop-in conversation program meets on the fi rst Saturday of each month. 2-4PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200 BEADS AND BOOKS Learn basic beading techniques with volunteer beading expert, Jamie, and work on projects with other beaders. First Su of every month, 1-3PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800 CLICKETS KNITTING GROUP Jean Peters guides this class for knitters of all ages and levels. Yarn and needles are available. First and Third Su of every month, 1:30-3PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800 CROCHET CONNECTION Learn to crochet or share tips with other crochet enthusiasts. Second and Fourth Th of every month, 4-5:45PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800 BILINGUAL STORYTIME First and third Saturdays 11-11:30AM, through September. Storytime in Spanish and English for children to age 6. Cada 1° y 3° Sabado. First Sa of every month, 11-11:30AM through 9/7 and Third Sa of every month, 11-11:30AM, through 9/21. Free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200

PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC

LES MISERABLES Reed High School presents Les Miserables School Edition Th, 3/7, 7PM, F, 3/8, 7PM and Sa, 3/9, 2 & 7PM, $10-$15. Edward Reed High School, 1350 Baring Blvd. (757) 353-5700 JENNY SIMMONS OF ADDISON ROAD Live, in concert with special guests “I Am They”. Join us for this awesome night of praise and music. Sa, 3/9, 6:30PM, $8. Jesus Christ Spirit Filled Church, 3175 Goldy Way (775) 358-2842 LADIES 80S WITH DJ LARRY WILLIAMS Ladies ’ with DJ Larry Williams, every Thursday! Th, 7PM through 10/4, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 BILL DAVIS Sa, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659 ERIC ANDERSON Th, 3/7, 5:30PM, F, 3/8, 6PM and Sa, 3/9, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300 M8TRIX Th, 3/7, 7PM, F, 3/8, 8PM and Sa, 3/9, 8PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 JUST RIGHT F, 3/8, 6PM, Sa, 3/9, 6PM, Su, 3/10, 6PM, F, 3/29, 6PM, Sa, 3/30, 6PM and Su, 3/31, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 ACRONYCAL F, 3/8, 9:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030 RENEGADE Sa, 3/9, 9:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030 SHILTS W, 3/13, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 ROSENDO Th, 3/14, 5:30PM, F, 3/15, 6PM and Sa, 3/16, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 STEW STEWART Th, 3/14, 7PM, F, 3/15, 8PM and Sa, 3/16, 8PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave.(775) 356-3300 CRUSH F, 3/15, 9:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030 STEVEN WRIGHT Sa, 3/16, 9PM, $49. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 KEN NAVARRO W, 3/20, 6PM, no cover. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300 KARAOKE ASPEN GLEN BAR Every Sat night. Hosted by Mike Millard of Cycorockstar Entertainment. Sa, 9PM-2AM through 9/14. Aspen Glen Bar, 5215 Vista Blvd. 89436 / (775) 354-2400 SPIRO’S F, 9PM, no cover. 1475 E. Prater Way (775) 356-6000 THE ROPER DANCEHALL & SALOON Country music dance lessons and karaoke, Th, 7:30PM, no cover. 670 Greenbrae Dr. (775) 742-0861 OPEN MIC GREAT BASIN BREWING Open mic comedy. Th, 9PM, no cover, 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711

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CITY OF SPARKS

Mayor: Geno Martini. Council members: Julia Ratti, Ed Lawson, Ron Smith, Mike Carrigan, Ron Schmitt. City Manager: Shaun Carey. Parks & Recreation Director: Tracy Domingues. Mayor and Council members can be reached at 3532311 or through the City of Sparks website.