JELLO BIAFRA Sues DEAD KENNEDYS For "Impersonation"

March 27, 2002

Ex-DEAD KENNEDYS singer Jello Biafra is suing his former bandmates for allegedly recording new music and performing live with a “Biafra impersonator” (DR. KNOW's Brandon Cruz) at the microphone.

Biafra — whose birth name is Eric Reed Boucher — sued his former bandmates for misrepresenting themselves by leading promoters to believe that Biafra is performing on the recent DEAD KENNEDYS tour by using his image in photos promoting the gigs.

“I don't object to them playing cover versions of the songs,” Biafra said in a statement. “Anybody has a right to do that. But they've engaged in deliberate bait-and-switch tactics. We've had witnesses report that [Cruz] was imitating my voice and stage moves rather than what he did in DR. KNOW. And their agent was very evasive about who was and who was not in the band.”

Biafra is asking for punitive and compensatory damages of more than $25,000 from the three remaining original DEAD KENNEDYS, including Ray Pepperell (aka East Bay Ray),Geoffrey Lyall (aka Klauss Flouride),and Darren Henley (aka D.H. Peligro).

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