Punk Rock Icon JELLO BIAFRA Hospitalized After Suffering Stroke

Punk rock icon Jello Biafra has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke.

As a result of his health setback, the former DEAD KENNEDYS frontman turned solo artist has canceled all his previously announced tour dates.

In a social media post from his long-running indie label Alternative Tentacles, Biafra said he had a hemorrhagic stroke — "caused by high blood pressure" — on Saturday, March 7.

Jello explained: "I hopped out of my bed because I needed to pee, and my left leg just collapsed under me and I fell to the floor. I couldn't even break the fall with my left arm because it wasn't working either. I tried to hop back up again, and I couldn't. I realized I had 'fallen and I can't get up!' It was this point I thought, 'Oh shit, I'm having a stroke!'"

He added: "I still have a lot of great stuff in me, but right now I gotta lotta of rehabbing to do."

Jello is currently hospitalized but stable.

In the 40 years that have followed the demise of DEAD KENNEDYS, Jello has devoted himself to activism, spoken-word tours, collaborations with musicians as diverse as NAPALM DEATH, NOMEANSNO, DOA, REVEREND HORTON HEAT, SEPULTURA ("Biotech is Godzilla"!),MELVINS, guested on records by Ice-T, REVOLTING COCKS and more, formed LARD with MINISTRY's Al Jourgensen and many other musical projects. Biafra has released more than 500 records on his Alternative Tentacles label, collaborated with artists including Shepard Fairey and Sandow Birk, performed as a DJ, run for mayor of San Francisco using the Jell-O ad campaign catchphrase "There's always room for Jello", delivered the hemp legalization pseudo-anthem "Grow More Pot", formed The No WTO Combo with Krist Novoselic (NIRVANA, SWEET 75),Kim Thayil (SOUNDGARDEN) and Gina Mainwal (SWEET 75),written a section in the Yoko Ono-compiled book "Memories Of John Lennon", launched his YouTube series of spoken-word video rants "What Would Jello Do?", acted in several movies, was invited to vote on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" and run for the Green Party nomination for president of the United States. Twice.