b. Eric Boucher, 17 June 1958, Denver, Colorado, USA. It took a little time for Biafra to launch his solo career after being emotionally and financially sapped by the demise of his former band, the Dead Kennedys. The drain was primarily due to the torturous legal process after the group were charged with "distributing harmful matter to minors" over H.R. Giger's painting Landscape #20 - aka "Penis Landscape". When Biafra did resume recording it was initially in the field of spoken word lectures. Both No More Cocoons and the ironically titled High Priest Of Harmful Matter took this course, the latter explaining in great detail, and no little humour, the forces lined up against him in his trial. Always an articulate songwriter and frontman, Biafra worked well in the environment, with much of the material culled from his live lectures throughout the USA (centred on the theme of artistic censorship by bodies such as the PMRC, who had made Biafra something of a target). Since then Biafra has returned to music, working with a host of artists, generally drawn from the Alternative Tentacles Records roster, a label he set up in the early 80s to house Dead Kennedys product. These have seen Biafra provide the lyrics and distinctive vocals to the musical muscle of NoMeansNo and D.O.A.; the latter teaming fostered the seismic, extended rampage of "Full Metal Jackoff", one of the artist's finest moments. Biafra also appeared with members of D.O.A. in the movie Terminal City Ricochet. The recordings conducted with Lard saw him join with Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker of Ministry, with Biafra as acerbic as ever on a cover version of Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!' (conducted with the same sort of religious fervour as the Dead Kennedys" versions of "Rawhide" and "Viva Las Vegas"). The artist then returned to the spoken word format with I Blow Minds For A Living, before another collaboration, this time with renowned anti-redneck country artist Mojo Nixon. In 1994 Biafra was hospitalized with two broken legs after being assaulted at a show by punks who accused him of "selling out", an action even the PMRC would not have been hysterical enough to pursue. Even worse, Biafra was sued by three former members of the Dead Kennedys in 1998 over alleged financial irregularities. Undeterred, he ran for the Green Party in the 2000 US presidential elections.
DISCOGRAPHY: No More Cocoons spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 1987)***, High Priest Of Harmful Matter - Tales From The Trial spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 1989)***, with D.O.A. Last Scream Of The Missing Neighbors mini-album (Alternative Tentacles 1990)***, with NoMeansNo The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy (Alternative Tentacles 1991)***, I Blow Minds For A Living spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 1991)***, with Tumor Circus Tumor Circus (Alternative Tentacles 1991)***, with Mojo Nixon Prairie Home Invasion (Alternative Tentacles 1994)***, Beyond The Valley Of The Gift Police spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 1994)***, If Evolution Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 1998)***, Become The Media spoken word (Alternative Tentacles 2000)***, with the Melvins Never Breathe What You Can't See (Alternative Tentacles 2004)***, with the Melvins Sieg Howdy! (Alternative Tentacles 2005)**, In The Grip Of Official Treason (Alternative Tentacles 2007)**.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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