Two weeks ago, I reported on the controversy surrounding Jello Biafra and his plan to bring his band The Guantanamo School of Medicine to Tel Aviv for a concert. Supporters of the academic and cultural boycott of Israel seem to have prevailed, as the former Dead Kennedys frontman announced that the show now will not happen:

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine are not going through with the July 2 date in Tel Aviv.

This does not mean I or anyone else in the band are endorsing or joining lockstep with the boycott of all things Israel….

The toll and stress on the band members and myself has been huge, both logistically and as a matter of conscience. I can’t drag anyone any further into rough waters without being better prepared than some of us thought we were. A responsible leader does not go, ‘Hey, check out the storm at the top of Mount Everest. Let’s go up anyway just in case we don’t die.’ Some members are angry with me for this decision, let alone how long it took me. I don’t blame them.

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No stranger to controversy, hardcore punk icon Jello Biafra seems to have once again caused a bit of a stir, though not in a way that he’d otherwise like. His band The Guantanamo School of Medicine recently announced a short tour which includes a July 2nd gig in Israel at Tel Aviv’s Barby Club. Shortly thereafter, an organization called the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign contacted Biafra, urging him not to play the show and to support the academic/cultural boycott of that country. Last week, he published his response letter to the organization, commenting that “the decision to play in Tel Aviv was not taken lightly” and expressing his interest in using the trip to learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fans as well as those with opinions on the cultural boycott took the debate to the band’s Facebook page, leading Biafra to release a statement:

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A couple months ago, I came across a concert listing online that the Dead Kennedys were playing a show in New York City. Fully aware of the band’s tumultuous and litigious history, as well as from my conversation with him earlier in the year, I knew that verbose, charismatic frontman Jello Biafra was not going to (be permitted to) participate. On that basis alone, I saw little reason beyond perverse curiosity to actually go see this any more than I’d want to see The New Cars. Now, according to esteemed Boston indie newspaper The Phoenix, bassist Klaus Flouride isn’t even participating. So it’s co-founder East Bay Ray, D.H. Peligro, and two guys nobody gives a crap about, banking on DK’s name recognition to con some kids and unawares into shelling out hard earned money for glorified karaoke.

Anyway, tour dates are below if you’re interested in being completely underwhelmed. I’ll stick with Jello’s current band, the Guantanamo School of Medicine, who happen to have some Western Canada shows coming up.

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Jello Biafra is one of the very few people living today who can honestly be called a musical pioneer. The importance of the Dead Kennedys cannot be overstated, and as that hardcore punk act’s frontman and voice, Jello’s words continue to influence generations of people worldwide dissatisfied with the status quo, whether that apply to the music scene or the socio-political climate. Fortunately, he continues to rail against the crimes inflicted by governments and corporations in his own unique way, whether it be through bitingly witty spoken word performances or those from his new band, The Guantanamo School of Medicine. Yet after all of these years, Jello still prides himself on not stagnating or repeating himself. In his own words:

One thing we’ve gone out of our way to do with [The Guantanamo School of Medicine] and what I do in general, I’m kinda proud that no two music albums of mine have ever sounded alike. Not even the Lard albums or the two I did with the Melvins, let alone Dead Kennedys. There’s so much punk and so much metal that gets put into these little genres and sounds so much like other bands that you wonder, “what’s the point?” This is like drawing in a coloring book instead of making a picture from your imagination as a kid. Part of what that comes from is drawing my sources and my ideas from other parts of music besides punk, including even that weird tiki cocktail lounge music from the Fifties… You wanna put a unique stamp on your band, you’ve gotta draw from forces outside your favorite kind of music. I didn’t even realize until years later that when I’d hide out at my parents’ place in Colorado to write songs and plan out the next Dead Kennedys album that I was listening to almost no punk whatsoever when I was doing it.

Below, check out more from my interview with Jello.

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