Daniel Robert Epstein: East Bay Ray

i must have been high as a kite when i wrote this

The bias begins in the opening paragraph: "Most recently they have had major legal problems with their former lead singer, Jello Biafra." As far as I can tell, the DKs were Jello's band, not the other way around. Honestly, without Jello, who would remember East Bay Ray, great guitarist he may have been. Without Jello, the name "Dead Kennedys" wouldn't even exist for these fucks to come out of retirement and exploit for quick cash from the nostalgia-addled.

why wouldn't you want to sell your music? you sell yourself, no matter what the fuck you think you are. DK will forever be a great band that influenced many many others. you probably have DK tattoo? yeah, probably. either way, this DIY crap that you think you have the definition of it all . . . you're a fucking hose. DIY means doing it by your own means, within your own means, to stretch beyond your own means. It's the single most literal definition of success. if you do it yourself, you're made. granted, in the day, they didn't (quite) think of selling themselves. they didn't buy into an image . . . but they created one, and you fucking bought it. we still buy it. it's all fucking disposable. but yeah, they meant something, and they always will. but if you bitch and bitch about what they "used to believe in". you're fucked. and you know it. if you don't want to be disposable and copied, then don't walk outside or log in on your computer. live in the woods and hope nobody fucking comes around and likes what you're doing. 'cuz then they want to copy you, and then you're a brand. quit your fucking bitching and lynch the fucking landlord, already.

fuck/steveO

I'm Steve Holliday in Cambodia, and that's all I want out of life. So bring it!

steveO

Good interview..but I still hate his guts.

anyone play guitar hero 3? haha imagine my dismay when i saw you could "rock out" to Holiday in Cambodia!!! i wonder whose pockets are being lined by that move? either way, east bay ray is a killer guitarist and a douchebag....

p.s. i love the guy above who redefined DIY to mean "do whatever is in your power to make money and get famous"

funny, i thought it meant do it yourself, as in yourself...

I don't think any of the bands are making money on Guitar Hero. Notice the titles say "made famous by..." and it's not the original bands playing the music on that game. Totally strange game (although fun). Pretending to play guitaur to the tune played by a cover band. I can't decide if it's really super PoMo or just wicked cheapo.

I have a difficult time making any sweeping statements or passing judgement on a grand scale about bands who "sell out" to big corporations. One person can be a corporation (usually an LLC), or many people can hold stock in a giant conglomerate corporation. "Corporate" is thrown around much to much in lazy, uninformed responses/reactions.

Alternate Tentacles is it's own corporation, formed so that Jello could keep his vision/verson alive instead of answering to someone else. I think that is admirable, but also what is causing the problems with the band.
So, instead of answering to stock holders and big wigs, the band ends up answering to Jello.

We are all marginalized by someone. Just a matter of who, and to what degree. Finding a way to let your own voice be heard is what Punk was trying to do (as well as the original Hippies, the original Beats... all the way back to Socrates) Punk stopped being the same as it originally was as soon as it got labeled and turned into a fashion. There are still alot of people who are true to their own voice, so that is cool. But, those who think they know the definition of "punk" are often just nostalgic for some kind of category that they either were never involved with, or are old people who are looking to relive the good old days...