Jello jilted

Only in punk rock could a nostalgia tour devolve into violent verbal warfare and an epic battle of he said/he said. Such has been the case ever since the most articulate political/social critics of America’s initial punk wave, the Dead Kennedys, reunited minus their outrageous bullhorn provocateur, Jello Biafra.

The original DKs broke up almost 16 years ago, just as Biafra and his label, Alternative Tentacles, were besieged by an obscenity charge for the inclusion of a poster depicting interlocking mechanistic genitalia (by Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger) in their Frankenchrist album. Biafra beat the rap and has since been devoting his signature black comic criticism to spoken-word concerts and the occasional collaborative music project.

Flash forward to 1999: The other three Dead Kennedys sue Biafra for back royalties and win. Biafra claims it was all “an accounting error,” and that he offered the books and showed them the money. But guitarist East Bay Ray claims they were being intentionally underpaid and that “Biafra said [to his employees], ‘Don’t tell the band.’”

Fresh from their court victory, the former members removed their catalog from Biafra’s label, re-mastered and re-released the old albums this year on Manifesto Records, along with a new live release, Mutiny on the Bay. “They sound way better,” says East Bay Ray. “It’s like the difference between the old ’70s video game Pong and PlayStation.”

Hyperbole aside, a live album likely would never have happened if Biafra had his way. He sees such stabs at nostalgia as nakedly opportunistic and contrary to the band’s staunch artistic principles. “Ray’s expressed his disrespect for Dead Kennedy fans, saying before that they will buy anything,” Biafra says.

Looking to perform at CD release parties for the live album, the remaining band members — Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H. Peligro — began sniffing around for a lead singer to replace Biafra. Former Rage Against the Machine lead singer Zach de la Rocha’s name came up, as did the Circle Jerks’ Keith Morris. But the band settled on Brandon Cruz, former frontman for Dr. Know, ’80s punk contemporaries of the Dead Kennedys.

Better known as Eddie Corbett from “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” Cruz grew up in L.A.’s thriving punk/skate scene, which he credits with helping him avoiding the infamy of other child stars like Todd Bridges and Adam Rich.

The DKs’ release show at the Key Club in Los Angeles was a huge success, selling out three weeks ahead of time and, according to Ray, stranding 200 or more people outside. A booking agent saw the show and convinced the band — rechristened the DK Kennedys for legal reasons — to tour North and South Americas.

This raised Biafra’s ire.

“I object to them using the name the Dead Kennedys and using photos with me in it. I object to the misrepresentation,” he says. “I thought we broke up before we sucked, and I’m glad it stayed that way. They care so little about the band and what we meant so as to do a huckster reunion tour and scam the fans.”

Biafra cites reports that his replacement has muffed the lyrics, which Cruz himself sheepishly admits — though he gives his assurance that he’s got them down now.

“I would transpose verses,” says Cruz. “Because when you’re singing them in the car, you can mangle them and it doesn’t matter. But when you’re playing in Chile to 3,000 people and they all know them, it’s a problem.”

A moment later, Cruz avers his longtime love for the DKs’ music: “When I got the phone call to do this, it was like winning the punk-rock lottery.”

And so it goes. Aging musicians strive to recreate their youthful glory for fans who weren’t alive when they started. Is Jello a proud musician trying to protect his legacy from dilution and trivialization? Or is he an unrepentant gadfly clinging hungrily to his ideological purity with the devotion of Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove?

It’s your call. But, remember, it’s only music. Or is it?

The DK Kennedys play Thurs., Feb. 14, at the Chamber, 695 North Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. $15. 404-577-2007. www.masq.com.??