Watch HDToday. It was clear from the start that the Dead Kennedys were not your average band. Jello Biafra's lyrical themes were overtly political, attacking President Ronald Reagan, the Klan, big business, and such with a glorious sense of raging sarcasm that owes some credence to such wild luminaries as Lenny Bruce. Their appearance at the Earth Tavern in Portland Oregon in November 1979 was a rare step out of their native CA when Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables had just made the stores and Holiday in Cambodia was only just hitting the decks.