Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

By starrymag | September 30, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) We’re getting a very cool re-release of your epic album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Since it’s the 40th anniversary of it, why remix rather than remaster?

 

A) Well, when we recorded the album, although Oliver DiCicco (who owned the studio and engineered the album) had done lots of recording, he had never done punk as such, and we were relative amateurs in the studio, and we hadn’t really learned any of the tricks of making a record sound large. We also had a very minimal budget, so it was a get it right but get it done mindset.

So, for the 40th, Fresh Fruit really was in need of an altogether, from the ground up, look into treating each of the separate root tracks, i.e., vocals, drums, guitars, etc. independently of each other. An overhaul of sorts, but no re-recording.

It had been remastered a few times already from the original half track masters but there was only so much that could be done without going into the multi-track 16 track masters. One of the main problems was that [East Bay] Ray’s guitar and [Jello] Biafra’s vocals fill up the same space aurally, that mid-range space. If you bumped one up or down the other would go with it. The original had very little air. In treating each track a little differently, it let the whole thing breathe better.

 

Q) Chris Lord-Alge remixed the tracks. What made his vision perfect for this album?

 

A) He was adventurous, not afraid of making some grandiose changes and knowing how to do that, and at the same time was totally into keeping with the original feeling and edginess of the original.

 

Q) Which song(s) remix really surprised you or impressed you the most?

 

A) I have to say, “Chemical Warfare” turned out pretty damn good! Yeah, the first thing we had him remix to see if we were on the same page was “Chemical” and when it came back, we were basically, “Yeah! Let’s do this sort of thing for the rest of it.” It was a lot of tracks going back and forth between him and us with different mixes and such since, because of COVID, we couldn’t just be in the studio with him, which really stretched out the timeline of the process.

 

Q) Chris also included some unseen imagery and essay contributions from other artists. What did it mean to you to read their testimony on behalf of the band? 

 

A) Digging around for photos was, like the album, like going for a walk back to 1979/80. Hadn’t seen a lot of these even with all the internet has to offer. The testimonies kinda just make me blush.

 

Q). What do you think it is about Fresh Fruit… that fans connect to or that has continued to make it such a Dead Kennedys favorite (maybe the moving political message featured so prominently)?

 

A) The lyrical topics are, sometimes unfortunately, still topical in lots of ways. The social aspects of behavior in some of the songs, dark as some are, still tend to thrive! The political aspects, which are indeed informed by the social, also hold true to a chilling degree. As for the music, what can I say? The songs are sort of eternal in that they seem to have taken on a life of their own.

 

Q) Typically, what is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Well, Biafra would sometimes have lyrics already and an idea for the music or we would have a riff idea and put it to him in practice and sometimes it would all happen together as in a practice jam situation. Most of the music and lyrics were done in a collaborative style.

 

Q) Will there be a new EP or album coming in the near future?

 

A) To quote #2, “That would be telling.”

 

Q) What band/album are you most enjoying listening to or exploring these days?

 

A) I’m currently hanging on everything Fantastic Negrito does. But that’s just me.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) You have peculiar taste and that makes me happy.

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Bassist Klaus Fluoride