Around New Year’s Eve, I went to see Slim Cessna’s Auto Club at the encouragement of our friend Rick Baca. (More on that later!) Around midnight, Slim introduced someone he called “his hero”. It was an aged (read: obese) Jello Biafra.
Jello Biafra was the lead singer in a 1980′s band called the Dead Kennedys. He was well known for his politically charged rapid fire singing and wicked temper. (Here’s a link to his actual bio.) People call him “punk” now, but he never really was and truly isn’t now.
Anyway, I saw the Dead Kennedy’s last show in Berkeley, CA. Rick encouraged me to speak with Jello and see what he had to say. I am sorry I did.
His rapid-fire tongue has turned to complete and utter bitterness. In less than 5 minutes, he told me how he had been betrayed (naming names) by any number of people, how he was right and what I needed to do to win his approval. He went on to grandiosely discuss his current projects and current friends.
And I thought, “what a waste!” Jello Biafra is now a middle-aged mockery of a younger, healthier and more vibrant self. In a way, he has become the epitome of what he used to despise.
After Jello finished spewing his bitter diatribe, he turned back to his adoring fans and I walked back to my friends.
I suppose all of our childhood heroes tend to fade into nothingness. It’s just too bad that “I am right and you are wrong” seems to have captured the mind and energy of someone so alive and capable. For me, it stands as a warning: ?don?t take yourself too seriously?, ?notice your opportunities?, ?live with gratitude and grace? or you?ll turn out like Jello Biafra!