Jello talks about Spain, New Year's Eve, and MUCH MORE

It's all in the brand new BATCAST we uploaded on Christmas Day! Rock it, true believers!

Taqwacore film chosen for Sundance Film Festival!

The film version of The Taqwacores book about Muslim punx has been accepted into January's Sundance Film Festival! Congrats to director Eyad Zahra & author Michael Muhammad Knight!

Twisted Holidaze from the Bat!

The latest BATCAST is up and ready to roar thru yer speakers! Titled Twisted Holidaze from The Bat, it's Jesse romping through some oldies & newies from AT, plus talking 'bout some seasonal specials.

You can also subscribe to the Alternative Tentacles Batcast via iTunes!


IMPORTANT HOLIDAY ORDERING DEADLINES!
For Christmas/Hannukah season we have the following deadlines. Find your method of shipping/ordering and get your order in by the date below. This should ensure delivery by Wednesday December 23, 2009.

All orders sent through the mail should arrive at our PO Box by Monday November 30
International web orders Wednesday December 2
Media Mail web orders Wednesday December 9th
Priority Mail orders Wednesday December 16

Orders received after those dates will be sent out as quickly as possible.

We do not track packages and we do not ship any other method except US Postal Service (No Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, etc.).

Selling on Discogs

Although we prefer it when you buy directly from us, the ludicrous prices some people are charging for old AT releases on Discogs drove us to enter the fray.
Browse here if you'd like, but note that shopping directly through Alternative Tentacles mailorder is cheaper (because Discogs tacks on a small percentage of sales).

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Seller Profile -
Get This Widget

Anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the 1999 Seattle WTO protests. Here are some news articles about this anniversary from Common Dreams, People's History Project, and Seattle Indymedia.
Always ahead of the curve, Jello Biafra along with Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), and Gina Mainwal performed at a Dec 1 protest under the name The No W.T.O. Combo. Shepard Fairey did the cover artwork for the live recording, as he did most recently for the cover art on The Audacity of Hype. Here's some behind-the-scenes perspective on that day from Matt "The Tube"'s blog.
We are selling both the CD and LP of "Live From the Battle in Seattle" for $6.

Black Friday

Early Capitalism


they are perfecting the pillow
with which
you are being suffocated

now it sings to you
and shows you pictures-


- Joe Wenderoth
The Nation 11/23/09

William S. Burroughs on Thanksgiving

W. S. Burroughs - thanksgiving prayer -
by Maetthew

P.S.- Alternative Tentacles is closed Thursday and Friday for the U.S. national holiday of Thanksgiving. See ya Monday!

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Akimbo

The "last hair band in Seattle", Akimbo, was kind enough to answer this Q&A for Alternative Tentacles' 30th Anniversary. Jon Weisnewski takes a second out of kicking the ass of video game world.

What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? What were you doing in 1979?

In 1979 I was UNBORN.
I discovered Dead Kennedys and Alternative Tentacles at the ripe age of 14. I was just getting into punk and listening to some undoubtedly awful pop punk when my Dad came into my room and told me if I liked that, I should check out the Dead Kennedys. He then played me "Too Drunk to Fuck" and "Holiday in Cambodia" (what a Dad!) and I was in the club. By the time I got around to In God We Trust, INC, shit was real.



What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?

My favorite AT band was easily Nomeansno. I bought the Sex Mad/You Kill Me CD used in a record store, simply because it had the bat logo on the back. Loved the album, but wasn't officially on board until I saw them live in 1998, at which point I used that handy catalogue that comes with all AT releases to order everything of theirs I could afford. I hate those catalogues, until you want something out of it, and then they're awesome. My favorite AT releases are (hands down!) Wrong, Sex Mad, and the Jello/Nomeansno collaboration The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy.


When did Jello ask you to put out a record on AT and how would life be different if you hadn't worked with AT?


Akimbo caught a lucky break when we lost a show in Pittsburgh on tour, and we ended up getting thrown onto the opening slot of a Melvins show instead. Jello was there debuting some songs off of the first Jelvins project and he saw our set, and then asked us for a few LPs. That will freak any dude out. About a year later, Jello asked us to open for the Jelvins, and then after the show asked if we wanted to do a record on Alternative Tentacles. It's pretty goddamn insane to spend your most formative years foaming over a small group of bands on a small DIY label, and then through a loose chain of circumstances get personally asked to be a part of that very group by it's executive. It still blows me away when I think about it.


Where do you see yourself in 2039?

In 2039 I see myself playing the Biafra 8-0.

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Grong Grong

George Vagas from Grong Grong took some time to email us back this Q&A all the way from Australia.

What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles?

Alternative Records was and still is the No. 1 punk label. As a DJ myself I collected all Punk Records from America / England & Europe. I started my own Punk / Psychobilly / Trash / Swamp Rock nightclub called The Electric Torture Room in Adelaide around this time, then played drums in a few punk bands before we started GRONG GRONG.


What were you doing in 1979?

In 1979 I was DJing at numerous Punk / Ska / Rock / Rockabilly / Psychobilly events.


What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?

Favorite AT Bands would have to be Flipper / Butthole Surfers



When did Jello ask you to put out a record on AT?


Jello came to Australia with the Dead Kennedys in which GRONG GRONG supported DKs in Adelaide, South Australia and we were one of the best live acts he saw in Australia. That's why Jello decided to release us on AT. GRONG GRONG was invited by Jello to Tour America but unfortunately Michael Farkas our lead singer had a major drug overdose & was in a coma for 6 months and our band split up for 23 years.

How would your career/life be different if you hadn't had a record on
AT?

Without the introduction to Jello & the support to the Dead Kennedys in Adelaide we would definitely not have any of the international exposure we have today. The best thing that happened to GRONG GRONG was the record release on AT records.


Where do you see yourself in 2039?

By 2039 I see GRONG GRONG having at least another 1 or 2 record releases on AT and finally being able to Tour America and Europe with our band supporting Jello's "Spoken word" Tour.


Anything you want to add?

ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES is not just a record label, but a way of life and a major inspiration to the new acts and artists who can and will have a chance to a record release on the No.1 ALTERNATIVE label in the world.

Jello & Guantanamo School of Medicine LIVE!

Here's Jello and the Guantanamo School of Medicine LIVE in Grass Valley, CA in August, 2009, doing the ace new tune, "Clean As A Thistle!"

Over the TOP!

Better- yes BETTER!- that a Sly Stallone movie, it's DAY THREE of the INCEST-A-THON with Alice Donut, Victims Family, and Burning Image!

(and, of course, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine!)

Only a few tickets left!

Second verse, different from the first!

Day TWO- can you handle it?

Come down & find out- tickets here!

And so it begins....

TONIGHT!
Alternative Tentacles 30th Anniversary Incest-A-Thon

Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine
Citizen Fish
Star Fucking Hipsters
MIA (original Las Vegas Hardcore)

SOME TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!

Witch Hunt back to the US

After a kazillion-month long tour, Witch Hunt's finally back in the US.

Here's them rockin' the Hazmat earlier this year in Oakland, CA.

Chuck Biscuit LIVES!

Whew, thankfully the news about Chuck Biscuits is a hoax- he's still quite alive according to our friend & ally Joey Shithead from DOA!

RIP Chuck Biscuits

RIP Chuck Biscuits, drummer extraordinaire!

"Chuck was one of the finest drummers in punk rock and his ability to beat the crap out of his drums with pinpoint precision was unmatched. He did time in a number of legendary punk rock bands and they were always better off for having him in the band. Chuck did time in D.O.A., Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Social Distortion and Danzig (which is was probably most well known for). Chuck also lent his talents to Run DMC on my favorite album of theirs, Tougher Than Leather."
(from Punk Vinyl)
Punknews.org article

Jello speaks! A lot!

I just sat down with Jello Biafra for an hour in front of a microphone & we talked about everything from his new record to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize to- well, just listen for yourself, okay?

The batcast (a.k.a. the AT podcast) is split into 2 parts- here's Part One!

(if you're subscribed to the Batcast thru iTunes, it's up there now!)

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Ludicra

Ross from Ludicra took time out of his busy schedule (everyone in this band seems to be an overachiever) to answer some stock questions about being on Alternative Tentacles. We released their critically acclaimed albums Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis and Another Great Love Song. The band follows up their Halloween show in Portland for the Fall Into Darkness festival by playing our November 6th Anniversary show in San Francisco.


What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? Were you on the ball in 1979, or did it come up later.


In 1979, I was a bit busy smashing a 3 3/4" Darth Vader into his 3 3/4" son, Luke (spoiler!). No, I'm afraid I was not on the ball. My first memory comes much later, when I came to the realization that there was more to life than comic books and cartoons, namely music and sex. A friend passed along to me a CD copy of Plastic Surgery Disasters, and I was hooked. Around the same time, there was the great Oakland Hills fire and the riots following the Rodney King trial, which so perfectly mirrored Jello's lyrics in "Forest Fire" and "Riot," it was eerie. I knew this was something smart I had to be a part of. I got everything I could from DK and ordered all the posters and lyrics sheets then available. My mother particularly loved the Giger penis collage. Later, my friends in high school contacted AT about having Jello come to help emcee a concert we were putting on through the school, ostensibly as a benefit to get clean underwear to the homeless. To our astonishment, Jello wrote back personally, and was supportive of our "Underwear Fest." What a stud! Unfortunately, dire events transpired to where he could not attend, but his support was an inspiration to me beyond our little concert. Alternative Tentacles forever wound around my heart and drove me mad, like some kind of Lovecraftian elder god.




What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?


Neurosis "Souls at Zero" changed what I thought was possible with punk. First, it perfectly crossed over into metal but kept the punk ethos. It heightened emotional levels with hypnotic melodies, leaving the listener humming the tunes after they'd been thoroughly crushed by the record. Neurosis was and still is a great band, but that seminal release, shepherded by Alternative Tentacles, was a genre-defining moment and changed extreme music for all time. In addition to that, I've always enjoyed the spoken word released by AT, from Jello's hilarious monologues to Noam Chomsky's sobering lectures.



When/why did Jello ask you to put out a record on AT?


Lord only knows why we were asked (did we beg?). I think Jello enjoyed our band's genre-defying inclusion of a coupla girls and a coupla jews, compared to black metal's stereotypical bands. I think he could appreciate our city-living cynicism, we having walked the same streets and meeting the same panoply of punks, spangers, junkies, and hipsters as he. Mostly, I'd like to hope he thought we were good, because AT has always seemed to make a priority not of quick albums sales, but of putting out things that Jello believes in.



How would your career/life be different if you hadn't had a record on AT?



I'd be a much less fulfilled person and musician, not least because I would have missed out on seeing Jello wearing a gold lame pimp costume at one of our Halloween shows.


Where do you see yourself in 2039?


I'll be singing that Beatles' song "When I'm 64," because that's how old I'll be, to an empty room. I'll be wondering who is going to need me, feed me, and also I'll add a line about changing my adult diaper, because I'll have just filled it.


Thanks to the folks who've worked at AT in the past, present, and future, for keeping a great symbol of musical integrity alive and kicking! Here's to 30 more years.

Ace Nomeansno Victims Family Triclops poster

Hot poster from last weekends' Nomeansno, Victims Family, Triclops! show @ the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma!

Made by Zoltron Posters

It's here!

Shazam! Get the brand spankin' new Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine LP NOW!

Gimme Something Better Rocks the Radio!

Gimme Something Better, the ginormous oral history of San Francisco/East Bay punk that includes dozens of AT-related bands & extensive comments from Jello Biafra, is gearing up with a series of shows, spoken word events, and radio interviews. (You can buy it here!)

You can hear co-editor Jack Boulware on KALX's "Soap Box Derby" call-in talk show tonight (Thursday 10/8) live from 9-9:30 pm by tuning into 90.7 FM or streaming it live.

Friday morning, 10am-11am, Jack will appear on KQED's "Forum" call-in talk show, along with a host of book contributors, including Alternative Tentacles' own Jesse Luscious. Tune in at 91.7 FM or stream it live.

Donut in November- GET PSYCHED!

In Brooklyn & San Francisco! Here's the flyer from the band:

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Th' Inbred

Though a relative newcomer to the Alternative Tentacles fold, Th' Inbred were of an initial generation that was directly influenced by the first wave of punk. Based in West Virginia through the mid '80s, we've compiled the band's two albums and singles for the collection "Legacy of Fertility." Singer Bobb Cotter (aka @rt reco) and drummer Billy Atwell indulged our questioning. "Legacy of Fertility" and its two vinyl volumes hits stores October 6th.

What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? What were you doing in 1979?.

Bobb Cotter: I was still in the process of dropping out of college. My first memory of AT is walking into a 7-11 and hearing "Too Drunk to Fuck" blasting out of a future roommate's boombox. Had to wait a couple more years before it made it to Morgantown, West Virginia, where I was living at the time.

Billy Atwell: In 1979 I was in junior high still. The action was low-key and harmless. One day I took to running over disco records with my other punk rock skater buddies during lunch hour in front of the student body. We started requesting Ramones and Devo at school dances to have pogo fits. I was busy getting my ass kicked by the public school band program, an experience I would ironically draw on in hardcore bands and allow me to sustain a career as a composer and musician years later. I lived in Morgantown, WV and everything revolved around sports events at the University. Me and my few closest friends were like time bombs waiting for hardcore to happen. We also formed bands and jammed in our parent's garages.


It was a defining moment in the fall of '81. Mike McCuskey came up to me in gym class, handed me his Sony cassette Walkman and hit play. It was the Bad Brains "Pay To Cum" and the A side of "Let Them Eat Jellybeans". Rallying around 1977 became a distant memory the second Paul Miller's drums kicked in, Darryl Jennifer's percussive bass dropped like thunder and HR's amphetimine rant of PMA logic came screaming...so much so I had to ask Mike if he forgot to change the speed setting on the turntable when he made the tape. "Is this on 45???!!!" He smiled as if saying, "I thought the same thing" and shook his head slowly and deliberately back and forth. Kinda like he just became privy to a revolution he never thought possible was actually happening and we had the guerilla ammo in the audio at hand. Then came copies of the MRR comp "Not So Quiet On The Western Front" and the DK's "In God We Trust, Inc.". On all accounts everything in my value system was about to become assessed in a way that shocked me into confirming my own disenfranchisement with what seemed to be the American standard in 1981.

Embracing hardcore became a fast and greasy incline from September to December. I got my first defiant haircut from the barber of my choice and could no longer hide my code. That totally bummed my Mom out and the community at my local Methodist church. Low income, denim and flannel sons from the pike who normally rocked on AC/DC were not into my brand of freak flag but were also a little too terrified to engage at close range to really confront their concerns. From the artwork to the lyrics of those 3 AT releases "it was on!" as they say and my life changed forever. I began questioning authority though a little too pointedly and at times misguidedly (typical high school kid) but found years later that there were certain things associated with the political extremety of the DK's and first wave of US h ardcore on the "Jellybeans" comp that became a useful ally lacking in many of my peers. The straight and narrow, the tried and true, the conventional and typical left many of them scratching their heads. For many the itch is still there. I hate to say "sheep" but...

In a strange way the reverberation of the first wave of US hardcore ties in with recent interest in samurai literature, the complete self-sacrifice for completion of the mission with absolute resolution. Was there Zen in stagediving? Intense as that is my goal in reading that literature was to find a temperament. The savagery I could call up on tap more often than not verbally and not raise a finger to the agitator. Call me stubborn but the logic of "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything" was seared to my brain permanently in old school HC lyrical mantras. The objective through hardcore (at least for me) became that of determining what it was you stood for and finding ways to get along with the rest of the sheep. Or not. The first MDC release and the Butthole Surfers first two AT releases just kept throwing gasoline on the fire of my newfound liberation. I may never have said this but...gosh!...THANK YOU, AT!


What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?

Billy Atwell: The DK's were tops, easily, but NoMeansNo, MDC, DOA, Butthole Surfers, as well as the Jellybeans and 1st MRR comp all got heavy rotation.

Bobb Cotter: The Dead who? BGK, Butthole Surfers and Zolar X! JONESTOWN ALOHA by BGK.


When did Jello ask you to put out a record on Alternative Tentacles?

Bobb Cotter: AT got in touch with us through Welly, a British anarchist/artist/musician who did the inside graphics to the CD booklet, and it just went from there. Jello told our bassist Duff a few years before that that he regretted not signing us to AT 'back in the day', so I guess that everybody just thought it was about time.

Billy Atwell: I could be wrong in my recollection but around the time that Grand Theft Audio had made a pretty solid commitment to do the anthology we got an inquiry from AT to put out the same release. On behalf of the band I had been talking to GTA and felt we were pretty far upstream with dialogue and a relationship and that to just cut it off at the point was not a very personable thing to do. Life got in the way on a number of levels and GTA eventually passed on the release in April of 2008. We then figured we'd just put it out ourselves through CD Baby (with WAY less artwork) and leave it at that. Welly, the artist who did the incredible layout and liner notes for the CD and vinyl releases (who was, BTW, doing the layout all along for the pending GTA release) thought to reach out to AT just to see what they'd say. Jello called me a few weeks later and the rest is history. None of us ever really thought this would materialize. It's as if we figured it was all too good to be true, Murphy's Law (the concept, not the band) would take over and that'd be that. Fortunately AT's follow through was all they said it would be and now we have these wonderful new releases with all the eye candy artwork, lyrics and editorial a once Inbred fan could want and maybe a few new ones.


How has being on the label made your life different?

Bobb Cotter: Well, it actually might have been different if we had been on AT 'back in the day', but since our anthology is coming out 20 years after the band broke up, I'd honestly have to say none at all - so far. But it's a little different now, simply having to do things like this and having "Legacy of Fertility" out; all sorts of people and memories coming out of the woodwork... as I said, we're all just genuinely amazed and honored that people remember us and consider us so well, or say we influenced their lives in some way.

Billy Atwell: I haven't fully figured that out yet. It's not like we expect to get college money together for our kids from the release but likely without the AT releases we'd be where we were on the hardcore totem pole depending on who you talked to. I found it curious that while I was actively maintaining a myspace page I'd get all sorts of emails from people in remote parts of the world talking about how they enjoyed the band and was there going to ever be a CD of the stuff. Questions about some sort of reunion are already coming in but I don't really see that happening. Not for anything interpersonal but because of where some of our personal lives are with careers and family.

Where do you see yourself in 2039?

Bobb Cotter: In Pittsburgh.
Billy Atwell: 73 years old and retired in Santorini, Greece. I intend to die watching repeated viewings of the greatest sunset anywhere next to El Paso's.
If anyone is interested I am still releasing my own material and involved with music production and recording (should there be interest in hiring me as a producer/collaborator...visit www.billyatwell.com). I'm also up for studio session gigs and small tours as a drummer or whatever. In the New York City/New Jersey area I am available for master class style drum lessons without the commitment or regiment of weekly lessons. Note too that I am in the last few weeks of school but should be a certified massage therapist by the time this is published. In addition to performing on-site massage in the comfort of your own home and likely a wellness center in Hoboken, NJ, I will also be working on volumes of music for relaxation and wellness.


Kinda like th' Inbred did only much, much slower...

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Amebix

Rob "The Baron" Miller took time out of his busy schedule with the reunited Amebix and his swordsmith work to take a looky loo back at 30 years of Alternative Tentacles.


What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles?

Seeing the label of the "Fresh Fruit" LP was the first time I clocked the Label.


What were you doing in 1979?

Punking about in a small town in Devon, playing in 'the Band with no name'



What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles release?

Zolar X first


When did Jello ask you to put out a record on Alternative Tentacles?

During a visit to Southern Studios in London whilst we were recording "No Sanctuary," he had come to see us play the Sir George Roby and dug it.


How would your musical career be different without AT?

The World would not have benefited from a great musical leap forward in the shape of "Arise!", and we may have given up trying to convince anyone that we had something to offer.

Where do you see yourself in 2039?

Skye

Pansy & Avengers rock Oakland!

Speaking of Pansy Division, they just tore up The Uptown in Oakland, CA, on tour with The Avengers & Paul Collins Beat (ex-The Nerves) tonight. If you're smart, you'll catch the tour in San Francisco @ the Bottom of the Hill or down in the Los Angeles area this weekend!

And yes, The Avengers line "Ask not what you can do for your country but what your country's been doin' to you" still strikes the jugular!

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Jon Ginoli

Continuing our series of interviews with Alternative Tentacles acts on our 30th anniversary, multimedia domination is the name of the game with Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division who this year alone released his memoir Deflowered, the new Pansy Division album "That's So Gay", and the DVD documentary Pansy Division: Life In A Gay Rock Band. Pansy Division are in the midst of a West Coast tour with the Avengers as we speak.


What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? What were you doing in 1979?


I bought the first DKs 45 that year. In college at the University of Illinois, I did the first punk/new wave show on that station, WPGU.


What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?

Tribe 8's "Fist City."


How and when did Jello ask you to put out a record on AT?

He liked our band and wanted to sign us back in 1992. We ended up on Lookout then, but finally got to AT a decade later.


Where do you see yourself in 2039?


In a nursing home, in diapers. Depends.


Read the book Gimme Something Better, a history of the Bay Area punk scene that just came out. I'm on page 106, it's great so far!

AT 30th Anniversary - Q&A with Stza Crack

Alternative Tentacles began its illustrious life in 1979. Today in 2009, we are commemorating three decades of persistence with shows in early November in San Francisco and by continuing to release new music. We also thought we'd shine some light on the history of Alternative Tentacles by asking artists on the label, past and present, about what it all means to them.

First off and appropriately timed with the upcoming release of Star Fucking Hipsters "Never Rest In Peace" is Stza from Star Fucking Hipsters and Leftover Crack.




What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? Where were you in 1979?

I was playing with a tennis ball when I was 3 years old in 1979, I don't recall the Dead Kennedys playing, more likely it was the Beatles.
I think I was reciting my first words "Pol", "Pot", "Pol", "Pot", etc.


What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?


Being from NYC, I was really into Alice Donut, with songs like "Egg" and I even stole the first verse of "500 Channels" by Choking Victim from their song "Tiny Ugly World" from the record "Mule". Alice Donut had a great live show too as did NYC's False Prophets, my favorite song of theirs being "Destructive Engagement" from the record "Implosion" (I believe). That song's really hard to find because the record's been out of print forever. Also one my main musical influences of all time was and is Neurosis, who released several albums on A.T., my favorite still being "Souls at Zero" with my favorite track being "Takahnase."


How did Jello ask you to put out a record on Alternative Tentacles?

After spending over two years writing, recording, and mixing the initially self-financed "Fuck World Trade" by Leftover Crack with great folks like Steve Albini and the musicianship of folks like the World/Inferno Friendship Society we had a hell of a time trying to get record labels to listen to it and with the title being what it was. I remember receiving an e-mail while I was away in Central America and the gist of it was, "Call Jello, he likes the record!"

So I called him on a very poorly connected telephone from the middle of Guatemala and we discussed what would later turn out to be the A.T. release of the record in 2004. It was fairly surreal for me at the time to talk to him as we threw ideas back and forth at what seemed to be lightning speed, but with that annoying phone-delay echo to boot. I had always wanted to be on A.T. ever since I first became a punk and started playing in bands, after all they had the most politically influential artist up to that point in my life and he was the captain of the A.T. boat.

I was always vaguely disappointed that A.T. didn't want to put out "No Gods/ No Managers" by Choking Victim, although I'm certainly glad that they eventually came around to L.O.C. & now I'm proud to have our new Star Fucking Hipsters album on the label.


How would your career be different if you hadn't had a record on the label?


I would definitely be less politically satisfied, although I think Fat Wreck Chords also has their political hearts in the right place as well, it's just not quite the same as being on a label with great writers and political commentators like Arundhati Roy, Michael & Christian Parenti, Noam Chomsky, and Mumia Abu Jamal. A.K. Press is amazing, a lot of my research for the lyrics on "Fuck World Trade" was reading "Lockdown America" by Christian Parenti & Arundhati Roy's essays about the World Bank and I.M.F. devastating India with ill-conceived debt. Incurring dams that devastated and displaced huge populations of indigenous towns and also the writings of Mumia and the police injustice perpetrated upon him.


Where do you see yourself in 2039?

Old and fat suckling on the golden nipples of my A.T. royalty checks!
And of course captain some sort of starship, like the Jeffersons "Starship", ya' know "movin' on up to that big something starship in the sky-hi-hyyy"

Thank you for having me on the label and giving me a chance to fulfill one of my punk-rock dreams...

180 Gram Donut!

Yes! It's here, the limited-to-1,000 180 Gram edition of the brand new ALICE DONUT record, "Ten Glorious Animals"!

If you order it, we will pack it & send it to you in the next couple of days. Who needs "pre-orders" when you can just get it sent to you immediately?

Rock the Donut!

The Mighty Layman & his new Donut CD!

The 'Org + The Bat = BFFs!

Our pals @ Punk News keep the AT-related stories coming. The fun part is observing the local flora & fauna's reactions to Our Heroes!

Today you can read a sweet new interview with Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division and the low-down on the upcoming 1-2 punch of the Star Fucking Hipsters/Citizen Fish west coast tour (which includes a stop at Alternative Tentacles 30th Anniversary celebration!).

Neha versus Th' Inbred!

Neha takes on Th' Inbred on the newest BATCAST!

She takes a look back @ the 1980s band new discography on AT, "Legacy Of Fertility," with fresh ears and lots of rare photos!

'School's in! Cologne Rock City!

Ace German photog Marc snapped Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine last night in Cologne, Germany! Check out the photos here (& note the sweet "Iraq Veterans Against the War" shirt!).

Pop Songs and Anarchy!

Want some punk with your power pop, from the Bobbyteens to the Ripoffs to Darrin & the early Donnas to S'Cool Girls? Go see Bobby M, the man, the legend, the obsessive collector!

Jelvins back on VINYL!

Back in print on beautiful VINYL, it's Jello & the Melvins debut, Never Breathe What You Can't See!

Gimme Something Better website rules OK!

Check out the astonishing, time-sucking website for the upcoming "Gimme Something Better" book - complete with hundreds of images from the site AND the opportunity to upload your own images of San Francisco Bay Area punk (From San Jose to the moon over Marin, it's all here?!).

Compiled entirely of oral histories, it's subtitled "The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day." Along the way they raided the Alternative Tentacles photo & ephemera archives, as well as speaking with Jello Biafra, Jesse Luscious, and many other Alternative Tentacles-related people!

Jello Parla In Italiano!

Check out this cool long-form interview with Jello Biafra in XL Rupubblica! Try out your Italian with the text or watch the cool English-language streaming video of the interview w/ snippets of Jello Biafra & Guantanamo School of Medicine.

Rock On Wesley Willis! We Love You Like A Milkshake!

May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003

Listen to the Anniversary Batcast! It includes many Wesley songs PLUS a previously unheard recording of the Jelvins covering "Rock & Roll McDonalds" live in 2005!

Only U.S. show for Jello in MONTHS!

The sizzling new punk band from Jello Biafra, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, is playing one show in the U.S. before heading to play Europe next week.

It's this Saturday in Grass Valley, CA, with ace d.i.y. band Git Some. Tickets Available Here. New tracks are up at the band's myspace page. This is the only US show scheduled until November, so don't miss out!

Leftover Crack over Europe!

Word on the street is that there's been live NSFW Stza craziness on the current LOC tour- stay tuned for the video evidence! Meanwhile, here's LOC live @ Tompkin's Square a couple years ago!

Ludicra FINALLY east of the Mississippi!

For the first time, San Francisco black metallers Ludicra will be making their way east of the Mississippi. They will be joined by fellow San Franciscans and prog-fantasy metal band Hammers of Misfortune for the sojourn. Supporting their critically acclaimed Alternative Tentacles album release, Fex Urbis Lex Orbus, Ludicra will be sure to leave no grave stone unturned as they finally decimate the Eastern United States.

Ludicra features current and former members of Impaled, Wolves in the Throne Room, Exhumed, Hickey, the Fuckboys, Slough Feg, Phobia, and Gwar. Their eclectic membership takes black metal to an unheard of level, that is, until they are blasting ear drums and razing scalps. They were voted Best Metal Band of 2003 by the readers of the San Francisco Weekly and Best Metal Act of 2009 by the readers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

They'll paint the towns red... with blood from their veins!



08/05/09 Alehorn of Power Fest IV @ Cobra Lounge, Chicago IL
08/07/09 Pirates Cove @ Peabody's, Cleveland OH
08/08/09 Casbah, Hamilton ON
08/09/09 Middle East, Boston MA
08/10/09 AS220, Providence RI
08/11/09 Santos, New York NY
08/12/09 Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia PA
08/13/09 DC9, Washington DC
08/14/09 Sonar, Baltimore MD
08/15/09 Ravari Room, Columbus OH

No roadside assistance for gays & lesbians?

Fundie nutjobs American Family Association's latest homophobic tantrum is about the Florida branch of the American Automobile Association's (AAA) decision to offer gay couples (& opposite sex domestic couples) the same membership options as hetero married people.

They are urging their flocks to barrage the Florida AAA with demands to not offer family rates to gay & lesbian couples.

You can go to Equality Florida's website to write AAA thanking them for not buckling to hate-mongers who apparently prefer gays & lesbians to be stranded by the side of the road.

Is this REALLY a huge issue for them or their followers? What's next, being pissed off at gay & lesbian seniors getting discounts @ movie theaters? Fucking creeps.



P.S.- Not that AAA is a saintly organization- they harassed Florida ska-punks Against All Authority about the band's parody of their old logo (see above).

Star Fucking Hipsters NEW SONG & TOUR!

Star Fucking Hipsters- led by STZA from Leftover Crack- has uploaded up a brand new song from their upcoming Alternative Tentacles debut "Never Rest In Peace"!



All of you U.K. kids should get out & see SFH starting tonight in Kingston, West Sussex!
Jul 31 2009 8:00P the Fighting Cock Kingston
Aug 1 2009 8:00P barfly (cheap show) Cardiff
Aug 2 2009 7:00P Star & Garter Manchester
Aug 3 2009 7:00P End Bar Newcastle
Aug 4 2009 7:00P Sumo Leicester
Aug 5 2009 7:00P Asylum Birmingham
Aug 6 2009 7:00P Underworld London
Aug 7 2009 6:00P Rebellion Fest! Blackpoole

2 Brand New Jello songs up!

Check out 2 of the brand new Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine songs on the band's myspace page!

The album's being mastered today, and the art is being hammered out as we speak. The full length CD & LP will be out in Late October, and is called "The Audacity of Hype!" HYPE!

Wesley Willis vs. Nardwuar!

Put your helmet on! It's Nardwuar vs. Wesley Willis, with an intro by Jello Biafra!



Check out our awesome Wesley Willis deal!


Rock on Wesley Willis!

Leftover Crack in NYC & Philly!

Yours truly had a chance to see Leftover Crack in their native habitat on the East Coast last week- here's a taste of the chaos!

NYC July 3rd!


Philly July 4th matinee!

Rubber Duckies & pop punk

Some AT propaganda being squatted by some pop punk ducks at last weekend's Insub Fest in Baltimore!

More soon?

P.S.- Thanks to MrsWaves for the pic!

The Bat At Insub Fest!

Alternative Tentacles is a proud sponsor of this year's epic Insubordination Fest in Baltimore, MD! It's this weekend and features Pansy Division and Reverend Norb's Boris The Sprinkler. You may remember Norb's contribution to the Alternative Tentacles catalog: his twisted take on Bob Dylan as Nob Dylan and His Nobsoletes!

Both Pansy Division & Boris The Sprinkler play on Friday June 26th, along with the Dead Milkmen, The Steinways, Toys That Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, and more!

NOB DYLAN AND HIS NOBSOLETES - Postively 12 Stiff Dylans! CD
PANSY DIVISION - That's So Gay CD

PANSY DIVISION - Life In A Gay Rock Band Double DVD

Insubordination Fest myspace

Insub Fest tickets

EXCLUSIVE! Michael Jackson Not Dead

In his most thrilling media stunt yet the King of Pop basket cases burst through the doors to the ER, dancing, prancing, moonwalking and tossing false noses to adoring fans like Elvis with the scarves in Las Vegas. Sources tell us he will soon resume his sideline activity from the "Thriller" days - going door to door disguised as an old lady soliciting money for his fellow Jehovah's Witnesses. Yet another earth-shattering scoop that Wolf Blitzer missed, but Jello Biafra didn't. And TMZ?

Win a signed Witch Hunt poster!

To celebrate the new Witch Hunt LP/CD "Burning Bridges to Nowhere," we're giving away signed tour posters to 3 lucky customers!

Jared the Mail Order Prince will choose 3 people who've ordered the new release on CD or LP. The lucky 3 will receive the 2009 US Summer tour poster signed by all 4 band members, in addition to the new Witch Hunt release.

Do you want in? Just place your order for "Burning Bridges to Nowhere" on our website by Midnight Pacific time Tuesday, June 23, 2009, and you're in the running for this ace prize!

To get you in the mood, here's the podcast interview Jared & Jesse Luscious did with the band when they were in the Bay Area last week on tour.
Direct link to the Witch Hunt AT Batcast, surf to the Batcast page, or subscribe via iTunes to the Batcast & never miss a show!

They're ON TOUR now!

Logical Nonsense live!

Logical Nonsense live! (while this isn't from their reunion show last month, it's still ace!)



P.S.- We've been swamped @ BAT HQ getting new releases ready for the fall, including a new Jello Biafra music project. Stay tuned for details, true believers!

Jello Biafra at Varnish Art

Varnish Fine Art Gallery is putting on an opening entitled Eminent Domain Awareness as they are being forced to move out by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. Read about on SFist, or come tonight to the event, where Jello will be speaking alongside other performers.


Awareness-Raising event and reception for the "Eminent Domain Awareness" Group Show
Friday, June 5th, 2009
77 Natoma street between 1st and 2nd St. and Mission and Howard.
7pm - Midnight
Tonight's event features legendary Dead Kennedys frontman and activist Jello Biafra, recent Vice Presidential candidate and former SF Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez, newsman and Argonaut Editor Warren Hinckle, business consultant Melinda Phillips Zumski, live screenprinting by Political Gridlock and The Firehouse, and music by Burnt House and DJ Evil Justin + surprise guest performers!

Admission is Free; You must be 21+ to attend, so please bring ID

Pansy Division in SPIN & iTUNES!

Essential Pansy Division is on the front page of iTunes Gay Pride page now!





Talkin' 'bout Pansy Division's Life In A Gay Rock Band DVD!

Logical Nonsense REUNION Saturday night!

New Mexico's legendary Logical Nonsense are doing one show this Saturday May 30th at the Launchpad in Albuquerque!

Jello Biafra versus Ian Svenonius!

Jello Biafra being interviewed by Ian Svenonius (Nation Of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and of course, Sassiest Boy In America!) on Vice TV!



On Soft Focus TV!

Saturday night SK8 update!

Just got a text from John the Baker:

"Great trip. Finished last show, heading home. Alex won a skateboard. Jared got injured ankle and didn't finish. We're all together, Jared stayed in the van. Ankle get better."

Skate Till You Die 2009!

From John The Baker, Jared, & Alex comes this news of their exciting 60 mile skateboarding trip down the length of the East Bay. Check out this East Bay Express article for more!

"SKATE TIL YOU DIE ! Welcomes the three Alternative Tentacles interns who are doing the full 60 mile skate from Richmond to San Jose, Ca. May 21, 22 and 23 to benefit Bay Area Kids Who Rock and Adaptive Action Sports, a group dedicated to skaters and boarders with prosthetic limbs. Please Sponsor them for Skate til you Die!
If you'd like to donate to the cause, you can do so through Paypal:
to leasa: lcatera@sbcglobal.net

Or Buy a shirt from Alternative Tentacles! AT has donated 50 shirts to the SKATE TIL YOU DIE! benefit and the organizers are screen printing the Skate Til You Die! Logo on the front with the ATR BAT SYMBOL on the back of the shirts. These limited edition shirts will be up & available here on the AT site next week!