King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard pulled out a surprise cover at their curated festival Field Of Vision in Colorado, with the song’s original singer. During the first of three marathon three-hour sets the band played over the weekend, on Friday, August 15th, the band brought out Jello Biafra – best known as the original lead singer of the Dead Kennedys – to cover one of the band’s best-known songs, ‘Police Truck’. Footage of the cover, care of YouTube user Bootleg Gila, can be found below.
“We’ve got a very special guest,” announced the band’s frontman Stu Mackenzie prior to Biafra’s introduction. “He’s one of our heroes.” Biafra then came out and hugged both Mackenzie and guitarist Joey Walker. For his part, he responded to the band’s praise by saying: “What an honour this is.” Walker then noted the major influence that the Dead Kennedys had on the band’s sound when they were first starting out in the early 2010s. Following the performance, Biafra remarked that the encounter had been “a great fucking moment”. “This is my favourite band in the world,” he said.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – ‘Police Truck’
Both King Gizzard and the current iteration of Dead Kennedys – sans Biafra – are set to tour Australian in the coming months. The latter will tour the country in September, playing a run of headlining club and theatre shows. It will mark their first Australian tour without longtime drummer D.H. Peligro, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 63.
The former, meanwhile, will embark on a national homecoming tour in December that will see them performing in two separate modes: Their traditional “rock” shows, and a special run of orchestral performances alongside the local symphony orchestras. The shows are in support of their 27th studio album Phantom Island, which was released last month.
Biafra last toured Australia in 2013, being joined by his longtime backing band the Guantanamo School Of Medicine. He continues to perform shows with the band, as well as DJing and hosting the programs What Would Jello Do? and the podcast Jello Biafra’s Renegade Roundtable.
Further Reading
Jello Biafra – “Wealth Addiction Is The Most Dangerous Addiction On Earth”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Have Officially Bailed From Spotify
Gizzfest – The Big Top, Sydney 29/11/16
