The following is an excerpt from the book No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes: An Oral History of the Legendary City Gardens by Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico. Jello Biafra photo by Ken Salerno.

Jello Biafra Spoken Word – April 24, 1991

Alex Franklin (City Gardens regular): When they started the spoken word thing… that was unheard of. Jello or Rollins would do these spoken word shows every couple of months. People didn’t understand the concept. Jello Biafra did one, and I remember he did this whole catchphrase of “smoke more pot” all night.  

Jello Biafra: I’ve always liked Randy, I’ve always gotten along well with him, but I kind of wish he hadn’t shaved off that great big moustache he had at a time when punk people were not supposed to have moustaches. He had a moustache, the hat, and the shorts halfway down his ass, and I told people, “Hey, if you get to City Gardens, look for the dude who looks like a catfish. That’s the one you need to know.” They always figured out who he was quickly, and I mean that with the greatest affection. But like any underground place, you never knew what might happen or what might go wrong. I mean, the first time we were there in ‘81, I don’t know where everybody else was, but I was putting some dry clothes on in the backstage bathroom when a guy began pounding on the door, saying he had a knife and that he wanted to stab me and kill me. He did that over and over and over again. Luckily the door was locked, and he never tried to break it down. So, no knife in me and that was the end of that, but you never knew…