Alternative Tentacles

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Alternative Tentacles Records

Founded	1979
Founder(s)	Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray
Distributing label	Lumberjack Mordam</td></tr>
Genre(s)	Punk, Alternative, Spoken word
Country of Origin	US
Website	Official site of Alternative Tentacles Records

Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles," and after realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray and vocalist Jello Biafra formed the original Alternative Tentacles partnership, but the label is now run by Biafra, who became the sole owner in the mid-1980's. <ref>“Dead Kennedys v. Jello Biafra”</ref>

1 Early influence
2 Legal trouble
3 Artists
4 Footnotes
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] Early influence

Alternative Tentacles went on to launch some of the most original bands of the alternative/punk scene including releasing records (which were later released by other labels) by bands including The Dicks, Black Flag, 7 Seconds, and the Butthole Surfers. The early compilation titled "Let Them Eat Jellybeans" served to introduce American Punk to the rest of the world.

Through innovative bands such as the Dead Kennedys, No Means No, D.O.A. and the Alice Donut the label became a prominent figure in the American art/music underground.

In addition to musical acts, Alternative Tentacles also publishes left-wing spoken word albums, many by Jello Biafra himself. Another common theme of Alternative Tentacles records over the years has been the long-standing artwork of Winston Smith, which has graced hundreds of their records, catalogs, posters, and shirts.

[edit] Legal trouble

In 1985, Senate hearings were brought on by the PMRC to investigate obscenity in music. That year, a lawsuit on their behalf accusing Alternative Tentacle of "distributing harmful matter to minors" successfully destroyed the pressing plant that manufactured the albums and nearly bankrupted the label. The case was also partially responsible for the breakup of the Dead Kennedys.

In early 2000, the label and Jello Biafra were named in a suit brought by his former Dead Kennedys band-mates. The suit claimed that Biafra had failed to pay the band royalties on Dead Kennedys albums. The end result of the case saw the rights to the albums turned over to the other band members, who licensed them to Manifesto Records in the United States (and to other labels in the rest of the world).

In October 2002, the label moved to Emeryville, CA.