Event

GREEN JELLO

Green Jellÿ (pronounced "green jello") is an American comedy rock band formed in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from the owners of the Jell-O trademark, Kraft Foods, who claimed that it was an infringement of their trademark. Despite the spelling difference, the new name and the old are pronounced identically.

Green Jellÿ formed in 1981 as Green Jellö, a four piece comedy-punk band, in Kenmore, New York. It was founded by Bill Manspeaker. He began the band with the idea of starting "The World's Worst Band". The name, which was suggested by a friend of the band, was chosen because lime-flavored Jell-O was allegedly the worst Jell-O flavor, and Manspeaker believed this also reflected the band's talents. The band began playing punk shows around Buffalo, New York, and were notorious for their onstage antics and live theatrics. The band was so technically inept at playing that the bass player had to color-code the frets so that he could memorize bass lines by color.

After the local success in Buffalo, many of the members relocated to Hollywood, California. In 1987, while working at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard, they reformed the band, and quickly became a fixture in the Hollywood underground scene. Their first Los Angeles show was at The Central (which later became the Viper Room on Sunset blvd, playing a show organized by Sylvia Massy, who would later produce two of their albums. In 1988, Bill and the band met GWAR, and an instant friendship was formed over their mutual love of costumes and props. After the initial meeting, Green Jellö decided to ditch their uncomfortable and dangerous papier maché/chicken wire costume heads in favor of the more user friendly foam rubber heads that GWAR had been making. They garbage picked cushions from abandoned Hollywood couches and carved their new characters such as "Shitman" (a giant, walking corn-filled poop monster), "Cowgod", "Rock n Roll Pumpkin", and "Satan's Ham". The band's live show became an over-the-top adventure in absurdity, now consisting of usually 20 members onstage.