The 1978 Demos

The 1978 Demos were the first demos by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys, recorded in late June 1978.
All pressings belong to the legally dubious realm of bootlegs. The band has never released these versions officially, and followingly these demos do not belong to the official discography.
Track listing
The track info is based on the most commonly found pressing of the demos.
"Kepone Kids" would later become "Kepone Factory" and be released on the EP In God We Trust, Inc.. "Kidnap", "Dreadlocks of the Suburbs", "Mutations of Today", "Cold Fish", and the untitled track remain officially unreleased by the Dead Kennedys.
All songs written by Jello Biafra except where stated.
Side A:
#"Forward to Death" (6025) - 1:45
#"Cold Fish" - 2:53
#"Kidnap" - 1:29
#"I Kill Children" - 2:23
#"Holiday in Cambodia" - 4:42
#"Viva Las Vegas" (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman) - 3:08
#"Mutations of Today" (6025) - 5:17
Side B:
#"Dreadlocks of the Suburbs" - 3:10
#"The Man with the Dogs" - 3:31
#"Kill the Poor" - 3:33
#"Your Emotions" (East Bay Ray) - 1:55
#"Kepone Kids" - 2:14
#"California Über Alles" (Jello Biafra, John Greenway) - 3:53
#"Rawhide" (Ned Washington, Dimitri Tiomkin) - 2:12
#"Forward to Death" (6025) - 1:43
The demo sessions
During 1978 the band wrote and recorded several songs; these have entered the bootleg market in numerous different selections. On his website Klaus Flouride has stated some of the recorded tracks were never meant to be demos at all, but were rather "explorations that never got finished". Guitarist East Bay Ray has also mentioned "they were more like sketches of songs". To date it's unknown how many songs the band recorded, but the following tracks have been verified.
Recorded tracks
*"Kepone Kids"
*"Forward to Death"
*"California Über Alles"
*"Your Emotions"
*"Kill the Poor"
*"Holiday in Cambodia"
*"Kidnap"
*"The Man with the Dogs"
*"I Kill Children"
*"Dreadlocks of the Suburbs"
*"Rawhide"
*"Mutations of Today" (can also be found as "Mexican Monster Babies" on various bootlegs; both Flouride and Ray recognize the alternate title, and Flouride has verified he has even owned a reel to reel dub of "Mexican Monster Babies"<ref name=klaus />)
*"Cold Fish" (the track is not complete on any release, but Flouride has verified he has had a reel to reel recording of the song<ref name=klaus />)
*"Forward to Death"
*"Viva Las Vegas"
*untitled track
*"Saturday Night Holocaust" (a demo of the track was also also recorded in 1982, prior to Plastic Surgery Disasters)
It is presently unknown where the tracks were recorded. The band members have made no official statement regarding the tracks, other than guitarist Ray's mention; "The only theory we have is that there was a rehearsal studio that we used to rehearse at that had a recording studio next door, and that someone taped us one day and that's what that tape is". No further information is available.
Credits
*Jello Biafra - vocals
*East Bay Ray - guitar, backing vocals
*Klaus Flouride - bass, backing vocals
*6025 - drums

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