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Jello Biafra, former frontman of punk legends Dead Kennedys, has regained most of his ability to speak and think after suffering a stroke earlier this year.
A statement on the musician’s Facebook page said over the weekend that Biafra was “making positive progress”. It continued: “His speech has mostly fully returned and cognitively it is as if the stroke never happened. The left side is still weak but is doing much better than before.”
Biafra was hospitalized in early March after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke that left the left side of her body completely frozen. Biafra said the stroke was caused by high blood pressure and occurred as he was about to stand up. Immediately afterwards, he assured his fans that his condition was stable, but that he still had a lot of “rehab ahead of him.”
Return home in sight
According to the new statement, Biafra is “so much more self-reliant than before” and is expected to return home this week. The message concluded: “Thank you again for the outpouring of support. It meant so much to him.” (The message was written by Anne-Marie Anderson, who works at Biafra’s label Alternative Tentacles and has apparently been looking after him since the stroke.)
Biafra was a co-founder of the Dead Kennedys and led the San Francisco punk band from 1978 until their dissolution in 1986. Although the Dead Kennedys had a reunion in 2001, Biafra has not been part of the group since then. He released his last solo album, “Tea Party Revenge Porn,” in 2020; A few singles were released in 2024, including a cover of Patrik Fitzgerald’s “Punch”. He was also featured on the Tony Slug Experience song “Road Goat.”
