Green Jelly preview

Green Jelly
Double Door, Chicago
Friday, June 27, 2008

In nearly three decades as a band (“3 Little Pigs” in 1992 might have been the first time you heard ’em, but they have actually been around since the early ’80s), Green Jelly have released two full-length, studio albums. Two. In 27 years. That’s 226 fewer albums than band members.

It’s only one absurd fact in an absurdly long list of absurd things about Green Jelly. So to prep you for their comeback tour that arrives at Double Door Friday, we’ll provide a few more.

In their earliest, and most musically inept days, they often showed up at gigs in a stretch limo. They ironed clothes or prepared sandwiches while performing. They were banned and/or reprimanded by many hometown Buffalo club owners due to their own messiness, as well as their fans’, who regularly hurled green Jell-O at the band. The name Green Jello was adopted because the members thought green Jell-O was by far the worst flavor, and they were by far the worst rock band. Kraft sued the group after “3 Little Pigs” catapulted them to fame, forcing them to change their name to Green Jelly. Kellogg also sued Green Jelly for trademark infringement for the band’s use of Toucan Sam as “Toucan Son Of Sam,” a gruesome “cereal” killer. Metallica’s management sued Green Jelly for borrowing parts of “Enter Sandman” for their own “Electric Harley House (Of Love)” (even though they copped to it in the song’s lyrics: “Would you think we’d rip it off?/I think we did, but I don’t recall”). The group originally signed to Zomba on the strength of their claim to being the world’s first “video-only band,” which was completely fabricated. Green Jelly did release a video-only album, though, in 1992 called Cereal Killer, which, after the monstrous success of “3 Little Pigs” resulted in the Cereal Killer Soundtrack that same year. Gwar taught the band the fine art of mask and costume construction. Both Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan of super sophisticated, intellectual, so-deep metal band Tool were members of Green Jelly. Maynard sings the “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” falsetto on “3 Little Pigs.” Green Jelly released an EP in 1993 with Hulk Hogan called Leader Of The Gang. Founder Moronic Dictator is the only constant of 228 members.

Last but not least, an absurd fact (that I’m very proud of) about IE: This writer is the only person I personally know who owns 333, the 1994 follow-up to the Cereal Killer Soundtrack.

Mensrea and Inocula open.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly