LAKEPORT >> There’s always room for Jello, especially when it’s Green.
Green Jelly, formerly Green Jello, the self-proclaimed “world’s worst band” is coming to Lake County to play two holiday benefit concerts and some people are actually excited about it.
The Green Jelly (pronounced Green Jello) concerts are part of the “Green Jello Xmas Extravaganza” Dec. 16-17 at the Lake County Fairgrounds. The Dec. 16 event for adults is a fundraiser for two local groups, Autism, Advocacy & Intervention at Lucerne Elementary School and the Lake County Theatre Company.
The Dec. 17 “Green Jello Little Fellows” family-friendly afternoon event is for children and is a combination acoustic concert, punk rock puppet-making workshop and storytelling by the band with core members from Buffalo, New York, and Hollywood, led by Bill Manspeaker, Green Jelly’s lead guitarist, vocalist and puppet master.
In addition to Green Jelly, other acts announced for Saturday include opener Tyler V., a local stand up comedian and junior at Kelseyville High School, Billy Youngblood and the Smokin’ Gorillas from Fort Wayne, Indiana, playing classic rock with an edge, and the youthful punk rock trio, Fall Children of Ukiah.
A master of ceremonies is still being sought for the event, as of press time.
Green Jello was formed in 1981. The spelling change to Green Jelly came about following legal action by Kraft Food, owner of the real lime green Jello, a registered trademark.
If this all sounds confusing, wait until you hear their songs, which to many people often barely meet the minimum definition of music. The band’s latest is, “Trumpty Dumpty (He Wanted a Wall),” a less-than-flattering but a biting yet humorous song about the current president.
Yet it’s difficult to be taken seriously as the “world’s worst” when the band has been nominated for a Grammy, has sold millions of songs worldwide and its You Tube videos — most several decades old — have been viewed by millions of people and are still popular today.
Yes, many who profess to be music aficionados still say Green Jelly’s sound is noise not music but punk rock has never been meant for a mainstream audience. For many, it’s an easy sound to hate since it’s always anti-establishment and often anti-everything.
The group is not the Sex Pistols or the Clash, but it is punk music. The sound is bizarre, comedic, violent, chaotic, often juvenile … you know, classic punk rock.
The Green Jello extravaganza is the brainchild of 38-year-old Tom Simons, a long-time Green Jelly fan and father of five-year-old Sebastian Simons, who has autism and attends Lucerne Elementary.
Simons is a building contractor by trade who also teaches meditation. But he readily admits, “I’m a class clown at heart.”
He said the idea for the autism fundraiser came to him in September as just a concert. Like most good ideas, it not only took off but took on a life of its own. “Everything else has unfolded and come together.”
Simons added, “A lot of people involved in the event have kids with autism so it has a lot of energy behind it.”
His goal is to raise at least $5,000 and is looking for business sponsors for the event to help offset costs. Major sponsors already onboard include Robinson Rancheria Casino and O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company. The deadline for sponsorship is Dec. 6.
He said of the Dec. 15 extravaganza, “This show is in left field and goofy. It’s not your typical rock show. It’s bizarre theatrics.”
Simons has been a fan of Green Jelly since the early 1990s, so when he decided to organize a benefit for autism, his first thought was of his favorite band. In September, Simons went on the band’s website, not knowing what to expect.
“When I got on their website, I found I could actually book them myself for a show,” Simons said.
When he contacted band members, he discovered bassist Tom Jefferys of Buffalo has two children with autism. Before long, the band committed to the Lake County gig, that soon turned into two shows.
“It’s completely surreal,” he said. “Honestly, it’s a dream come true. I never thought I would have full control to design a (Green Jelly) show.”
Simons grew up in Kelseyville listening to punk music and described himself as “an oddball” during his adolescence.
“I like the artistic end and comedy of punk rock,” he said. “I like its individuality and self-expression. I like that they (punk bands) go out of the safety zone.”
Green Jelly’s biggest commercial hit was “Three Little Pigs” that peaked at Number 17 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart in June 1993.
The band chose its name due to its dislike of green Jello and that it reflected the poor quality of its music, according to the website, AllMusic.
The often untrustworthy Wikipedia describes the group’s music style as “comedy, rock, heavy metal, punk rock, alternative rock.”
But the band is more than its music; its shows and music videos are a combination of street theater and performance art with a hint of vaudeville and a touch of Wes Craven.
In fact, Green Jelly is probably better known for its videos — often featured on MTV in the 1980s and 1990s — than its music. That was in the era when MTV and VH1 actually showed music videos.
The band’s live shows and videos feature much more than music and include a multimedia onslaught of puppets, outrageous costumes, catwalks, staircases and smoke machines.
One of the more acclaimed videos is for their song, “Three Little Pigs,” that featured a modern-day take on the fairy tale with Claymation pigs and wolf.
When asked about Green Jelly’s “world’s worst band” moniker, Simons laughed and responded, “To me, they’re actually extremely talented. Bill comes across, to me, as a genius.”
However, the band probably transcended its description as the “worst band” in 1995 when it was nominated for a Grammy award for long form music video for “333.”
Both holiday shows are at the Lake County Fairgrounds, Little Theater building, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport. Admission for the 8 p.m. to midnight Dec. 16 show is $35 at the door or $29 online.
Admission to the noon-2 p.m. Dec. 17 show is $8 for children and $10 for adults. Tickets for both shows are available at the Brown Paper Tickets website.
