Klaus Flouride

Geoffrey Lyall (born May 30, 1949), better known as Klaus Flouride, is an American musician best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for the San Francisco, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986.[1] He also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and 1990s.

Klaus Flouride
Background information
Birth name	Geoffrey Lyall
Born	(1949-05-30) May 30, 1949 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Instruments	Bass, vocals
Years active	1978–present
Associated acts	Dead Kennedys, Five Year Plan
Website	www.klausflouride.com

Early life

Geoffrey Lyall was born in Detroit, Michigan. As a child, he was fascinated by records, and the music hidden in their groves. Before the Great Depression, his father played saxophone and Banjo in New Orleans speakeasys, giving him access to his parents' wide-ranging record collection. His older brother and sister began introducing him to rock when they were in middle and high school, with his brother introducing him to Elvis Presley, his sister introducing him to Little Richard, and both introducing him to Jerry Lee Lewis. At age 8, After seeing Buddy Holly on the Ed Sullivan Show, his parents bought him his first guitar after his continuous insistence. Despite learning to read music, the guitar was unmanageable for his small hands. His guitar teacher declared to his parents that he would never learn to play. At age 13, he picked up the guitar again, trading it for a Gibson and began learning for real. At age 14, he formed his first band, the surf group The Woodsmen, and later the Soche (a slang term for socialite) Stompers. Later bands he would play in include The Liberators, The Motor City Malibus, The Spyders, Hook Nose and the Mutations.[2]

Career

By 1968, he relocated to Boston where he switched from guitar to bass while playing in a power trio named Thursday Parade. At one of their concerts, he met future 1980s rock singer Billy Squier and joined him and his friends in a new band, Magic Terry & The Universe, which relocated to New York City. They relocated to Boston in 1969, playing one more show at the Boston Teaparty before being banned and the subsequently disbanding. He lived between Boston and New York City for the next few years, playing concerts ranging from solo performances to R&B and blues bands.

He became interested in punk rock after moving to San Francisco in 1977 and hanging around the Mabuhay Gardens, and joined Dead Kennedys upon answering East Bay Ray's ad in a local music magazine. He played on all their records, and is credited with writing the song "Dog Bite" from their EP In God We Trust, Inc..

Flouride began working on a solo album following the release of Dead Kennedys' second album, 1982's Plastic Surgery Disasters, coming out with the 12" single "Shortnin' Bread" (with "The Drowning Cowboy" as the B-Side) in 1982 and the EP Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride in 1985.

After Dead Kennedys broke up in 1986, Flouride returned to his solo career, releasing Because I Say So in 1988 and The Light Is Flickering in 1991, the latter album including the song "Dancing with Shauna Grant".[3]

Flouride also works in the studio as a producer and mixer and has done projects with the Hi-Fives, Ape, Terese Taylor, Rock N Roll Adventure Kids, and Bad Posture.

In 2001, Flouride reunited with Ray and Peligro under the Dead Kennedys name, taking on Dr. Know vocalist Brandon Cruz as a replacement for Biafra. A court case found that Biafra, who managed the band's recorded legacy as head of Alternative Tentacles, was guilty of civil fraud, shareholder oppression and malice by withholding full royalties from the other band members for several years. Biafra was ordered to pay over $200,000 in actual and punitive damages, and rights to the Dead Kennedys name reverted to his former bandmates. Jeff Penalty replaced Cruz in 2003.

Equipment

For years Klaus Flouride's main bass guitar was a Lake Placid Blue Fender Jazz Bass from 1966 that he purchased for $200. However, in March 2013 the bass went missing after a show in Brazil. Klaus believes that the airlines lost it. This was his main bass guitar all throughout his years with the Dead Kennedys. The bass was covered with stickers; the largest being the "DK", which stood for Dead Kennedys and also was an international auto ID for Denmark, and the pickguard is stained with blood. Other basses such as a black Fender Precision Bass and a blue Fender Bass VI have also been used.

Flouride used "an Acoustic 150b amp, and an Acoustic 402 cabinet with stock speakers at last thru 'In God We Trust'", before getting a Traynor Mono Block B amp to replace the Acoustic head. Recent pictures show a Gallien Krueger stack made of a 2x10 and a 1x15 cabinets, powered by a Gallien Krueger 1001 RB II head. An unknown Boss pedal can be seen in the same pictures. According to a recent post on Flouride's website, he uses a Boss Blues Driver and a Boss TU-2 tuner pedal.

Discography

Albums

• Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride (1985), Alternative Tentacles
• Because I Say So (1988), Alternative Tentacles
• The Light Is Flickering (1991), Alternative Tentacles
• Flouride Treatments (2011) - sold via Flouride's web store only

Singles

• "Shortnin Bread" (1982), Alternative Tentacles

References

1. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 49-50
2. "Klaus Flouride". Retrieved July 31, 2020.
3. Valdivia, Victor W. "Light Is Flickering Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-07-09

External links

• Official website