Green Jellÿ

Biography

Green Jellÿ (, green Jell-O) is an American comedy rock band formed in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from Kraft Foods Inc., the owners of the Jell-O brand, who claimed that it was an infringement of their trademark.
Known for sophomoric humor, theatrical performances, and intentionally crude musicianship, Green Jellÿ has had hundreds of members during its existence. A core group of musicians makes up the main cast of characters, with vocalist Bill Manspeaker being the only consistent member throughout. Notable past members include Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan, who were both in Green Jellÿ during the early 1990s and went on to form Tool.
To date, the band has released five studio albums: Triple Live Möther Gööse at Budokan (1989), Cereal Killer Soundtrack×Cereal Killer Soundtrack1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Obey the Cowgod3:11A2Three Little Pigs5:54A3Cereal Killer (edit)3:30A4Rock-N-Roll Pumpkihn2:42A5Anarchy in the U.K.3:28A6Electric Harley House (of Love)4:37B1Trippin' on XTC3:43B2Misadventures of Shitman3:08B3House Me Teenage Rave4:30B4Flight of the Skajaquada (edit)4:02B5Green Jellÿ Theme Song2:16 (1993), 333 (1994), Musick to Insult Your Intelligence By×Musick to Insult Your Intelligence By2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sugar & Spice3:562Getfilte Fish3:343Rooster Jowels2:284Albert Fish Liverwurst5:365Stabby the Clown5:316Geek Girl2:357I Will Not3:088You’re Gone1:449Nothing to Say4:3010Magic Ed2:2211Trick or Treat2:3212The Ballad of Swing Low Scroty3:22 (2009), and Garbage Band Kids (2021). They are best known for their 1992 hit "Three Little Pigs×Three Little Pigs1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Three Little Pigs (edit)4:392Three Little Pigs5:583Obey the Cowgod3:11", which was adapted from the fairy tale.

Early years (1981–1990)

Bill Manspeaker formed Green Jellö, a four-piece comedy-punk band, in 1981. As most of the band's members were poor musicians at the time, they billed themselves as "The World's Worst Band".
In 1984, Green Jellö released Let It Be, an eight-song EP, on their own label, American Jello Parti Productions, Inc. The cover artwork (designed by Manspeaker) was a parody of The Beatles' Let It Be album cover. Recorded in Manspeaker's bedroom and at a local band rehearsal hall, the album featured the "Green Jellö Theme Song" as well as early songs such as "I've Got Poo-Poo on My Shoe" (later called "Shitman"), "Whip Me Teenage Babe" (later renamed "House Me Teenage Rave"), "Hill, Hill", "Do the Howie", the one-second "Icrog", "The Ice Cream Song", and "I'll Buy You Any Major Appliance You Want Baby, Ooo Ooo".
In 1989, Green Jellö released their second album, Triple Live Möther Gööse at Budokan, on February 29 Records, which was recorded in a garage with producer Sylvia Massy.

Cereal Killer (1991–1993)

In 1991, Green Jellö approached the BMG subsidiary label Zoo Entertainment with a video-only album concept. In 1992, they delivered Cereal Killer, again produced by Massy. The album is a long-form video consisting of music videos for each song, as well as a behind-the-scenes feature. Zoo eventually issued the EP Green Jellö SUXX, consisting of four songs from Cereal Killer×Cereal Killer1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Green Jellö Theme Song1:442Three Little Pigs5:503Obey the Cowgod3:124Trippin' on XTC4:255Misadventures of Shitman3:036Electric Harley House (of Love)4:387Flight of the Skajaquada5:128House Me Teenage Rave5:389Cereal Killer6:4910Rock-N-Roll Pumpkin3:2511Anarchy in the U.K.3:31, including "Three Little Pigs×Three Little Pigs1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Three Little Pigs (edit)4:392Three Little Pigs5:583Obey the Cowgod3:11". The band then issued the full-length studio album Cereal Killer Soundtrack×Cereal Killer Soundtrack1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Obey the Cowgod3:11A2Three Little Pigs5:54A3Cereal Killer (edit)3:30A4Rock-N-Roll Pumpkihn2:42A5Anarchy in the U.K.3:28A6Electric Harley House (of Love)4:37B1Trippin' on XTC3:43B2Misadventures of Shitman3:08B3House Me Teenage Rave4:30B4Flight of the Skajaquada (edit)4:02B5Green Jellÿ Theme Song2:16 in March 1993. This was their first release under the revised name Green Jellÿ.
The video for "Three Little Pigs" was directed by Fred Stuhr (who also directed Tool's "Sober" video), and it featured a claymation rendition of the classic fairy tale with modern twists, such as pot-smoking pigs, an appearance by Rambo, and a Harley Davidson-riding wolf. The video was No. 17 for most of the summer of 1993 in the US and received both an MTV music award and Billboard music award nomination. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at a peak position of No. 5. Cereal Killer Soundtrack attained gold status in the US, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as platinum in Australia. In 1993, they released the single "Electric Harley House (of Love)", with the video featuring Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from Kiss. Later the same year, the band released a single that was never included on any of their full-length albums: a collaboration with Hulk Hogan, performing Gary Glitter's "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)", which became a Top-40 hit in the UK.

333 (1994–1995)

In 1994, Green Jellÿ opened Green Jellÿ Studios, an audiovisual production house to create music videos for other artists, as well as pieces for television and film. The same year, the band recorded and filmed their fourth album, 333. The record featured differing styles, from thrash metal to grunge rock to dance music. It failed to chart, although the single "The Bear Song×The Bear Song1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Bear Dance (Jens Gad Psycho radio remix)3:172Bear Dance (Jens Gad radio remix)3:143Bear Dance (Jens Gad video remix)3:154The Bear Trance Dance (extended Psycho remix)6:445The Bear Song (album version)2:41" appeared in the Farrelly Brothers film Dumb and Dumber. The related video album received a 1995 Grammy nomination for best long-form video.
Also in 1994, Green Jellÿ wrote and produced the soundtrack for the Acclaim Entertainment video game Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage. The soundtrack is a computerized rendition of original songs.

Reunion and Musick to Insult Your Intelligence By (2008–2009)

On February 19, 2008, music news website Blabbermouth.net announced that Green Jellÿ was reuniting and that a possible US tour was in the works. The band also re-released the Cereal Killer and 333 video albums on a self-produced DVD with Originology Records, which were only sold at concerts. They released a new record, Musick to Insult Your Intelligence By, on October 13, 2009.

Touring and new releases (2010–present)

Green Jellÿ released a DVD on December 1, 2016, titled GREEN JELLO Suxx Live: An Experience in Ridiculousness (later retitled Green Jellÿ Suxx Live: An Experience in Ridiculousness). They toured throughout 2017 in support of the film and its soundtrack. In 2018, The Official Soundtrack of the Documentary Green Jellÿ Suxx Live was released via Enjoy the Ride Records.
In 2017, Green Jellÿ released a new music video and single, "Fr3tö F33t×Fr3tö F33t20 April 2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Fr3tö F33t (2017 master)2:292Green Jellÿ Xmas (2022 version)4:023Eat Santa’s Ham4:20". In 2018, they issued their first Christmas song, "Green Jellÿ Xmas". In 2019, they released another single, titled "Silence of the Sponge", a macabre parody of the theme to SpongeBob SquarePants.
Green Jellÿ's fifth studio album, titled Garbage Band Kids×Garbage Band Kids11 June 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Pukebox3:192Silence of the Squarepants3:303Punk Rock Pope3:184Fuxk It2:595Boy Who Cried Wolf3:576Drinking Song2:347Back Alley Dentist2:118Champion2:2393333:5410Hey Hey Hey3:3711Beat My Meat2:3412Weirdo2:3013Freetoe Feet2:3014Ballad of Green Jelly4:4715Three Little Pigs6:2316Mægnus Ærena3:5617Holyman Back1:57, was released on June 11, 2021, on Cleopatra Records.

Band members

Current

Bill Manspeaker – vocals (1981–1995, 2008–present)
Lazy D – vocals
Jella Lugosi – lead guitar
Tekatesha – bass guitar
Hammy Hagar – rhythm guitar
Notable former members

Maynard James Keenan – backing vocals (1990–1993)
Danny Carey – drums (1989–1994)