Klaus Flouride
Background information
Birth nameGeoffrey Lyall
Born (1949-05-30) May 30, 1949
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Instrument(s)Bass, vocals
Years active1978–present
LabelsAlternative Tentacles

Klaus Flouride is the stage name of Geoffrey Lyall (born May 30, 1949), an American musician who is the bassist and backing vocalist for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.[1]

Early life

Lyall was born in Detroit, Michigan to Bryce Lyall and Louise Robbins Lyall.[2] As a child, he was fascinated by records, and the music hidden in their grooves and started collecting records at age seven.[3] During the Great Depression, his father had played saxophone and banjo in New Orleans speakeasys, and from an early age Klaus had access to his parents' wide-ranging record collection.[4] 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.[3]: 1:05:08  At age 8, After seeing Buddy Holly on the Ed Sullivan Show, his parents bought him his first Stella guitar after his continuous insistence.[5] He started learning to read music, but 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 moved to a Gibson and started another serious attempt at learning to play it. At age 14, he formed his first band, a surf group called The Woodsmen; his first real band was The Liberators.[5]

Career

Flouride moved to Boston in 1967, where he bought his first bass to play in a power trio named Thursday Parade.[4] He briefly played with singer Billy Squier in Magic Terry & The Universe.[6] He moved between Boston and New York City for the next few years, playing concerts ranging from solo performances to R&B and blues bands.[4]

He became involved in punk rock after moving to San Francisco in 1977 and spending time at the Mabuhay Gardens. He joined Dead Kennedys after answering East Bay Ray's ad in a local music magazine.[3]: 45:45  He played on all their records, and co-wrote many of their songs.[7]

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.[8]

After Dead Kennedys broke up in 1986, Flouride concentrated on 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".[9]

Flouride also works in the studio as a producer and mixer and has done projects with many artists including the Hi-Fives.[10][11]

In 2001, Flouride reunited with Ray and Peligro under the Dead Kennedys name.[4][12]

Equipment

Klaus Flouride played a Lake Placid Blue Fender Jazz Bass from 1966 that he purchased for $200; this was his main bass guitar during his years with the Dead Kennedys.[13] However, in March 2013 the bass was stolen in Brazil; Flouride believes that the airlines lost it.[4][14] Luthier Tony Schroom, built Flouride a new instrument complete with the same stickers and scratches of the old one.[4][13] He has also played with a Fender Bass VI, particularly on the Bedtime For Democracy album.[4]

Flouride used "an Acoustic 150b amp, and an Acoustic 402 cabinet with stock speakers at least thru 'In God We Trust'", before getting a Traynor Mono Block B amp to replace the Acoustic head. He primarily uses a Gallien Krueger MB 500 and an Ampeg SVT cabinet when he is on tour. According to a recent post on Flouride's website, he uses a Boss Blues Driver and a Boss TU-2 tuner pedal. Flouride also played clarinet on the DK song Terminal Preppie.[4]

Solo 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. ↑ Madora, Ryan (10 November 2016). "Bass Players To Know: Klaus Flouride". No Treble. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Nate Goyer (Mar 14, 2016). "Ep023: Dead Kennedys Klaus Flouride Interview & The Story of the "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" LP". The Vinyl Guide (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:30:19. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shooman, Joe (2017-12-07). "Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Flouride: "If you want to make the stuff that you play stand out, you need to leave a lot around it"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  5. 1 2 "Klaus Flouride". Dead Kennedys Official Website. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  6. ↑ Pinnegar, Shane (2014-08-28). "INTERVIEW – Klaus Flouride, Dead Kennedys, August 2014". 100% ROCK MAGAZINE. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  7. ↑ Ray, East Bay. "Welcome To The Official Website For Dead Kennedys". Welcome To The Official Website For Dead Kennedys. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  8. ↑ Prindle, Mark. "Klaus Flouride". Prindle Rock And Roll Record Review Site. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  9. ↑ Valdivia, Victor W. "Light Is Flickering Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-07-09
  10. ↑ Blush, S.; Petros, G. (2010). American Hardcore (Second Edition): A Tribal History. Feral House. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-932595-98-7. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  11. ↑ "New Indie Music Artists". New Indie Music Artists. 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  12. ↑ Wadharmi, Ewan. ""Dead Kennedys: An interview with bassist Klaus Flouride"". Lollipop Magazine Online. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  13. 1 2 Maginnis-Honey, Amy (September 14, 2013). "Vallejo man building guitar for a Dead Kennedy's Klaus Flouride". Daily Republic. pp. B10. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "Klaus Flouride's Jazz Bass Lost/Stolen in Brazil". TalkBass.com. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
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