NEPA Scene Staff

Comedic punk band Green Jelly returns to Irish Wolf Pub in Scranton on June 17

Comedic punk band Green Jelly returns to Irish Wolf Pub in Scranton on June 17
Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

From a press release:

After performing there last summer, Green Jellÿ will return to the Irish Wolf Pub in downtown Scranton on Sunday, June 17.

Known for their sophomoric humor, theatrical performances, crazy costumes, and intentionally crude musicianship, Green Jellÿ will headline after opening sets from local rock bands Kali Ma and the Garland of Arms, Family Animals, and Fuzz Bucket.

Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets, which are $15 in advance or $20 the day of the show, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Irish Wolf Pub (503 Linden St., Scranton) or from the opening acts. For more information, see the Facebook event page.

Green Jellÿ is a comedy punk rock band formed by vocalist Bill Manspeaker in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from Kraft Foods, who claimed that it was an infringement of their trademark. Despite the spelling difference, the new name and the old are pronounced identically.

Green Jellÿ has had nearly 800 members during the band’s existence, with Manspeaker the only consistent member throughout. The band’s early 1990s lineup during their most popular phase, “Cereal Killer,” included several musicians who went on to appear in other major ’90s bands, most notably Tool. Their biggest hit was the single “Three Little Pigs,” adapted from the nursery rhyme, which features Tool singer Maynard James Keenan on backing vocals.

In 1992, Zoo Entertainment, a subsidiary of BMG, released Green Jellÿ’s “Cereal Killer,” an all-video album including “Three Little Pigs,” which became a No. 1 single and video on the Billboard charts. The following year, Zoo released an audio version of the album called “Cereal Killer Soundtrack.” This album went gold in the United States and sold nearly 2.5 million units worldwide. The success led BMG to open Green Jellÿ studios in Hollywood, where the band recorded the Grammy-nominated “333.” “333” includes “The Bear Song” from the Farrelly Brothers’ film “Dumb and Dumber.”

Also nominated for an MTV Music Award and a Billboard Music Award, Green Jellÿ held the record for the most requested video in MTV’s history and still holds the record for the biggest-selling debut record in England’s chart history. More recently, the group has over seven million plays on YouTube and sold over 700,000 songs on iTunes from 2010-2012.

Reuniting in 2008, Green Jellÿ has been touring ever since, with over 400 shows across America and counting.