East Bay Ray

Raymond Pepperell, Jr., known pseudonymously as East Bay Ray, was the lead guitarist for the well known West Coast punk band Dead Kennedys. Next to Jello Biafra&

Raymond Pepperell, Jr., known pseudonymously as East Bay Ray, was the lead guitarist for the well known West Coast punk band Dead Kennedys. Next to Jello Biafra's manic warble, East Bay Ray's tinny surf-inspired spastic guitar work was one of the defining factors of the music of the Dead Kennedys, and by extension, of the "second wave" of American punk.

The Dead Kennedys were a notably idiosyncratic "hardcore" band. Although they kept their music for the most part loud, fast, and aggressive, they threw in eclectic flourishes that were easy for casual or close-minded listeners to miss. These experiments were represented most prominently in the guitar playing of East Bay Ray, who took cues from sources such as film music (spy movie scores and Ennio Morricone spaghetti western scores), instrumental surf rock (the guitar stylings of Dick Dale and George Tomsco of The Fireballs), as well as the psychedelic music of the 60s (especially early Pink Floyd) with his trademark echo effects. With help from Jello Biafra & Klaus Flouride, East Bay Ray crafted a distant and driving guitar style that was clever, cinematic and epically paranoid in sound. His lyrical contributions were infrequent and weak, compared to the soapbox insanity of Biafra.