"The Dead Kennedys have officially announced that their new singer will be Jeff Penalty, formerly of Vaz Hoil & Stupid Ferrets. Penalty toured with the band earlier this year when they did their first-ever tour of Norway. Penalty is taking over the position formerly filled by Jell….err…Brandon Cruz, who quit the band to spend more time with his family." Click below for the text of the announcement from deadkennedys.com
Lead Singer Brandon Cruz Exits Band, Vocal Duties to be Handled By Jeff Penalty
Los Angeles, Calif., & San Francisco, Calif. - Seminal punk rock band Dead Kennedys announced today that via mutual decision, lead singer Brandon Cruz will exit the band and vocal duties will now be handled by former Vaz Hoil & Stupid Ferrets member Jeff Penalty. Penalty toured with Dead Kennedys for their first-ever tour of Norway in May 2003.
Brandon Cruz joined Dead Kennedys in September 2001 after the band regained control of their back catalog and released it on Manifesto Records. Cruz has toured extensively with the band over the past two years including first ever stops in Japan and Russia. He will continue to sing for his original band, Nardcore legends, Dr. Know.
"It is with regret that Dead Kennedys must inform their fans that Brandon Cruz is exiting the band," said Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "Obviously we owe Brandon much respect and a ton of gratitude for his years with the band at a very difficult time. However, as much as we will miss Brandon, we are ecstatic to announce that Jeff Penalty is joining the band. Dead Kennedys fans will not be disappointed when they hear the new line-up live, I can assure you."
"While I really enjoyed my time in Dead Kennedys, I felt I needed to spend more time with my own family" said Brandon Cruz, "Touring with band, I got to visit some great countries and meet some extraordinary people which made the experience all the better. I also decided that I wanted to work on some new material of my own with Dr. Know."