Comedy metal/punk band Green Jelly plays Sept. 20 in Tri-Cities

Green Jelly has been bouncing around the metal/punk music scene for 32 years, and though band members have changed, one thing is the same -- the band is just plain weird and proud of it.

The comedic group will attempt to make its second appearance in the Tri-Cities on Sept. 20 at Ray's Golden Lion in Richland. The first time Green Jelly was scheduled to appear earlier this year, car trouble canceled that gig, said Stan Chin, owner of Ray's.

"Their van broke down two hours away from Tri-Cities and never made it," Chin said. He is crossing his fingers that doesn't happen this time.

Green Jelly -- pronounced Green Jello -- was formed by Bill Manspeaker in New York in 1981. His intent was to start the world's worst band and the name also reflected that philosophy, he explains on his website.

Their thinking was if they were going to be the worst band in history, then they would name themselves after the worst flavor of Jell-O -- green, Manspeaker said.

But that came to a halt in 1992 when Kraft Foods company filed a lawsuit against Manspeaker claiming trademark infringement on its Jell-O trademark, despite the fact that he spelled it differently.

But chaos and intimidation mean nothing to Manspeaker. The more outrageous, the better his philosophy seems to be.

Even more unusual about this band is that Manspeaker is the only permanent member. He hires musicians in the various parts of the country where he has gigs.

Rob Murphy-Hendrix of Portland plays bass whenever Manspeaker brings his show to the Northwest.

"I play with him whenever he's in Washington or Oregon," Murphy-Hendrix told the Herald via email. "There is no full-time Green Jelly band anymore. It's just Bill, who flies all over the country and recruits (musicians) to perform his songs."

And even though Manspeaker claims to have the worst rock band on the planet, Murphy-Hendrix says that's really up for interpretation.

"Green Jelly is a comedy metal/punk band, and the stage show includes audience members wearing giant foam puppet heads of different characters from the songs he sings," Murphy-Hendrix said. "In fact, the live shows are always about audience participation. The crowd is on stage a lot during his shows, and Bill is all over the venue."

Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets cost $10 in advance or $12 the day of the show and are available at Ray's.

-- Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @dorioneal

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Comedy metal/punk band Green Jelly plays Sept. 20 in Tri-Cities."