Dead Kennedys explained, "...I wanted to make sure it was something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place, and then I showed it to Winston Smith. He played around with it, came back with a bunch of designs that had the circle and slightly 3-D looking letters and he had ones with different patterns behind it. I liked the one with bricks, but ultimately I thought simple red behind it was the boldest and the best." Dead Kennedys have been described as a hardcore punk band. Dead Kennedys were noted for the harshness of their
D.O.A. (band) Kennedys frontman and future collaborator Jello Biafra. Kent was fired from the band in September and later that fall the band recorded and released their second single "The Prisoner". In May 1979, the band embarked on their first North American tour. Upon its completion they hired Vancouver journalist and activist Ken Lester as their manager. Lester booked another tour for them the following October, in the middle of which they flew back to Vancouver to open for The Clash at the Pacific Coliseum. They soon after released their third single, "World War 3/Whatcha Gonna Do?". In late 1979, they added