Carlo Cadona
Carlos Cadona, better known by his stage name 6025, was the first drummer and later rhythm guitarist for the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, from June 1978 to March 1979. Due to his short tenure in the band and avoidance of the public eye since, very little is known about him, and he is most well-known for the mysteries surrounding his departure from the band.
6025 started off as the drummer for the DKs, playing on their first demos. After the demos, the band found a more experienced druumer, Ted. 6025 left for a short time, but was invited back as rhythm guitarist.
6025's guitar playing with the band was very minimal and generally shadowed the bassline of Klaus Flouride, with lead guitarist East Bay Ray doing the majority of guitar work.
He wrote six songs with the band - "Ill in the Head" and "Forward to Death", both of which appear on the band's debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables; "Short Songs", "Gaslight", and "Straight A's", which appear on the live album Live at the Deaf Club, and "Religious Vomit", which appears on the EP In God We Trust, Inc..
He ultimately departed before the recording of any studio albums, but does guest as a second guitarist on the studio recording of "Ill in the Head". 6025's lyrics were noticeably different from the rest of the band's repertoire, focusing on strange, nonsensical imagery and a morbid, fatalistic tone as opposed to vocalist/songwriter Jello Biafra's political satire.
According to East Bay Ray, 6025 left the band because he wanted to play prog-rock, and eventually was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Dead Kennedys' official website simply states that 6025 has been suffering from a disability since the early 1980s. In a 2003 interview for Russian Darkside E-Zine, East Bay Ray mentioned that Cadona's mother acts as his legal trustee, and she presently receives all royalties on his behalf.
After leaving Dead Kennedys, 6025 briefly played with The Residents before being replaced by Miguel Bertel from the blues outfit Dirty Legs. After this, Cadona disappeared completely from the public eye.
Following his departure, the Dead Kennedys auditioned numerous second guitarists and even, having been inspired by The Screamers, considered replacing him with a keyboardist. Ultimately, the band decided to remain a four-piece.
In a 2005 interview with Loud Fast Rules! magazine, a spin-off of the magazine AMP, Klaus Flouride states that 6025 went on to become a born-again Christian. His conversion led to an infamous incident at 924 Gilman. 6025 has been perpetually working on a Christian punk rock opera for years that, due to his mental state, will probably never actually be finished. In Alternative Tentacles bio for Dead Kennedys, former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra states that Cadona hasn't dropped out of music altogether, but that he is still trying to be "the Captain Beefheart of gospel music."
It was heavily rumoured that 6025 did not leave of his own accord, but was ousted due to musical differences. In the aforementioned interview, Flouride confirmed that 6025 and Jello Biafra became heavily opposed to the others' song-writing ideas, and after an argument culminating in a near fist-fight, 6025 chose to depart.