For four decades there has always been a mandate and mission behind the music of legendary Canadian punk band D.O.A. One of the founders of what became known as the more hardcore form of U.S. punk that also featured the likes of Black Flag and Bad Brains, D.O.A. has melded frenetic, insistent, ragged punk energy and musical stylings with a powerfully insistent social justice agenda, spearheaded by band founder, and the only member for its entire career, Joe Keithley, also known under his punk nom de plume – Joey Shithead.
Now comprising fellow members Puddy Duddy on drums and Corkscrew on bass, the band is set to release its most recent studio album, Fight Back on May 1, through Keithley’s own Sudden Death Records. It is the band’s 17th release since debuting with Something Better Change in 1980, two years after forming in the suburbs around Vancouver, British Columbia.
Fight Back is as defiant as any D.O.A. album and is an unashamed call to action by Keithley, looking to mobilize the masses to help combat some of the great social ills that are plaguing our communities, our country and our world.
“When I set out to write the songs for this album, I really set out to look at the main issue I see in the world which is inequality. It’s just about inequality in the world, like economic and racial and gender inequality. And the title Fight Back kind of sums up a whole bunch of it. It’s definitely the theme of the album. I feel it’s one of the best records we’ve done. I think it’s a good summation point because it’s D.O.A.’s 40th anniversary; we have been doing this for a long time and I am still kind of operating under the same principle as I did way back when. When I started I though the world was a screwed up place, I just didn’t realize how screwed it up. And I guess since then my level of knowledge has gone on as my age has gone on,” Keithley said.
“The whole message of this record, or one of the main messages anyways, is that if regular people were to realize how much power they have, they can change things for the better. Numbers have this amazing way of speaking, and that’s why I am always on about grassroots democracy. I really think the average person doesn’t have a say and that’s why they feel they are not represented by politicians, that’s why they feel out of touch with society. You have to give people a sense of hope and hopefully a way forward.
“But listen, I am only a songwriter, singer and guitar player. This is my way of speaking to people and encouraging them that there is a way forward. My belief is that change is really a cumulative thing; it’s a process. I am totally backing this notion of grassroots action and grassroots democracy where if there is a really good idea it usually starts in one little neighbourhood and grows from there. People see it and say, ‘yeah, we can get this done.’ This idea of change from the grassroots up has the possibility of taking hold, but I am not sure that it will. I have a level of skepticism as many other people do as well. But I am optimistic about people and people’s ability to do the right thing. Here’s the thing, if people realize they do have power they will find a way to empower themselves and change things. A lot of times that gets chipped away and the system is set up for the rich and it shouldn’t be. It should be set up for the people.”
Keithley is being modest when he claims to ‘only’ be a singer and guitar player D.O.A. has always represented an in-your-face voice for the voiceless, and a cathartic concert experience to allow those with frustrations about inequality, injustice and seemingly unchangeable live circumstance to feel heard and affirmed, and even fired up.
“I think D.O.A. has always been about trying to get people thinking. The whole ‘Talk-Action=0’ has always been a mantra for us. Hopefully the band can be an inspiration to people to take action, and I have always thought that. I think we can inspire people at times and I think that D.O.A. does inspire people to go out and change things, and that’s a good thing. That’s one of the reasons why the band is still going and why people still pay attention, I suppose,” he said.
Forty years is an amazing legacy for any band or artistic enterprise, especially when that legacy continues to be so vital, dynamic and popular. D.O.A., under Keithley’s aegis keeps releasing new material, and keeps spreading the energy and emotional catharsis that only a true punk rock performance can elicit throughout the world. The ability to continue to follow his passion is not something that Keithley will ever take for granted.
“I had no suspicion that this thing would even last two years. It’s amazing to think I was 20 or 21 when we started, and I am 61 now. It was 40 years as of February this year. I had no conception that it would go this long. It’s been really fun. We have played more than 4,000 shows in about 45 different countries, on five different continents, and done 17 albums. I have met a lot of people and a lot of those people have come up to me and said, ‘man you guys really inspired me. You really helped me when I was down just by me listening to your music,’” he said.
“To me that’s one of the most gratifying things when people tell me I helped them in their life somehow, that this music helped change a life in a positive way. We get a lot of that. And it’s amazing to hear it from younger and younger people. I’ll tell you a funny story about that. Back when we started people would say ‘yeah, my older brother or sister for me into you guys.’ And then about 15 or 20 years ago kids started to say, ‘yeah, my parents told me how good you guys were.’ Well, I had the ultimate last Friday. This young woman came up to me and said, ‘my grandmother told me how good you guys were.’ And the grandmother was 66, so if you think about it, it makes sense. She would have been 26 when we started.
“So, it’s pretty cool to think that D.O.A. is a cross-generational thing. I never really planned it this way, it just kind of turned out to be what it is, and it’s great.”
D.O.A. toured parts of southeast Asia, including China, last fall, and it was while touring in Thailand that Keithley got the idea for the title for the new album, as well as the song Time to Fight Back.
“The gig was excessively packed because so many people wanted to come see D.O.A., and they couldn’t all fit inside at the same time, so people would take turns watching for a bit and then come out and let someone else in for a bit while they sat in the courtyard and had a beer and waited for their turn to come around again. And all of a sudden 10 members of the Bangkok police came in. The guy running the club was French and I guess he wrote some sort of punk rock song in French and when the cops came in all these Thai punks started singing this song of resistance in French and the cops didn’t know what it meant. The cops were there to collect a bribe, so the owner gave them some money and they took off,” he said.
“And that’s where I got the idea for the song Time to Fight Back because I thought it was so amazing that the people didn’t get arrested because they sang this defiant song in a different language, but I am sure the police had a pretty good idea who they were aiming it at. If they wouldn’t have got their money they probably would have arrested some people and closed the doors to the club. So that just showed me the power of music and how resistance comes in many forms.”
Grassroots democracy isn’t just a slogan or pie in the sky notion for Keithley, he is putting his metaphorical money where his mouth is. After running a spirited, but ultimately unsuccessful campaign for provincial office in B.C. as a member of the Green Party last year, Keithley is running for mayor of his hometown of Burnaby B.C. in this fall’s municipal election. This means that there will be an impact on touring and future recording plans for D.O.A. – substantial ones if he were to win.
“We think we have a good shot at it. A lot of people know me out here. One of the big issues is development and how nobody is listening to the people and how people are being thrown out of their homes. We call them demo-victions. People’s apartments are being knocked down and new towers are going up and the rents are three times the cost, so obviously those people are not going to be living in Burnaby any more, and a lot of those people are old timers who have been here for decades,” Keithley explained.
“It’s a really passion for me and so on the evening of Oct. 20, I may be the mayor of my hometown. I am working hard at it. We do have a month of touring starting May 20, mostly in the U.S. – a bunch of places we haven’t played in a long time. We have another two-week tour in July and then I am back Aug. 1 and will be door knocking and campaigning within a week.
“My campaign team has been holding town halls and reaching out to people to see what they think. We believe a politician’s job is more to listen than to talk. And that’s because you think you know the issues, but then when you actually talk to people you learn a different point of view. And also, when you’re elected, you’re supposed to represent everybody, not just one group of people. As for the band, if I am elected my schedule would change a lot. My responsibility would be to be the mayor and all the duties that go with it. I would still write songs and do some recording, and do the odd festival, but being mayor would be my focus.”
Shortly after this interview was conducted, it was announced that D.O.A. would be headlining a new festival in Vancouver. According to a press release, Keithley’s Sudden Death Records is hosting the first ever Fight Back Festival, on Friday, July 6 at the Rickshaw Theatre.
There will be two stages, 10 bands as well as street performers, with the repertoire crossing many genres, from acoustic folk to hardcore punk. Besides D.O.A., announced acts for the show include local legends Roots Roundup and Colorado two-piece punk band In the Whale.
“I came up with this concept because that’s what I believe we need to do at this point in time,” Keithley said in the release.
“We need to fight back against racism, sexism, hatred and greed. We need to promote grassroots democracy, where everyone has a say. If enough of us pull together, we will make this a better place.”
For more information on the festival, on the Fight Back album and D.O.A. tour dates, visit www.suddendeath.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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