D.O.A.
New life for old Canadian punkers
by Don Fluckinger
After 20 years, what could D.O.A. -- the legendary Vancouver hardcore punk band
who play the Espresso Bar this Sunday as part of Punkstock '98 -- possibly have
to say? A whole lot, it turns out. According to frontman/career activist Joey
Keithley (better known as Joey Shithead), age brings about a more acute
awareness of how the world works . . . and that' s a powerful motivator on this
screwed-up planet.
"When you're young, there's a lot of anger an a lot of yelling," Keithley
says, who in interviews articulates his point of view calmly, considering his
history of composing memorable musical screeds like "No God No War," "Kill Kill
This Is Pop," and "The Mutant."
"When we first started out, I realized the world was screwed up, but I just
didn't realize how screwed up it was. That' s one of the reasons D.O.A.' s
around 20 years later."
D.O.A. hope to re-establish themselves in the punk world with their new
album, Festival of Atheists, and The Lost Tapes, a new
compilation of rare, unreleased tracks. Sudden Death, the band's recently
rejuvenated label, also signed d.b.s., a punk group comprising 18-year-olds,
Smear, and The Real McKenzies, a group who mix traditional Scottish music with
hardcore punk -- they play in kilts, and the line-up includes a bagpipe player.
Also on deck for release this summer is Molten Lager, a live album from
the Damned recorded last year in France.
Right now, D.O.A. are on a 40-day North American tour that follows a 40-day
European stint. They plow ahead with their music and message, playing a mix of
new songs and old in their show. They've updated their recordings for a
multi-media generation: Festival of Atheists is an Enhanced CD that
plays as an audio CD on your CD player and as a CD-ROM in your computer. On the
CD-ROM side, there's video footage from the past 20 years, set up in a virtual
environment in which the user encounters what Keithley calls "irreverent areas"
like the "temple of doom," "the worshipers of money," and "defilers of
nature."
"It has a little philosophical ring to it," he says. "It's counter to the way
our Western society is. It's counter-brainwashing, right? It's trying to make
you think about how you're brainwashed by large corporations and MTV and such."
In 1978, the group started with Keithley, bassist Randy Rampage, and future
Danzig drummer Chuck Biscuits -- before settling on a line-up who included
longtime guitarist Dave Gregg and bassist Wimpy. Over the years, the sound and
message have remained solidly uncompromised, despite Gregg's departure in 1990
and Wimpy's retirement last year, in which D.O.A. also ditched their deal with
Essential Noise Records and fired their manager. Now the group include
guitarist Brien O' Brien and a new bass player who goes by the name Kuba.
It's fitting that the leader of the band who recorded an album titled Talk
- Action = Zero is not just a ranter; Keithley puts his left-wing
philosophies into action, serving local and international causes such as the
Green Party and, recently, Artists Against APEC -- a Vancouver group protesting
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation coalition of Asian and North American
countries. Working with students, Artists Against APEC organized protest
concerts and demonstrations around a Vancouver meeting of the economic
coalition, which includes the United States. APEC validates the efforts of
Asian leaders, including Chinese president Jiang Zemin -- a favorite target of
human-rights defenders -- and former Indonesian President Suharto.
"We thought it was ridiculous that the city of Vancouver and Canada and the
prime minister would roll out the red carpet for these fuckers," he says. He' s
also run for office twice in his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia, running
on the Green Party ticket for MLA -- or member of the legislature, the
equivalent of being a representative in state government in the United States
-- and also for the city council, trying to preserve some wildlife habitats
slated for mall development.
He lost both races. "I wasn't expecting to get elected or anything like that,
but it's a perfect soapbox." Just like his band who, seemingly, will go on
until Keithley sees the eradication of social injustice.
D.O.A. play the Espresso Bar on May 31 as part of the club's three-day
Punkstock '98 festival beginning Friday. Tickets are $7 per day. Call
770-1455.