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May 29 - June 5, 1998

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D.O.A.

New life for old Canadian punkers

by Don Fluckinger

[DOA] 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.

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