As he prepares for a show in Squamish, legendary Canadian punk rocker Joe Keithley says his foray into politics won’t change what his band DOA stands for.
“It stands for fun instead of politics and wild and loud guitar and drums, right?” said Keithley with a chuckle.
“Along with some manic screaming to go with it. That premise can’t change, otherwise you can’t call it DOA.”
Fresh off winning a municipal council seat in his hometown of Burnaby, Keithley will be hitting the stage at the Knotty Burl on Nov. 24.
The two events, though unrelated, seem to fit each other well.
In addition to its credibility as a pioneer of hardcore punk, part of DOA’s appeal has been its message.
While Keithley said it was never part of his grand plan to eventually become a politician back when he started his band, he has been singing political tunes for quite some time.
Back when his band released its iconic album Hardcore ’81, one of the tracks on the record was titled Slumlord.
Decades later, while running for council in Burnaby, Keithley said stopping demovictions was one of his biggest priorities.
“Inequality – DOA albums have always been about this,” he told The Chief.
“The last one, Fight Back on Sudden Death records, you know, was really about inequality: economic inequality, gender inequality, racial inequality.”
In a sense, his work with DOA has prepared him for stepping into office.
“I’ve been a cultural politician all my life, or an unofficial politician, now I’ve merely gone from that to official,” said Keithley. “It’s been pretty easy.”
He also noted he’s had no problem juggling what some might consider two juxtaposed positions.
Punk has long been considered anti-establishment music, and having a sitting politician on a punk band may seem like a contradiction.
Keithley, however, seems entirely comfortable with the idea, largely in part because of his long history as an activist.
He said his activism has melded together with his music to point where it hasn’t been hard to represent both punk and politics.
“People that know me know that is just another side of me that I’ve worked at pretty hard,” said Keithley.
With respect to DOA’s future, he said this tour won’t be the last time the band hits the road to play shows, though the shows will likely be less frequent.
That being said, Keithley promises that his band will play the Knotty Burl as if this performance was their last.
“Every time I got to a town... I kinda go like, ‘You know, we gotta go at this like it’s the last time we play the town,’” he said. “So let’s go out on a high note and drive people nuts with the show. So that’s what we intend to do.”
Local bands Anonymericans and Buster Jangles will open for DOA’s Nov. 24 show at the Knotty Burl at 8 p.m.
Advanced tickets are available for $20 at Stuntwood Skate Shop. The price jumps to $25 for tickets at the door.
DOA’s appearance is the third installment of a three-part punk rock concert series being organized by Squamish’s Paul Hudson, one of the founders behind the popular Squamish Equinox Rock Festivals (SERF) between 2008 and 2012.
The first part featured Modern Terror from Roberts Creek. For the second part, the Dayglo Abortions from Victoria were the ones hitting the stage.
Hudson will be organizing another three-part punk rock series.
This winter-spring saga kicks off on Jan. 26 with Russian Tim and Pavel Bures.
