doa

Burnaby city councilman Joe Keithley (aka “Joey Shithead”) has led Vancouver, B.C. punk pioneers D.O.A. since 1978, the band’s sole mainstay. In part one of our conversation, he was interviewed one hour before going onstage. The trio — these...

D.O.A. are the longest-running survivors of Vancouver, BC’s late ‘70s punk scene, as well as one of the architects of hardcore. It was begun in 1978 by singer/guitarist Joe Keithley — who operated for several years under "Joey Shithead" — out of the ashes of the Skulls, which also spun off the other great Vancouver punk outfit the Subhumans (not to be confused with the U.K. anarcho-punk

“You’re only as good as your drummer,” Clash singer/rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer lamented in their documentary Westway To The World, as he recounted Nicky “Topper” Headon’s firing ahead of 1982 breakthrough LP Combat Rock’s tour. “Drumming...like nailing a nail into ...

1996: President Bill Clinton was squaring off against Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in a successful bid for a second term in the White House. On April 3, former math professor Ted Kaczynski was arrested in his remote Montana cabin, suspected (correctly, it turns out) to be American domestic terrorist the Unabomber...

Though all but forgotten by this point—save for documentary films like excellent Vancouver overview Bloodied But Unbowed and recent Teenage Head retrospective Picture My Face—Canada once boasted one of the world’s best punk scenes. The quality/quan...

1979: As far as the American record business was concerned, punk rock was finished. They’d spent a packet on the Sex Pistols, Ramones and Dead Boys, and those albums seemingly shipped straight to the cut-out bins. The Pistols self-destructed at the end of their U.S. to...

The mood of 1992: “We won!” Nirvana’s Nevermind sold by the truckload hourly. All anyone could talk about was alternative rock and grunge. Record biz execs walked around that spring’s SXSW convention in Austin in floppy, artfully unwashed hair, just-purchased flannel shirts and ripped jeans. You’d pass a line of t...

When pub-rock singer Joe Strummer of the 101ers first met with former London SS guitarist Mick Jones in 1976 to brainstorm material for a new band eventually named the Clash, Strummer was shown one of his songs, “I’m So Bored With You.” He wasn’t ...

Welcome to Alternative Press’ 15 best punk albums of 1989. It’s easy to look at the final year of the decade and see it as transitional. But there are portents of the future all over this list. Yet, truth be told, haven’t we seen that with all these lists? As we’ve work...

For many, first-wave punk was the sound of liberation. Chainsaw guitars, locomotive drums and screaming singers delivered brutal street poetry about the times. It saved us from a lifetime of dull progressive rock, snooze-worthy singer-songwriters and six-string heavy metal...

As recently established here, the 45 RPM record was the greatest medium for punk rock. It's compact, it's affordable and brevity's of essence—distill all of your best moments in three minutes or less. You can also master these seven-inch beauties hot, perfect for loud music. Then...

Welcome to our look-back video at some of the best 1981 punk albums. While the foundation of punk rock was already in place by the late Seventies, there were still possibilities to be explored. We're still thanking all the deities for that. Historically speaking, the Eighties have been frequently referred to as "the Me decade...

Did you ever notice how politicians are quick to blame rock 'n' roll for any perceived societal problem? As long as there's been rock, there's always been a status quo with bunched panties. Which is why we need more metal musicians in politics...

Punk rock has evolved so much since its beginnings over five decades ago. While modern bands enjoy the freedom of singing about whatever they please, it wouldn’t have been that way without the pioneering artists who rebelled against the mainstream back in the ’70s and ’80s. From veteran...

1981 was the year hardcore engulfed everything punk. Skanking pit warriors swarmed a stage at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. England had its own equivalent—the Exploited, GBH, Discharge. But none of the mile-high Mohican British bands could touch what was coming out of America. And ...

By 1980, U.S. major labels abandoned punk with Sid Vicious' corpse. The American underground reacted, hard: “Don't want us? Fuck you, we'll do it ourselves!” The independent record distribution and touring network kicked off in earnest, as the harder/faster/louder hardcore punk sound started revving up, initially in Los Angeles before spreading across America through the year. Meanwhi...

Metal has been inherently political since the dawn of the genre. This is apparent in the lyrics, the imagery and the overall personas of countless musicians. But sometimes their involvement goes beyond the music. Whether it’s becoming a politician themselves or fighting against movements pushed by government officials, metal musicians have been a focus in politics for quite some time. Belo... Rea

After 35 years in the band, now legendary and influential hardcore punk artists, D.O.A. have announced that they will call it quits following a farewell tour run.  The band have always had a political message and singer/guitarist Joe Keithley has now revealed that he will be continuing on in that spirit, seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in Coquitlam, British Columbia. "I've .