"When I was a young man when we started I just thought it was a really great opportunity to get out and have a lot of fun and do my bit to change the world into a better place. That whole thing really hasn't left me and that's why I still do it," says D.O.A. frontman Joey "Shi&%head" Keithley.
Travelling the globe almost constantly since forming in 1978, Vancouver's legendary kings of punk have been on the job for over 25 years. D.O.A. plays Queen's for the fifth time in their career Aug. 17 at 10 p.m. (tickets $8 at the door.)
"It's bare bones but it's intense, no lull, we don't allow boredom to set in, we crush boredom with our feet and hands and voices," Keithley said when I caught up with him on the phone from Washington.
Held together by this Canadian godfather of punk, their songs are socially conscious and their sound remains rooted in punk with rock, reggae, metal, and ska influences; they've been a key influence for bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and The Offspring.
When I asked about the secret to longevity in a business that's notorious for ADD-like attention spans he says, "I think the thing is that I kinda fell into a style and a sense of philosophy; philosophy more than style of music, more than anything. You gotta think for yourself, try to be your own boss, take charge of your life.
"If you have a philosophy and an attitude and if you spend some genuine thought and some positive aspect behind that you can hone that into a kind of career that can go for anything. I'm not just talking about music, could be writing or all kinds of endeavours."
Insert D.O.A.'s slogan: TALK - ACTION = 0.
Part of that action was starting a record label as an act of necessity more than a business venture. Keithley says, "I first started Sudden Death Records in 1978, as a way to put out the first D.O.A. record, the 7" EP Disco Sucks. We knew way back then that nobody was going to come along and hand us a big fat cushy record deal. We knew we would have to fight for everything that we got."
"SDR was a part time label until the beginning of 1998, then we got serious. We have bands from all over the world, with styles ranging from punk to rock to experimental. We even have our own acoustic stuff we call anarcoustic!"
In spite of a staff of six it still takes a lot of his time.
"Some people ask me why would I want to run a label? Well here's why! I get to put out the records I like, when I like and no mealie- mouthed, two-bit record exec, can say sh%$t about it! It goes right to the heart of my philosophy, be your own boss," Keithley says.
"So that's what we did, D.I.Y. Do It Yourself man," Keithley says. "And this D.I.Y. ethic has become the cornerstone in all genres of the indie music scene today.
"We built stuff by playing anywhere, any time anywhere, all over the world. Myself and the band we stick out as a rarity that way," Keithley says (they average anywhere from 50 to 150 shows a year).
With a reputation as one of the better live bands around they, "Just try to go berserk, go crazy, say stuff in our songs, and make people go wild with the music," Keithley says.
"We can still out-play pretty well any band in the country of any style."
D.O.A. blasts through live shows with Keithley on guitar and vocals, original bass player Randy Rampage, and drummer The Great Baldini (not Italian, just great. And bald.)
Check them out online at www.suddendeath.com and watch for next month's re-release of Bloodied But Unbowed, the quintessential D.O.A. album which will also be released as a picture disc, the band's first.
n With more than a decade in the trenches of the music industry, we're reasonably sure Alexandria knows what she's talking about: e-mail at