Joseph Edward "Joey Shithead" Keithley ( né Keighley; June 3, 1956)
is a Canadian punk musician who is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the punk band

DOA DOA may refer to: * Dead on arrival * Dead or Alive (disambiguation) Film * ''D.O.A.'' (1949 film), a ''film noir'' * ''D.O.A.'' (1988 film), a remake of the 1949 film * '' D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage'' (1980 film), a documentary on the genes ...

. He was elected a city councillor in Burnaby, BC in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party."D.O.A.'s Joe Keithley Elected to Burnaby City Council"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', October 21, 2018. He was re-elected in the October 2022 municipal election.
''

Burnaby Now ''Burnaby Now'' is a local tabloid newspaper published weekly by Glacier Media to 47,000 residents and businesses in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The first edition was a 12-page broadsheet format issued on November 23, 1983 which was a week ...

'', October 16, 2022.

Early life

Joe Keithley was raised in Burnaby, British Columbia, and attended Burnaby North Secondary. At age 11, he began playing drums after being inspired by a drummer in a jazz band at his sister's wedding. Keithley recalls his father's chagrin at Keithley "banging on a kit of his own", describing his father as "super square... completely right wing". He would later take up the guitar and vocals, with some of his classmates becoming his bandmates. In 1972, in light of the ongoing Vietnam War and the American's planned testing of nuclear weapons off the coast of Alaska's

Amchitka Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refu ...

Island, 16 year old Keithley and 300 fellow students participated in a school walkout to join a protest organized by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

. Since then, music and activism have been "fused at the center of Keithley's life".

Musical career

In 1977, Keithley, along with Chuck Biscuits' older brother, started a band called the Skulls. After the breakup of the Skulls, Keithley formed D.O.A. with Biscuits. In 2004, he published the autobiography ''I, Shithead: A Life in Punk''. He was inducted into the Canadian Independent Music Hall of Fame the same year. He has also done solo work, releasing a mix of music and spoken word. In 1999, he released his first solo record, '' Beat Trash''. This was followed by "Band of Rebels" in 2007. Keithley appeared in the punk/cult film ''

Terminal City Ricochet ''Terminal City Ricochet'' is a 1990 film directed by Zale Dalen. The name was taken from a hockey team called the Terminal City Ricochets. Starring Jello Biafra (of the Dead Kennedys), Terminal City Ricochet is a dystopian comedy critical of te ...

'', as well as contributing music (through D.O.A.) to the soundtrack. He and D.O.A. appeared in Bruce McDonald's 1995 cult film ''

Hard Core Logo ''Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, ...

''. He was interviewed for a documentary titled Let's All Hate Toronto, produced by Elevator Films and published by The Disinformation Company. In 2006, Keithley was featured prominently in the feature-length documentary American Hardcore. Keithley was also featured in the 2010 documentary '' Open Your Mouth And Say... Mr. Chi Pig'', a film that looks at the life of

Mr. Chi Pig Kendall Steven Chinn (October 19, 1962 – July 16, 2020), known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 unti ...

of SNFU, directed by Sean Patrick Shaul and produced by Prairie Coast Films. In 2008, The Vancouver Sun newspaper named Keithley one of British Columbia's most influential people of all time. During D.O.A.'s 2011 Canadian tour, Keithley gave free solo acoustic performances in three of the 10 cities that had appeared across Canada in support of the Occupy Wall Street protests, Occupy Ottawa,

Occupy Regina Occupy Canada was a collective of peaceful protests and demonstrations that were part of the larger Occupy Together movement which first manifested in the financial district of New York City with Occupy Wall Street, and subsequently spread to ...

and Occupy Vancouver. He owns and operates his own record company,

Sudden Death Records Sudden Death Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia based record label run by Joe "Shithead" Keithley, frontman of D.O.A. Sudden Death Records arrived in Canada's burgeoning punk scene in 1978. Keithley formed the label to release his D.O.A.' ...

. The recording company was started in 1978 as a DIY response to lack of interest from major labels. His motto is 'TALK-ACTION=ZERO.'

Politics

D.O.A. is known for playing in peace rallies and environmental events. Keithley has been increasingly interested in politics, saying that shows where he can make a difference are more rewarding. While studying at the University of British Columbia, he planned to become a labor lawyer, but found music irresistible. In 1996 and 2001, Keithley ran in the British Columbia provincial elections for the Green Party of British Columbia. In 2001, he received the highest percentage of the vote next to party leader Adriane Carr. He ran for the

Burnaby-Lougheed Burnaby-Lougheed is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada established by the ''Electoral Districts Act, 2008''. It was first contested in the 2009 general election in which Liberal, Harry Bloy James Henry "Harry" Blo ...

seat in the 2017 British Columbia provincial election. On October 20, 2018, he was elected for

Burnaby City Council The Burnaby City Council is the governing body for the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city ...

in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party.

Books

* ''I, Shithead: A Life in Punk'' ( Arsenal Pulp Press) * ''Talk-Action=0: An Illustrated History of D.O.A.'' ( Arsenal Pulp Press)

References

External links

Interview with Joey Shithead

Interviews on Outsight Radio Hours

The Ruckus – Audio Interview with Joey Keithley from September 2008

D.O.A. Is Note Dead Yet – An Interview With Joe Keithley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keithley, Joey 1956 births Canadian people of Finnish descent Canadian punk rock singers Canadian punk rock guitarists Green Party of British Columbia candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Living people Burnaby city councillors D.O.A. (band) members Musicians from British Columbia The Skulls (Canadian band) members Green Party of British Columbia politicians