D.O.A. is a Canadian punk rock band from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

along with Black Flag,

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

Angry Samoans The Angry Samoans is an American punk rock band from the first wave of American punk, formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California, by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders, his sibling lead guitarist Bonze BlaykBad Trip Records ...

, Germs, and

Middle Class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

. Their second album ''

Hardcore '81 ''Hardcore '81'' is an album by the Canadian hardcore punk band D.O.A. It is considered by some to be the first time that a certain style of punk rock was labeled ''hardcore''. In 2019, the album was named as the public vote winner of the Polar ...

'' was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to the second wave of the American punk sound as hardcore. Singer/guitarist Joey "Shithead" Keithley is the only founding member to have stayed in the band throughout its entire history, with original bassist

Randy Rampage Randall Desmond Archibald (February 21, 1960 – August 14, 2018), better known by his stage name Randy Rampage, was a Canadian musician and founding member, bass player and vocalist of the Canadian hardcore band D.O.A., along with Joe Keithley ...

returning to the band twice after his original departure. D.O.A. has often released music on

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

Records, and they have released an album with Biafra on vocals titled ''

Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors ''Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors'' is a punk album by Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys and Canadian band D.O.A., released in 1990. It is notable for "Full Metal Jackoff," a furious 14-minute song that touches on then-relevant topics such as Wil ...

''. D.O.A. is known for its outspoken political opinions and has a history of performing for many causes and benefits. Its slogan is "Talk Minus Action Equals Zero." The band's lyrics and imagery frequently advocate

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist m ...

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

. Founder Joe Keithley is also the founder of

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.' ...

which has released music by D.O.A. and several other bands including

Pointed Sticks Pointed Sticks are a Canadian punk rock/new wave music, new wave band from Vancouver. Originally active from 1978 to 1981, then reuniting to perform in July 2006 through to November 2012. After a three-year hiatus, Pointed Sticks returned to the ...

and

Young Canadians Young Canadians (originally The K-Tels) were a Canadian punk rock band formed in Vancouver in 1978 and active for just under two years. The YC's were influenced not only by the other punk bands in town at that time such as D.O.A. and the Pointed ...

History

Formation and early years (1977–1980)

D.O.A. has its origins in The Skulls, an early Vancouver-area punk rock band that included future D.O.A. members Joey "Shithead" Keithley, Brian "

Wimpy Roy Brian Roy Goble, (January 4, 1957 – December 7, 2014), also known as Wimpy Roy or Brian "Sunny Boy Roy" Goble, was a Canadian singer and musician. He played bass and sang for several Vancouver punk bands. After starting with Stone Crazy, Brian th ...

" Goble, and Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery. When the Skulls broke up after an ill-fated move to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Keithley moved back to Vancouver and formed D.O.A. in early 1978 with himself on guitar, Dimwit's brother

Chuck Biscuits Chuck Biscuits (born Charles Montgomery on April 17, 1965) is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands. Biscuits was a member of D.O.A. from 1978 to 1982, playing on the band's first two albums before briefly joini ...

on drums,

on bass, and a lead singer known only as "Harry Homo", who suggested the band's name. The band's first gig took place at the Japanese Hall in Vancouver on February 20 of that year, after which Harry Homo was sacked for an apparent lack of rhythm; Keithley then became the band's singer. A second guitarist named "Randy Romance" played briefly with the band in March 1978 before leaving. The band began playing frequently around Vancouver and added guitarist Brad Kent the following June. That summer, they recorded and self-released their first single, the four-song EP ''Disco Sucks''. The single soon topped the charts of the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

radio station KUSF, which prompted the band to begin touring down to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. They played their first shows there in August 1978 at

Mabuhay Gardens The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987. History The Mabu ...

. It was during this trip that the band first met

frontman and future collaborator

. Kent was fired from the band in September and later that fall the band recorded and released their second single "The Prisoner". In May 1979, the band embarked on their first North American tour. Upon its completion they hired Vancouver journalist and activist Ken Lester as their manager. Lester booked another tour for them the following October, in the middle of which they flew back to Vancouver to open for

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

at the

Pacific Coliseum Pacific Coliseum, known to locals as "The Coliseum" or the "Rink on Renfrew," is an indoor arena located at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its main use has been for ice hockey and the arena has been the home for several ice hocke ...

. They soon after released their third single, "World War 3" / "Whatcha Gonna Do?". In late 1979, they added second guitarist, Dave Gregg. Soon after, Biscuits and Rampage left the band after a disastrous gig at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

's Student Union Building and were replaced by Andy Graffiti and Simon "Stubby Pecker" Wilde on drums and bass, respectively. Keithley soon became dissatisfied with the band's performances with the new lineup, however, and Biscuits and Rampage both rejoined the band in March 1980. D.O.A. released their full-length debut ''

Something Better Change ''Something Better Change'' is the debut album by Canadian punk rock band D.O.A. The album was recorded between 1977 and 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was released in 1980 on the label Can. Friends. (See 1980 in music). For ...

'' on Friends Records in 1980 and continued touring the United States and Canada extensively.

''Hardcore '81'' and further lineup changes (1981–1989)

On April 22, 1981 the band released their second album ''

''; the record's title and its extensive North American promotional tour is sometimes credited with popularizing the term "

". Randy Rampage was fired from the band on January 1, 1982 and was replaced by ex-Skulls drummer Dimwit on bass. After a short tour of California, Chuck Biscuits left the band and joined Black Flag. Dimwit switched back to drums and Subhumans singer

, another ex-Skulls member, was hired as the new bass player and second singer, leaving Keithley as the last remaining original member. This lineup would last from 1982–1983 and later 1985-1986 and produced several notable releases, including the EP ''

War on 45 ''War on 45'' is an eight-song 12" EP released by the hardcore band D.O.A. in 1982. It was re-released in 2005 on CD with an additional eleven songs, but without the composition "Let's Fuck," for a total of eighteen tracks. The original cover has ...

'' (now expanded into a full-length album). ''War on 45'' found the band expanding their sound with touches of funk and reggae, as well as making their anti-war and anti-imperialist political stance more clear. 1985's ''Let's Wreck The Party'' and 1987's ''True (North) Strong And Free'' saw the band taking on a more mainstream, hard-rock oriented production, but without watering down the band's political lyrical focus. Meanwhile, the band's lineup changes continued after ''Let's Wreck the Party'', with Dimwit replaced by

Kerr Belliveau Kerr may refer to: People *Kerr (surname) *Kerr (given name) Places ;United States *Kerr Township, Champaign County, Illinois *Kerr, Montana, A US census-designated place *Kerr, Ohio, an unincorporated community *Kerr County, Texas Other uses ...

. Belliveau stayed only three weeks with the band but recorded the ''Expo Hurts Everyone'' 7" as well as two songs for ''True (North) Strong and Free'' before being replaced by

Jon Card Jon Card (born December 11, 1960) Chris Walter. ''...What No One Else Wanted to Say''. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2012, pp. 59 is a German-Canadian drummer. He has played in the punk rock bands Personality Crisis, SNFU, D.O.A., and The Subhumans. ...

from Personality Crisis. Dave Gregg quit in 1988 after D.O.A. fired their manager Ken Lester, to which he was close. The band hired Chris Prohom from the

Dayglo Abortions The Dayglo Abortions (sometimes abbreviated to DGA) are a Canadian hardcore punk and metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Their lyrics reflect a genre-typical disregard for societal norms. The band was formed in 1979 and released their first ...

as a replacement.

First breakup and reunion (1990–2002)

1990's ''Murder'' featured rawer, almost thrash metal production, rather than their original basic punk sound. The same year also produced a collaboration with

singer

with ''

''. In August 1990, Joey decided he was breaking up D.O.A. but, at the suggestion of promoter

Dirk Dirksen Dirk Dirksen (August 25, 1937 – November 20, 2006) was a music promoter and emcee of the San Francisco punk rock clubs Mabuhay Gardens and On Broadway in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Dirksen was nicknamed the "Pope of Punk." Dirksen was born i ...

, they did a farewell tour of the West Coast, playing their "final" show on December 1, 1990 at the Commodore in Vancouver. In 1991, they released a posthumous live album entitled ''Talk Minus Action = 0'' while Keithley pursued an acting career. 19 months after D.O.A. broke up, Joey Shithead and Wimpy Roy had reunited as D.O.A in the summer of 1992. Fellow Canadian punk rock veteran John Wright from

NoMeansNo Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...

suggested they hire Ken Jensen from

Red Tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural phycotoxin, algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are ...

as the new drummer, which they did. The new lineup released an EP and two albums in the early 1990s, '' 13 Flavours Of Doom'' and ''Loggerheads''. These albums found the band replacing the more hard-rock oriented sound of the 1980s with a return to punk rock, although it was a heavier, tighter brand of punk than their earlier work. These albums were produced by Wright, who also played keyboards on the recordings. The band then added

Ford Pier Ford Pier (born 1970) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father is a professor of music. In addition to his solo albums, he has been a member of Jr. Gone Wild and D.O.A. as well as Roots Roundup. He has a ...

on guitar and vocals. Tragedy struck in 1995 when drummer Ken Jensen died in a house fire. The "Ken Jensen Memorial Single" EP was released on Alternative Tentacles, including two tracks each from D.O.A. and Red Tide. With John Wright filling in on drums, ninth full-length ''The Black Spot'' was recorded. The album featured a more basic, sing-along type punk rock sound that was reminiscent of the band's late 1970s and early 1980s output. The late 1990s found the band's lineup in turmoil, with Wimpy Roy leaving the band after a decade and a half of service and Kuba joining to play bass from 1997 until 2001. Keithley experimented with different bassists and drummers and released the album ''Festival Of Atheists'' in 1998. By the early 2000s, the band had found a permanent drummer in the form of The Great Baldini. In 2002, Keithley put out his first solo album, ''Beat Trash'', and original bassist Randy Rampage returned to the band after nearly 20 years for the ''Win The Battle'' album. However, the reunion did not last, with Rampage leaving the band again after the recording of the album, to be replaced by Dan Yaremko. ''The Lost Tapes'' was the first release on Keithley's revived Sudden Death label, followed by ''Festival Of Atheists''. During this period, Keithley also oversaw the re-release of the band's classic early records on Sudden Death, several of which had been out of print for many years.

Later years and second hiatus (2003–2013)

In 2003, Vancouver Mayor

Larry Campbell Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada. Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for t ...

declared December 21 to be "D.O.A. Day" in honour of the band's 25th anniversary. In the same year, the band released a career-spanning retrospective entitled ''War And Peace''. 2004 found the band releasing the ska-flavoured ''Live Free or Die''. In 2006, Randy Rampage rejoined D.O.A. for his 3rd stint in the band. The lineup remained stable until 2008, when The Great Baldini left the band to be replaced by new drummer James Hayden. Also in 2008, it was announced that

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...

, of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

fame would be producing the band's next album in time for their 30th anniversary. James Hayden quit before D.O.A. started to record to be replaced by Floor Tom Jones In September 2008, D.O.A. released ''Northern Avenger'' and embarked on their 30th anniversary tour. On the eve of the tour, it was announced that Randy Rampage was being replaced by Dan Yaremko once again. D.O.A. played several dates in the summer of 2009 as part of the Van's Warped Tour 2009. On May 1, 2010, D.O.A. released their fourteenth full-length album ''Talk Minus Action = Zero'' (a similarly titled live album ''Talk Minus Action Equals Zero'' had previously been released in 1990). Drummer Jesse Pinner (of the band Raised by Apes) took the place of Floor Tom Jones beginning on D.O.A.'s subsequent August 2010 tour due to Floor Tom Jones' commitments to his job at

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

. In 2012, Joe announced that he would be seeking nomination as an NDP candidate in the B.C. provincial election. As a result, D.O.A. announced an indefinite hiatus, and began their farewell tour on January 18, 2013 in celebration of the band's thirty-five year anniversary.

Second reunion and recent activity (2014–present)

On September 22, 2014, Keithley officially announced on the Sudden Death Records website that he had decided to reform the band with Paddy Duddy on drums and Mike "Maggot" Hodsall on bass, and would be embarking on a Canadian tour in October in support of the recently released live album, ''Welcome To Chinatown''. This lineup recorded and released the studio album ''Hard Rain Falling'' in 2015. In April 2016, the band released a new version of "Fucked Up Ronnie" entitled "Fucked Up Donald" (referring to the 2016

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

presidential nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

) as a single.

Members

Current lineup *

Joe Keithley Joseph Edward "Joey Shithead" Keithley ( né Keighley; June 3, 1956)
is a Canadi ...

– vocals, guitar (1978–present), bass (1996–1998) *Mike Hodsall – bass (2014–present) *Paddy Duddy – drums (2014–present) Former members *Harry Homo - lead vocals (1978) *Brad Kent - guitar (1978) *Randy Romance - guitar (1978) *Zippy Pinhead - drums (1979; died 2019) *Simon Wilde - bass (1979-1980; died 1994) *Andy Graffiti - drums (1979-1980) *

– bass (1978–1979, 1980-1982, 2000–2002, 2006–2009; died 2018) *Chuck Biscuits – drums (1978–1979, 1980-1982) *Dave Gregg – guitar (1979–1988; died 2014) *Brian Roy Goble – bass (1982–1996; died 2014) *Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery – bass (1982), drums (1982–1983, 1984-1986; died 1994) *Gregg "Ned Peckerwood" James - drums (1983-1984) *Kerr Belliveau - drums (1986) *Jon Card – drums (1986–1990) *Chris Prohom – guitar (1988–1990) *Ken Jensen – drums (1992–1995; died 1995) *Jon Wright – keyboards (1992–1995), drums (1995–1996) *Ford Pier – guitar (1994–1996) *Wycliffe - bass (1997) *Kuba van der Pol - bass (1998-2000, 2002-2003) *Brien O’Brien – drums (1997–1999) *The Great Baldini – drums (2000–2008) *Dan Yaremko – bass (2003–2006, 2009–2013) *Floor Tom Jones – drums (2008–2010) *Jesse Pinner – drums (2010–2013) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * ''Let's Wreck The Party'' (1985) * ''True (North) Strong And Free'' (1987) * ''Murder'' (1990) * '' 13 Flavours of Doom'' (1992) * ''Loggerheads'' (1993) * ''The Black Spot'' (1995) * ''Festival Of Atheists'' (1998) * ''

Win the Battle ''Win The Battle'' is the 12th studio album by Canadian punk rock band D.O.A. The Slogan on the back cover (Talk - Action = 0) was later used as the title for their 2010 release. All songs are written by Joe Keithley except where noted. The alb ...

'' (2002) * ''Live Free Or Die'' (2004) * ''Northern Avenger'' (2008) * ''Kings of Punk, Hockey and Beer'' (2009) * '' Talk-Action=0'' (2010) * ''We Come In Peace'' (2012) * ''Hard Rain Falling'' (2015) * ''Fight Back'' (2018) * ''Treason'' (2020)

Live albums

* ''Talk Minus Action Equals Zero'' (1991) * ''Welcome to Chinatown'' (2013)

EPs

* Positively (1981) * ''

'' (1982) * ''D.O.A. & Thor - Are U Ready'' (2003)

Collaborations

* ''

'' (With

) (1990)

Solo albums

* ''Beat Trash'' (2002) - Solo Project from Joey "Shithead" Keithley

References

External links

The official D.O.A. myspaceSudden Death recordsInterview with Joey ShitheadSnot Rag interview with Dimwit (1979

Robert Christgau's review of five D.O.A. albumsLate Night Wallflower interview with Joey Shithead (2007)

The Ruckus - Audio Interview with Joey Keithley from September 2008

1984 Interview, ''Guillotine'' Fanzine
/ Ragged Edge Collection @ archive.org] {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 Canadian hardcore punk groups Canadian activists Musical groups from Vancouver Alternative Tentacles artists 1978 establishments in British Columbia Political music groups