Joe Keithley

He was raised in Burnaby,[4] British Columbia, and attended Burnaby North Secondary. At age 11, he began playing drums.[5] He would later take up the guitar and vocals.

In 1977, Keithley, along with Chuck Biscuits' older brother, started a band called the Skulls.[6] After the breakup of the Skulls, Keithley formed D.O.A. with Biscuits. In 1990 D.O.A. briefly disbanded, and in that time Keithley started a band called Joey Keithley's Instinct.[7] However, Keithley quickly turned back to D.O.A, re-constructing the line-up and releasing a new album.

In 2004, he published the autobiography I, Shithead: A Life in Punk.[8] He was also inducted into the Canadian Independent Music Hall of Fame.[4] 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.[1][9]

Keithley appeared in the punk/cult film Terminal City Ricochet, as well as contributing music (through D.O.A.) to the soundtrack.[10] He and D.O.A. appeared in Bruce McDonald's 1995 cult film Hard Core Logo. 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.[4] 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 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.[11]

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 and Occupy Vancouver.[12]

He owns and operates his own record company, Sudden Death Records.[13] The recording company was started in 1978 as a DIY response to lack of interest from major labels. His motto is 'TALK-ACTION=ZERO.'[4]

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.[14] In 1996 and 2001, Keithley ran in the British Columbia provincial elections for the Green Party of British Columbia.[15][16] In 2001, he received the highest percentage of the vote next to party leader Adriane Carr. He ran for the Burnaby-Lougheed seat in the 2017 British Columbia provincial election.[17] On October 20, 2018, he was elected a city councillor in Burnaby, BC in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party.[3]

Keithley has three children; he says that fatherhood has added to his motivation for activism.[7] He was born Keighley (with a "g") but changed his name to Keithley because people couldn't pronounce it correctly.

• I, Shithead: A Life in Punk (Arsenal Pulp Press)[19]
• Talk-Action=0: An Illustrated History of D.O.A. (Arsenal Pulp Press)[1][20]

• 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