Joe Keithley

Joe Keithley

Joey Keithley playing in Montreal with D.O.A. 2010.
Background information
Birth name Joseph Edward Keighley
Also known as Joey Shithead
Born (1956-06-03) June 3, 1956
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Punk rock, hardcore punk
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active 1977–present
Labels Sudden Death Records
Associated acts D.O.A.
The Skulls
Band of Rebels[1]

Joey "Shithead" Keithley (born Joseph Edward Keighley; June 3, 1956) [2] is a Canadian punk musician who is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the punk band D.O.A..

Early life

He was raised in Burnaby,[3] British Columbia, and attended Burnaby North Secondary. At age 11, he began playing drums.[4] He would later take up the guitar and vocals.

Musical career

In 1977, Keithley, along with Chuck Biscuits' older brother, started a band called the Skulls.[5] 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.[6] However, Keithley quickly turned back to D.O.A, re-constructing the line-up and releasing a new album.

D.O.A. is known for playing peace rallies and environmental events. Keithley has been increasingly interested in politics, saying that shows where he can make a difference are more rewarding. In university, he planned to become a civil rights lawyer, but was sidetracked into music.[7] In 1996 and 2001, Keithley ran in the British Columbia provincial elections for the Green Party of British Columbia.[8] In 2001, he received the highest percentage of the vote next to party leader Adriane Carr.

In 2004, he published the autobiography I, Shithead: A Life in Punk.[9] He was also inducted into the Canadian Independent Music Hall of Fame.[3] 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][10]

Keithley appeared in the punk/cult film Terminal City Ricochet, as well as contributing music (through D.O.A.) to the soundtrack.[11] 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.[3] 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.[12]

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.[13]

He owns and operates his own record company, Sudden Death Records.[14] The recording company was started in 1978 as a DIY response to lack of interest from major labels. His motto is 'TALK-ACTION=ZERO.'[3]

Personal life

Keithley has three children, which he says has added to his motivation for activism.[6] He was born Keighley (with a "g") but changed his name to Keithley because people couldn't pronounce it correctly.

Books

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Joe Keithley on Outsight Radio Hours : Outsight Radio Hours : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  2. ↑ Archived September 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "ABCBookWorld". ABCBookWorld.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  4. ↑ "Welcome to SDR". Suddendeath.com. 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  5. ↑ "D.O.A.". MisfitsCentral.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  6. 1 2 "D.O.A. Biography". Musicianguide.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  7. ↑ Archived October 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "troopertribute Resources and Information. This website is for sale!". Troopertribute.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  9. ↑ Archived May 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Band Of Rebels: Joe Shithead Keithley: Amazon.ca: Music". Amazon.ca. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  11. ↑ Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Archived May 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "D.O.A.'s Keithley visits Regina 'occupy' camp". CBC News. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "2006: Keithley still going strong". Canada.com. 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  15. ↑ "Arsenal Pulp Press Title Info Page". Arsenalpulp.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  16. ↑ "Arsenal Pulp Press Title Info Page". Arsenalpulp.com. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
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