The founders of hardcore punk are going to be playing a show in Prince George.
The infamous Vancouver-based hardcore punk band D.O.A. is continuing its 40th-anniversary tour with a stop at the Prince George Legion on Friday, July 12.
As well as coining the term hardcore punk, D.O.A. has played 4,500 shows on five continents over the last 40 years and sold over a million albums, including last year’s release Fight Back.
The band is led by singer, guitarist, controversial activist, environmentalist and recently elected Burnaby city councillor Joe Keithley, also known as Joey “Shithead” Keithley.
“It’s great to play more smaller places and we really enjoy it,” Keithley tells PrinceGerogeMatters. “Big towns are interesting because they’ve got a lot going on and there are diverse groups of people, but I would say small communities are actually more fun. We get a good crowd where ever we go.”
Prince George is one of a select few B.C. dates before the band heads over to Europe in August.
After forming the band in 1978 and playing almost continuously ever since, Keithley says it’s the fun of punk rock that keeps him going.
“The reason why I got into punk rock in the first place because I thought it was a great vehicle for freedom of expression,” says Keithley. “You could say what you wanted about the world. I’ve always been political and it gave me that opportunity but the key thing was that it’s really fun.”
Keithley did take some time off after he was elected to Burnaby city council in October of last year.
He ran for the Green Party on a platform of compassion that included: affordable housing, help for the homeless, and building a greener and more sustainable city.
But now that he’s got a feel for the job, and some time off in the summer the band is back on the road.
After playing a great show at the Prince George Legion three years ago, Keithley says he’s looking forward to returning.
“You go there, express yourself, try and drive the people in the audience crazy with a bezerk show, which is what D.O.A specializes in and that is what keeps us going," says Keithley. "It's a lot of fun.”
He says the audience can expect some wild, crazy, unbridled straightforward punk rock and lots of classic songs from the first three albums as well as a few new ones scattered here and there.
“D.O.A. is really non-stop once we get on stage, it’s just like a bulldozer, it will run you over at 100 miles an hour,” laughs Keithley. “But I tell people not to worry it’s all in a good way.”
The band will also be joined by Prince George’s one-and-only Black Sabbath surf-rock cover band, Children of the Wave, as well as Ramones Tribute band Riffin’ Razones.
The show takes place at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 located at 1166 Sixth Ave on Jully 12. You can get tickets for $15 in advance at Handsome Cabin Boy Tattoo (1616 20th Ave.) or for $20 at the door.
