I, Shithead, A Life in Punk
Punk Rocker, Political Activist, and Regular Guy
Author Joey “Shithead” Keithley
Published by Arsenal Pulp Press
Review By Erwin Karl
As a founding member of DOA, Joey Keithley staked a claim in the field of punk rock when the genre was still brand spanking new and has made his mark more recently as a political activist and as a writer with worthwhile stories to tell, which he does with style and humor. As the band that linked the term “hardcore” to the punk world, DOA, with Joey Shithead at the helm, has experienced plenty of direct conflict: police run-ins, van mishaps, skinheads and overexuberant punk rockers, not to mention the breakup or near break up of DOA a few times over its 26 year history. Keithley has stood his ground in a more figurative sense in the political arena, participating in protests, countless benefit concerts, and running for office as a Green Party candidate in Vancouver. Joey tells his story and the story of DOA in a manner that is plain spoken and honest and manages to be entertaining without being florid in the least. Like his blistering guitar chords, he lays it on for maximum impact without any unnecessary adornment.
As punk pioneers, DOA played with major bands like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and the Ramones, but also slept in squats, self-released albums on vinyl, and gotten shaken down by cops in an era when merely looking like a punk in places like LA was a guarantee of a police boot up one’s butt. Joey also takes pride in having worked with decidedly un-punk personalities like Pete Seeger or Randy Bachman of BTO, often in causes such as opposing nuclear weapons, environmental carnage, or the evils of the government during the Reagan/Thatcher/Bush era (part 1). Also a bit surprising for someone who goes by the moniker Shithead is the grace, maturity, and proper grammar we see in Keithley’s prose – at least the type of grace and grammar that seem to be factors that conspicuously distinguish Brits and Canucks from US citizens (Keithley is a British Columbia native whose family had emigrated from the UK). Further evidence of his elder statesman status – Keithley runs Sudden Death Records which puts out new and re-released DOA titles and is one of the places you can pick up the book, which was published by Vancouver’s Arsenal Pulp Press.
Review by: Erwin Karl
From jacket blurb for I, Shithead:
25 Years
3,000 Shows
500,000 Records Sold
10 Vans
331 Tires
938,000 Miles
30 Countries
212,000 Beers
9 Riots
13 CDs
33 Releases
28 Punch-Ups
27 Busts
15 Roadies
12 Deaf Soundmen
9 Lives (Not Used Up Yet)
