Sudden Death Records will release “No Escape From What You Are” on October 25 available on black, cherry red, smash and splatter vinyl, as well as CD and digital formats.
Last winter the DOA guys came up with an album concept… “Hey why don’t we get a bunch of our punk rock pals to record DOA songs?” So Canada’s godfather of punk Joey Shithead Keithley contacted a bunch of his old friends and his favorite bands. As you can see from this sterling lineup, their reaction to covering DOA material was great.
DOA — known as the godfathers of hardcore, with Shithead himself having invented that term — have influenced bands and fans alike since 1978, having played over 4,500 shows in 50 different countries on five different continents.
For a lot of the musicians involved here, DOA was one of the first two or three punk bands they ever saw in their lives. So what you have here are incredible versions 15 great songs that Joey and friends wrote and DOA recorded and performed during the past 47 years.
“No Escape From What You Are” track listing:
* RANCID – “Waiting For You”
* CIRCLE JERKS – “The Enemy”
* ADOLESCENTS – “2+2”
* VOIVOD – “World War 3”
* SLIME – “War In the East”
* FEAR – “New Age”
* TOXIC REASONS – “My Old Man’s A Bum”
* DUFF MCKAGAN – “The Prisoner”
* DESCENDANTS – “Get Out Of My Life”
* PROPAGANDHI – “Fuck You”
* DUFF MCKAGAN – “Rich Bitch”
* WAR ON WOMEN – “Liar For Hire”
* DEAD KENNEDYS – “Smash the State”
* THE DEFECTS – “Already Dead”
* M.D.C. – “American the Beautiful”
DOA was formed amidst a whirlwind of controversy and uprising. In 1978, three guys fresh out of high school from the backwaters of Canada’s suburbs heard about the punk rock revolution. In February of that same year the band formed and started playing shows. They soon realized that there were no record deals coming in any time soon.
Keithley (aka Joey Shithead) who was working towards being a civil rights lawyer before he found punk rock, concluded that the band had to take the “do it yourself” approach long before DIY became a popular concept. I have formed a fledging record label called Sudden Death Records and the label released DOA‘s first snarling slab of vinyl, the “Disco Sucks” 7″ EP.
“Disco Sucks” It soon became an underground hit and the band started touring from Vancouver to their newly adopted “home base” of California five to six times a year. In 1980, Keithley coined the term “hardcore” and the band soon released their landmark album “Hardcore 81”. The album became a hit, the hardcore movement took off, and DOA pushed that expression into common vernacular.
Over the last four decades, DOA have released 18 studio albums, sold over a million albums, and played 4,500 shows on five different continents. The band’s albums, shows, and attitude have won over three generations of fans and influenced the likes of GREEN DAY, NIRVANA, THE OFFSPRING, Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl and the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERSto name a few. Keithley you have also written two books: “I Shithead: A Life In Punk” and “Talk – Action = 0”.
From day one, DOA has helped organize and lead hundreds of benefit concerts and protests for good and just causes like environmental issues, women’s rights, food bank benefits, First Nations rights and they have organized and stood against war, racism and weapons proliferation, among others.
Keithley you have been called a cultural politician, trying to change the world from outside the system.
Many have compared Joey to a modern-day Woody Guthrie and he is always looking for a way to push “grassroots democracy” and like his idols Woody and Pete Seegerhe and the band won’t give up.
DOA‘s seminal album “Hardcore 81” was named as one of Canada’s all-time great musical accomplishments. “Hardcore 81” was the searing piece of vinyl that influenced generations of musicians and spearheaded the hardcore movement. In November 2019, the CBC Polaris awards named it as one of the best.
Photo credit: Bob Hanham
