Formation and early years (1977–1980) D.O.A. has its origins in
The Skulls, an early Vancouver-area punk rock band that included future D.O.A. members Joey "Shithead" Keithley, along with founding members of the
Subhumans, Brian "
Wimpy Roy" Goble and Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery. When the Skulls broke up after an ill-fated move to
Toronto, Keithley moved back to Vancouver and formed D.O.A. in early 1978 with himself on guitar, Dimwit's brother
Chuck Biscuits on drums,
Randy Rampage on bass, This line-up would last from 1982–1983 and later 1985–1986 and produced several notable releases, including the EP
War on 45 (now expanded into a full-length album).
War on 45 found the band expanding their sound with touches of funk and reggae, as well as making their anti-war and anti-imperialist political stance more clear. 1985's ''
Let's Wreck the Party'' and 1987's
True (North) Strong And Free saw the band taking on a more mainstream, hard-rock oriented production, but without watering down the band's political lyrical focus.
First break-up and reunion (1990–2002) 1990's
Murder featured rawer, almost thrash metal production, rather than their original basic punk sound. The same year also produced a collaboration with
Dead Kennedys singer
Jello Biafra with
Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors. In August 1990, Joey decided he was breaking up D.O.A. but, at the suggestion of promoter
Dirk Dirksen, they did a farewell tour of the West Coast, playing their "final" show on December 1, 1990, at the Commodore in Vancouver. In 1991, they released a posthumous live album entitled
Talk Minus Action = 0 while Keithley pursued an acting career. 19 months after D.O.A. broke up, Joey Shithead and Wimpy Roy had reunited as D.O.A in the summer of 1992. Fellow Canadian punk rock veteran
John Wright from
NoMeansNo suggested they hire Ken Jensen from Red Tide as the new drummer, which they did. The "Ken Jensen Memorial Single" EP was released on Alternative Tentacles, including two tracks each from D.O.A. and Red Tide. With John Wright filling in on drums, ninth full-length
The Black Spot was recorded. The album featured a more basic, sing-along type punk rock sound that was reminiscent of the band's late 1970s and early 1980s output. The late 1990s found the band's line-up in turmoil, with Wimpy Roy leaving the band after a decade and a half of service and Kuba joining to play bass from 1997 until 2001. In the same year, the band released a career-spanning retrospective entitled
War And Peace. 2004 found the band releasing the ska-flavoured
Live Free or Die. In 2006, Randy Rampage rejoined D.O.A. for his 3rd stint in the band. The line-up remained stable until 2008, when The Great Baldini left the band to be replaced by new drummer James Hayden. Also in 2008, it was announced that
Bob Rock, of
Metallica fame would be producing the band's next album in time for their 30th anniversary. James Hayden quit before D.O.A. started to record to be replaced by Floor Tom Jones. In September 2008, D.O.A. released
Northern Avenger and embarked on their 30th anniversary tour. On the eve of the tour, it was announced that Randy Rampage was being replaced by Dan Yaremko once again. D.O.A. played several dates in the summer of 2009 as part of the Van's Warped Tour 2009. On May 1, 2010, D.O.A. released their fourteenth full-length album
Talk Minus Action = Zero (a similarly titled live album
Talk Minus Action Equals Zero had previously been released in 1990). Drummer Jesse Pinner (of the band Raised by Apes) took the place of Floor Tom Jones beginning on D.O.A.'s subsequent August 2010 tour due to Floor Tom Jones' commitments to his job at
Canada Post. In 2012, Joe announced that he would be seeking nomination as an NDP candidate in the B.C. provincial election. As a result, D.O.A. announced an indefinite hiatus, and began their farewell tour on January 18, 2013, in celebration of the band's thirty-five year anniversary.
Second reunion and recent activity (2014–present) On September 22, 2014, Keithley officially announced on the Sudden Death Records website that he had decided to reform the band with Paddy Duddy on drums and Mike "Maggot" Hodsall on bass, and would be embarking on a Canadian tour in October in support of the recently released live album,
Welcome To Chinatown. This line-up recorded and released the studio album
Hard Rain Falling in 2015. In April 2016, the band released a new version of "Fucked Up Ronnie" entitled "Fucked Up Donald" (referring to the 2016
Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump) as a single. == Members ==