Joe Keithley interview on Something Better Change: documentary today at the Rio

When Joe Keithley and I sat down at a Waves coffee shop in Burnaby last year, to talk for Montecristo, Something Better Change -- the documentary about his political career, trailer here -- was still in post-production. It makes its Vancouver debut this afternoon at the Rio, and I still haven't seen it -- we'll see how my afternoon progresses, and I might actually make it there. 

Most of the following ran in a story I did subsequent to the Montecristo piece, for Big Takeover #95 -- which you can buy backissues of here; it's actually probably the single best Joe Keithley interview I've done, and I've talked to Joe a LOT. 

But with the screening coming up fast, I did bug Joe for one quick email follow up about one curious thing: East Bay Ray and Jello Biafra appearing in the same film (presumedly shot separately). It's an eyebrow-raiser, since, as Joe tells me, "I still think they do not get along" -- which often happens after relations turn litigious! Joe says they "got Biafra in the movie before Ray, but we did not tell Biafra," adding that that "Ray is great guy as are all of the DK members. Poor DH , I miss him, he was a great friend..."

...all of which is curious, because the one and only time I interacted with D.O.A.'s Dave Gregg, coming out of that Meatmen show at Fortune Sound Club with Bev Davies -- who introduced me to him -- we talked about exactly the issue of the Dead Kennedys vs. Jello. The DKs were coming to town, I think the time that Willy Jak subbed in on lead vocals (which made me wish I had gone to see them, TBH). Not quite sure how we got on the topic, but Dave was telling me that East Bay Ray and Klaus were great guys and how people should just give them a break. "I don't know, man" -- I said, or something to that effect. "There are some bands that just shouldn't play without their lead members, you know? Jello was a pretty important part of that band! Like, did you know that Doug and the Slugs have been playing with a different singer, who is not even named Doug?" (Sorry, Slugs! This was before I sat down with Simon and saw the band live, which I did indeed enjoy). 

Dave in fact didn't know that Doug and the Slugs had reactivated, and his eyebrows raised and he chuckled and he did a double take, and then he really had not further moves left: so this conversation is not only 1) the only time I talked with Dave Gregg, but it is 2) the only time I won an argument with Dave Gregg, and 3) the only time I made Dave Gregg laugh. RIP, Dave Gregg! 

(I think he and Joe didn't get along so well at that point, either, come to think of it). 

COMMENCE BIG TAKEOVER EXCERPT -- BUY THE BACK ISSUE IF YOU WANT TO READ THE WHOLE CONVERSATION!

AM: Let’s talk about Something Better Change. Did you know Scott? How did he approach you?

JK: This is going on about five and a half years ago. There’s a real famous show that D.O.A. played at in Washington DC at the WUST Radio Hall in Washington D.C., which has now become the 9:30 Club. Dave [Gregg] was in the band, so I’d probably say that was about 1985. And Scott ran his own zine when he was a kid, so Scott saw us when he was, like, 14 years old.

So then Scott approached me maybe six years ago and said he’d done a film about D.C. called Salad Days and another one about Creem magazine, Lester Bangs, and Boy Howdy. So, “How about doing a film about D.O.A.?” He was really interested that I’d gotten elected. If you think about music docs, 15-20 years ago, it was a unique thing: “Wow, there’s a doc about a punk rock band? Are you kidding?” Now there are hundreds. I was talking to my friend Henry Rollins – “Do you want to be in the doc?” “Joe, I’ve been interviewed for about 200 fucking documentaries! I’ll see if I’ve got time…” And I’ve probably been interviewed for 100 documentaries. He’s more famous than me, so he’s got 200. So the thing is, Scott conceded, let’s make this about D.O.A., but let’s make this more about my activism as a young man, and about getting elected, in politics. So 40% is about D.O.A. and the other 60% is about me and politics. I won’t tell you all the stuff about the film, but it’s got lots of great interviewers in there. Beto O’Rourke is in there – he was a congressman in Texas; he ran for governor, was a musician, road a skateboard, got arrested… he decided to run for president and I thought, “Those are all the qualifications you need!” Heheheh. They elected Richard Nixon, they elected Ronald Reagan; anyone can run!

And Paul Rachman is the producer; he did many films, but one you probably know is American Hardcore.

AM: You were the only Canadian in that!

JK: They showed that in Toronto, and all my friends are like, “Goddamn, there are no Canadian bands!” And I’m like, “Did you look at the name of the film?” Like, D.O.A. came up with the term hardcore, so that’s why we’re in it, but everybody else is American.

DOA by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Rio event page for Something Better Change here.