Rock Reads: Talk-Action=0: An Illustrated History of D.O.A. by Joe Keithley
Reviewed by Kevin Wierzbicki
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Author Keithley is a founding member of D.O.A., one of the bands that like Black Flag and Minor Threat is considered to be seminal in the creation of hardcore punk. D.O.A. came on the scene in 1978 and is still active today so this illustrated history, laid out in soft cover coffee table book style, is quite extensive. Keithley keeps a sense of humor as he relates incidents about eggs being thrown at the band and tales from the road where D.O.A. shows are repeatedly dogged by violence even though the band always refused to go onstage until there was enough security in place to theoretically keep anyone from getting hurt. In was in part some of the injustices witnessed on the road that spurred Keithley to devote so much of his time to activism, an effort that goes way beyond D.O.A.'s participation in many benefit shows; this books title, also the band's motto, is a commentary on how if you're going to talk the talk about change for the better you had better walk the walk. Keithley has gone so far as to become a candidate for the Green Party (never elected) and Talk-Action=0 does an excellent job of relating how D.O.A. developed into such an influential musical entity while also putting Keithley in a position to become a respected advocate for the improvement of social conditions. It's quite an interesting story considering that Keithley and D.O.A. have been misperceived as troublemakers for decades. Keithley's text here provides a conversational and brutally honest fun read but Talk-Action=0 is after all an illustrated history and every page is crammed full of performance and candid photos, reproductions of stuff like flyers, posters and record cover graphics along with hand-scribbled lyric sheets and roughly-drawn comics. There's tons of stuff to geek at all presented in a thoughtful yet D.I.Y.-style layout, making this one a definite keeper. So make sure you write your name on your copy before you loan it out to your envious friend.
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