New Rose/SBC Films has announced the release of Something Better Change, A documentary film that tells the story of punk activist turned politician Joe Keithley. His shocking 2018 victory in Burnaby (the seat of Metro Vancouver’s regional government) was a huge win for Keithley and the Green Party—and a natural evolution for the punk rock provocateur.
Throughout the 1980s, outfits like Black Flag, D.O.A., Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat and the Circle Jerks helped define the decade’s deafening hardcore punk sound, paving the way for the eventual explosion of punk bands through radio and MTV in the decades to come. While punk rock’s upper echelon may no longer be as culturally seditious as they once were, the genre’s effect on a new generation of activists and aspiring politicians has never been more clear.
The Vancouver-based D.O.A. have always been a politically outspoken outfit since first forming in 1978 as teenagers. Their mix of raucous anthems like “Fucked Up Ronnie”, “America The Beautiful”, “The Prisoner” and others remain classics. The band’s 1981 LP entitled “Hardcore ’81” was awarded the prestigious Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize in 2019 , which honors groundbreaking Canadian albums from the past, winning out over 11 other critical album releases including The Band’s “Music From Big Pink”, Sarah McLachlan’s “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” and Joni Mitchell’s “Court And Spark.”
In 2018, after 40 years of fighting against oppression, homelessness and corporate greed around the world, D.O.A. front man Joe Keithley decided to turn art into life and run against the outspoken Mayor of Burnaby, Derek Corrigan. In a classic underdog scenario —and with only a $7000 campaign budget—Keithley convincingly won a city councillor seat that year and helped to unseat the entrenched five-term Corrigan who once famously said, “I would never bend over to give a homeless person a dime because he might steal my watch.”
“I’ve been a longtime admirer of Keithley and D.O.A. ‘s message of “Talk Minus Action=0,” says director Scott Crawford. “They were one of the first bands to show me the importance of activism and helped to shape my worldview at a very formative age.”
The filmmakers followed Joe Keithley during his 2022 reelection campaign to document the amount of work and commitment that goes into running for public office. They were allowed unprecedented access to Keithley’s entire campaign throughout its often chaotic and nail biting conclusion. Ultimately, this is a documentary film that proves that music, political steadfastness and social advocacy can work together to effect real change just about everywhere–including city hall.
STARRING: Duff McKagan, Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, East Bay Ray (Dead Kennedys), Penelope Houston (Avengers), Keith Morris, Beto O’Rourke, Jello Biafra and more.
Directed, written and produced by Scott Crawford
Produced by Paul Rachman
Edited by Maya Mualem
Cinematographer: Jason Thompson
a New Rose/SBC Films Release
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