Marc Belke (born February 1, 1965 in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

musician and former radio personality. He played guitar in the punk and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs, and sang lead vocals in the latter. He was later an on-air personality with Rogers based in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. T ...

Musical career

The youngest of five boys, Belke played in basement bands with his twin brother Brent as a teenager. The brothers formed their first gigging group, Live Sex Shows, in 1981. The band was fronted by singer Ken Chinn, whom they had met through the

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboar ...

ing subculture in Edmonton.

Chris Walter Chris Walter was a photographer of classic rock and pop musicians, who began working in London in the early 1960s, photographing mainly rock musicians. He initially began the company South London Photo Agency (later The London Photo Agency), co ...

. ''...What No One Else Wanted to Say''. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2012, pp. 8 The short-lived band quickly broke up, but the three formed a new group called Society's No Fucking Use, which was shortened to SNFU. The new band went on to serve as catalysts for the

skate punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a m ...

movement in addition to influencing the punk rock scene at large. Belke also played drums in the short-lived group Bing Jesus in the early 1980s. Although many of the members of SNFU were involved in the band's compositions, Belke was the primary musical songwriter for much of the band's history, with Chinn as the lyricist. After three LPs in the 1980s and a temporary disbandment, the group relocated to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

in 1992 and signed to

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and em ...

. They released three further albums with Epitaph. In 1990, shortly after the first SNFU breakup, Marc and Brent Belke formed the Wheat Chiefs, adding

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ...

and

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting an ...

influences to their punk rock sound. In the Wheat Chiefs, Marc sang lead vocals and continued to share guitar duties with his brother. They released their only album, '' Redeemer'', in 1996, before Brent left both bands to pursue a career in musical score composition for film and television. SNFU continued as a four-piece after Brent's departure. Marc later formed the side project Based on a True Story in 2002, a group extant for about a year. SNFU again disbanded in 2005 following heavy touring. Chinn reformed the band two years later with former bassist Ken Fleming, but both Belkes opted against participating in this incarnation of the band.Walter 233 After leaving SNFU, Belke ceased performing live but continued to work on solo recordings. In 2017 he released the SNFU single "A Happy Number" on his own Rake Records imprint.

Career in radio

Following his departure from SNFU, Belke pursued a university degree in communications.Walter 231 He spent several years as an on-air personality with CFBV Radio in

Smithers, British Columbia Smithers is a town in northwestern British Columbia, approximately halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,351 in 2016, Smithers provides service coverage for most of the Bulkley Valley. History Region First Natio ...

, and later CJUK FM, Magic 99.9.

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He began working in Victoria in 2013, but ultimately left radio several years later.

References

External links

Official Marc Belke website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belke, Marc 1965 births Canadian punk rock guitarists Living people Musicians from Edmonton SNFU members Wheat Chiefs members