Brent Belke

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Brent Belke
Also known asBunt
Born (1965-02-01) February 1, 1965 (age 56)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Genres Punk rock, alternative rock, jazz, classical, avant garde
Instruments Guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, electronics
Years active1981–present
Labels Epitaph Records, BYO Records
Associated actsLive Sex Shows, SNFU, Wheat Chiefs, Existential Angst Party

Brent Belke (born February 1, 1965 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian guitarist and composer. After playing in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs between 1981 and 1998, Belke began a career composing music for film and television.

Contents

Career

SNFU and the Wheat Chiefs (1981–1998)

Belke formed Live Sex Shows with his twin brother Marc, also a guitarist, and singer Ken Chinn in 1981 after they met through the skateboarding subculture in Edmonton, Alberta. [1] The band was short-lived, but the three founded a new group called Society's No Fucking Use (better known by the acronym SNFU) later that year. With a rotating rhythm section, SNFU released four LPs and served as catalysts for the skate punk movement in addition to influencing the punk rock scene at large before disbanding temporarily in 1989. After the group's first breakup, Marc and Brent founded the Wheat Chiefs, whose sound reflected power pop and melodic hardcore influences not immediately apparent in SNFU's material.

In 1991, offers for touring and significant record deals helped lead to SNFU's reformation, and the two bands, now located in Vancouver, British Columbia, operated in tandem for the next seven years. SNFU signed to Epitaph Records, released three further studio and one live album, and toured extensively; the Wheat Chiefs were less active, releasing only the Redeemer album in 1996.

Belke left rock music in 1998 to focus on scoring in film and television, accruing university degrees in jazz and classical composition. SNFU continued in his absence, while the Wheat Chiefs permanently disbanded.

Work in composition, recent activity (1998–present)

Belke has composed music for the films Cries in the Dark and The Accidental Witness, the television shows Road Hockey Rumble (for which he received a Leo Award nomination in 2008), So Weird , The Stagers , and numerous other works.

He performed a one-off concert with SNFU in 2001, and also played on one track on SNFU's 2004 album In the Meantime and In Between Time , their only release after his departure. His newest project is Existential Angst Party, an experimental avant-garde group. [2] [3] They released a full-length album in 2005.

Related Research Articles

SNFU

SNFU was a Canadian hardcore punk band that formed in 1981 in Edmonton, relocated to Vancouver in 1992, and became inactive in 2018. The band released eight full-length studio albums, two live records, and one compilation, and was a formative influence on the skate punk subgenre. Rankings of the best Canadian music have included their work.

<i>FYULABA</i> album by SNFU

FYULABA is the sixth studio album by Canadian punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1996 by Epitaph Records. Its name is an acronym for Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident. The album was the last of three albums released by SNFU on Epitaph. Eight years would pass before the proper followup, In the Meantime and In Between Time, was issued in 2004.

<i>If You Swear, Youll Catch No Fish</i> 1986 studio album by SNFU

If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish is the second full-length album by the Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. It was recorded in April 1986 at Power Zone Studio in Edmonton, Alberta—although the album's liner notes claim the studio is located in Istanbul, Turkey—and was released on BYO Records in 1986. More diverse than their debut album, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish helped solidify SNFU's status in the North American hardcore punk community and influenced the formation of the skate punk subgenre.

<i>Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes</i> 1993 studio album by SNFU

Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes is the fourth studio album by Canadian punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1993 on Epitaph Records, the first of three SNFU releases on this label. Despite being released during the height of the third wave of punk rock by the revival's best-selling independent label and selling modestly well, the album was not commercially successful.

<i>The Last of the Big Time Suspenders</i> 1991 compilation album by SNFU

The Last of the Big Time Suspenders is a compilation album by the Canadian punk rock band SNFU. The album is composed of live recordings, demos, compilation and EP tracks, and studio outtakes. It was released in 1991, two years after SNFU's first breakup, to satisfy the band's two-album contract with Cargo Records. The group reformed to tour behind the album, leading to a full reunion.

<i>Better Than a Stick in the Eye</i> 1988 studio album by SNFU

Better Than a Stick in the Eye is the third album by Canadian punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1988 by Cargo Records. It marked a return to a direct and unadorned sound following its comparatively experimental predecessor, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish. It would also be the group's last studio album for five years, as they disbanded months after the record's release before again reforming in 1991.

<i>Lets Get It Right the First Time</i> 1998 live album by SNFU

Let's Get It Right the First Time is a live album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1998. Although the record was billed as a live album and reportedly recorded at The Starfish Room in Vancouver in late 1997, SNFU biographer Chris Walter notes that the album was tracked almost entirely in the recording studio.

<i>In the Meantime and In Between Time</i> 2004 studio album by SNFU

In the Meantime and In Between Time is the seventh studio album by Canadian punk rock band SNFU, released in 2004. The record was the band's first full-length studio album since FYULABA in 1996, and would be the last to feature founding guitarist Marc Belke. The band released the album on Belke's own Rake Records imprint.

Ken Chinn Canadian musician

Kendall Steven Chinn, known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock lead vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 until their hiatus in 2018. Other, short-lived groups that he led included The Wongs, Little Joe, and Slaveco.

The Wheat Chiefs were a Canadian melodic rock band with punk rock influence formed in 1990 in Edmonton, and later relocated to Vancouver. The group featured several members of SNFU and one from Jr. Gone Wild. They released their only album, Redeemer, in 1996, before disbanding two years later.

Marc Belke is a Canadian musician and former radio personality. He played guitar in the punk and alternative rock 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.

David Rees is an American-Canadian musician and television editor currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Rees played drums in the punk rock band SNFU and the alternative rock band Wheat Chiefs, and served for a time as the touring drum tech for Bad Religion.

Robert Arthur Johnson is a Canadian musician currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He played bass guitar in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and the Wheat Chiefs, in addition to recording his own hip hop and hard rock music in various incarnations.

Matt Warhurst is a Canadian musician and record producer. He has played bass guitar in the punk rock group SNFU and the industrial rock band Jakalope.

Shane Smith is a Canadian drummer. He has performed with the punk rock bands SNFU and Slaveco., and the alternative industrial rock bands Neurosonic and Jakalope.

Curtis Creager is an American-Canadian bass guitarist, best known as a former member of the punk rock band SNFU and alternative rock band the Wheat Chiefs.

<i>Shes Not on the Menu</i> 1986 EP by SNFU

She's Not on the Menu is an EP by Edmonton, Alberta-based punk rock band SNFU. It was self-released by the band in 1986. The EP contains a 1986 studio re-recording of a song from the band's debut album on Side A and two demo tracks originally recorded in 1982 on Side B.

Redeemer is an album by the Canadian punk-influenced alternative rock band the Wheat Chiefs. The album is a collection of songs from three separate recording sessions held between 1992 and 1994, and was released by BangOn Records, a subsidiary of the Canadian label Cargo Records, and the band's own Hom Wreckerds Music imprint. It is the only official release by the Wheat Chiefs.

<i>Never Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You</i> 2013 studio album by SNFU

Never Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You is the eighth and final studio album by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. It was released in 2013 by Cruzar Media.

References

  1. ↑ Chris Walter. ...What No One Else Wanted to Say. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2012
  2. ↑ "Existential Angst Party explores joy of angst". Straight.com. November 17, 2005. Retrieved September 15, 2012.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. ↑ "Canadian New Music Review". earsay.com. June 6, 2006. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
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