Brent Belke (born February 1, 1965, in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

guitarist and composer. After playing in the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

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 SNFU was a Canadian hardcore punk band from Edmonton, formed in 1981 as Society's No Fucking Use. They relocated to Vancouver in 1992 and went on hiatus in 2018 due to illness. They released eight albums, two live records, and one compilation ami ...

and The Wheat Chiefs between 1981 and 1998, Belke began a career composing music for film and television.

Career

SNFU and the Wheat Chiefs (1981–1998)

Belke formed Live Sex Shows with his twin brother

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

, also a guitarist, and singer

Ken Chinn Kendall Steven Chinn (October 19, 1962 – July 16, 2020), known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 unti ...

in 1981 after they met through the

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

ing subculture in

. Chris Walter. ''...What No One Else Wanted to Say''. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2012 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 Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skateboarding, skater subculture and punk rock Music genre, subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, sk ...

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 Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and 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, ...

and

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. The style often includes guitar harmonies, riffs using octave chords, as well as broken chords. Additionally, lyrics tend towar ...

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 Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, operated in tandem for the next seven years. SNFU signed to

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

, 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 ''Road Hockey Rumble'' is a half-hour reality series produced by Paperny Entertainment and broadcast on OLN. The series uses a documentary format but crosses over into the genres of sports, travel, and comedy. It follows two Canadian hosts, Calum ...

'' (for which he received a

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

nomination in 2008), ''

So Weird ''So Weird'' is a television series that aired on Disney Channel as a mid-season replacement from January 18, 1999, to September 28, 2001. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the first two seasons, the series centered on the ...

'', ''

The Stagers ''The Stagers'' is a half-hour reality television show about home staging that airs on HGTV in the United States and Canada. It is produced by Paperny Films and stars Matthew Finlason, Bridget Savereux, and Maureen Powers. Synopsis Official s ...

'', 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 IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

'', their only release after his departure. His newest project is Existential Angst Party, an experimental

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

group. They released a full-length album in 2005.

References

External links

Official SNFU website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belke, Brent 1965 births Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian punk rock guitarists Living people Musicians from Edmonton Wheat Chiefs members SNFU members Singers from Alberta