Marc Belke (born February 1, 1965, in

Edmonton, Alberta 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 ...

) 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 ...

musician and former radio personality. He played guitar 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, 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

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 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 ...

, whom they had 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 Edmonton. Chris Walter. ''...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 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. 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 List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1992 and 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 ...

. 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 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 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, British Columbia, Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,378 in 2021, Smithers provides service cove ...

, 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 population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. 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 Singers from Alberta