Remember the kind of music you listened to in your angsty years? Music so loud and blistering that it hammered the pain right out of your head and—bonus!—annoyed the fuck out of any adult within earshot, most notably your parents? And remember seeing your parents grimace and paw mutely at their ears while you secretly delighted in their geriatric anguish? And remember how you pretended to be oblivious to their cries or, better yet, pretended you couldn't hear them over the music? You were a rotten kid. You really were.
Seattle's punk/hardcore outfit Zeke, which has toured the States, Japan, Australia and Europe, plays the kind of music with which you could torture your parents, or even yourself. It's truly a racket—explosively loud, horrendously fast. You won't be able to hear yourself think! You'll wake up the neighbors! You'll go blind!
Singer/guitarist Blind Marky Felchtone pushes his scratchy voice to the limits of good taste until it redlines in a satanic snarl. Melody-schmelody! And if, God forbid, you happen to be marooned on that frightening border between childhood and adulthood (which you didn't realize you were on until you listened to their new, very loud CD Dirty Sanchez . . . oh, fuck me, bring on the Yanni . . .), you'll feel torn between turning it up and turning it off.
But you should turn it up because then you'll know all the songs. Songs with lyrics like “Every day I take your crap/Every city on the map/You're gonna do what/You're gonna do so/Now you die” (from the aptly titled “Now You Die”) and songs with lyrics like “Let's get drugs!” from a number called “Let's Get Drugs” (which features a rousing chorus that goes, “Let's get drugs!”). But the song—get this—is actually anti-drug. Wrap your mind around that crazy bit of reverse psychology.
Of course, considering the speed with which Felchtone spits out his words, you'd never know this unless you read the lyrics. But you don't want to read! Reading is for goobers! Reading is for pussies! Only goobers and pussies read! You want to rawk! You need to! So you should get yourself to the live show because that's surely where this snarling, surly, sweat-drenched band shines. Just bring earplugs. For your parents.
Zeke play with Portrait of Poverty and the B-Movie Rats at the Lava Lounge at Java Lanes, 3800 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, (562) 597-6171 or (562) 494-2071. Sun., 9 p.m. Call for cover. 21+; and at Club Mesa, 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 642-6634. Tues., 9 p.m. Call for cover. 21+.
