Zeke formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992, emerging from the shadow of the city's grunge boom with a sound rooted in high-energy hardcore punk, hard rock, and rock and roll rather than the flannel-clad alt rock dominating the airwaves at the time. Zeke formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992, during the grunge era, but the band's sound was rooted in high-energy punk rock, hardcore, and rock 'n' roll. Founding members included Marky Felchtone (vocals/guitar), Donny Paycheck (drums) and Dizzy Lee Roth (bass). Inspired by bands like Motörhead, the Ramones, and Black Flag, Zeke quickly became known for their fast-paced songs and aggressive live performances. Their earliest recorded document, the "West Seattle Acid Party" single, appeared in 1993 on the independent Wrecking Ball Records, capturing the raw, breakneck style that would define the band for decades to come.
The band's breakthrough came through a steady grind of regional touring and increasingly ambitious releases. Their debut album, Super Sound Racing (1994), released through IFA Records, established their reputation for short, fast songs with heavy punk and heavy rock influences. This was followed by their second album, Flat Tracker (1996) through Scooch Pooch Records, which showcased their love for hot rods, motorcycle racing and speed, both musically and thematically, its gritty sound and relentless energy solidifying their standing in the punk scene. The real turning point arrived when in 1997, the band signed with Epitaph Records and released Kicked in the Teeth, an album that introduced them to a broader audience, blending punk, hardcore, and classic rock influences, with tracks like "God of GSXR" and "Twisted" highlighting their signature blend of speed and heaviness. That release, produced by Jack Endino, along with a rigorous touring schedule, helped to establish the band outside of the Pacific Northwest. Zeke's momentum carried through a run of acclaimed albums and high-profile tours in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 2000's Dirty Sanchez saw the departure of bassist Mark Pierce and the arrival of new bassist Jeff Matz, with the LP supported by tours of the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, sometimes alongside contemporaries like Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, All, the Voodoo Glow Skulls, Pearl Jam, the Supersuckers, and D.O.A. Arriving in 2001, Zeke's typically full-throttle fifth LP, Death Alley, would be the group's last studio outing for Epitaph. They issued the concert album Live and Uncensored in 2003, and quickly inked a deal with Relapse, resulting in the release of 2005's more metal-centric 'Til the Livin' End. Throughout their career the band's lineup continued to shift around the constant presence of Blind Marky Felchtone and Donny Paycheck, while over the years they've shared stages with bands like Motörhead, Supersuckers, C.O.C., Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Pearl Jam, L7, High on Fire, and the Dwarves. After years of relentless output, in the mid-2000s the band teamed up with Relapse and adopted more of a heavy metal-forward style, and went on hiatus in 2007, but returned in 2018 with a new studio LP, Hellbender. The band has remained active since, even undertaking their 2024 Australian tour, their first in over two decades, touring alongside Australia's Cosmic Psychos and delivering intense performances across the East Coast that blended their high-speed punk with raw energy. Decades on, Zeke is still regarded as one of the definitive acts of the Northwest hardcore underground, a band whose uncompromising speed and attitude helped keep the region's punk lineage alive alongside its more famous grunge exports.
That uncompromising live reputation is exactly what drew Wayne Dennon's lens to the stage. Wayne photographed Zeke on one occasion back in 2004, capturing the band mid-tour in the kind of sweat-soaked, high-velocity performance they were known for. Eleven of his photographs from that night survive in this archive, a small but vivid record of the band at full force, and in the years since, visitors to this memorial site have viewed those images 8,509 times, a testament to how enduringly beloved Zeke's brand of speed rock remains among the fans who once packed the clubs to see them.
