Zeke CD Reviews

ZEKE

"Zeke You: The Movie" DVD (Dead Teenager; 2003)

If you've ever wondered what it's really like to be on tour with a wild rock'n'roll band like Zeke, "Zeke You: The Movie!" may be the closest you'll ever get. That's the good news. The bad news is that -- once you watch "Zeke You" -- your dreams of what the glorious life of a rock star is like might go right down the drain.

"Zeke You!" is not the highly overproduced, slickly commercial production you might expect from, say, "The Osbournes." Basically, this DVD is a home movie of Zeke on tour. It was all recorded on Hi-8 digital cameras and the sound and picture have not been altered or enhanced. Basically, it's like you're a member of the Zeke family, the band has just returned from being on tour and now they want to show you where they were and what they did during their summer vacation.

On the bright side, "Zeke You!" shows the audience a view of rock'n'roll that we don't often see. It's basically a reality show starring Zeke and their friends. On the down side, that view isn't always very exciting. It's fun to watch the band interact backstage and to goof around for the camera but that novelty soon wears off.

The live performances are as raw as you can imagine. You've seen bootlegged concert videos that some fan took from the last row of the theater . The live performances captured on "Zeke You!" aren't much better. Again, there's a certain freshness to the reality of it all, but there's an inherent dullness to it as well.

Overall, fans who know and love the band will no doubt truly enjoy "Zeke You!" It's like going on tour with the band without leaving home.

Zeke: Blind Marky Fletchtone - guitars, vocals; Donny Paycheck - drums; Sonny Riggs - guitar, vocals; Diamond Jeff Matz - bass.

For more information, check out http://www.zekeyou.com.

"Live and Uncensored" (Dead Teenager; 2003)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

Zeke is rough and raw punk metal that will probably make you hurt yourself if you listen to it often. It's fast, it's furious, it takes no prisoners. You'll try to mosh and pogo at the same time and the end result won't be pretty.

This CD is actually divided into three parts: 1) Studio tracks - from the band's "Death Valley" sessions; 2) Studio Tracks - which have never been played or released before and 3) Live tracks - about 25 of 'em.

The studio tracks are all pretty cool. Rough punk tunes powered up with some heavy metal riffage. Interestingly, despite the fact they're divided into two sections, they sound like they could have been all recorded at the same time. "Kill the King" is perhaps the most interesting, opening with a Green Jello chunk riff and then raging into an unadulterated punk tune.

The live tracks, although having a charisma and style all their own, sound only slightly better than your average bootleg. For a band like Zeke, that pure, unedited sound was probably the idea. Most of these tracks were recorded live to DAT. There isn't much lost between their live show and the recording on this CD thanks to the lack of in-studio post-show wizardry.

"Live and Uncensored" is a must-have for Zeke fans and not a bad place for those just discovering the band to start off.

Zeke: Blind Marky Feltchtone - lead and rhythm guitars, vocals; Donny Paycheck - beatings, middle finger; Abe Zanuel Riggs - lead and rhythm guitars; Dizzy Lee Roth - guitar; Diamond Jeff Matz - bass; Mark Pierce - bass; Lorain Small - bass.

For more information, check out http://www.zekeyou.com.

"Dirty Sanchez" (Epitaph; 2000)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

Zeke share a lot in common with one of my favorite bands of all time: Motorhead. On "Dirty Sanchez," Zeke does what Motorhead are the masters of: They combine raging thrash metal with the simplicity of punk rock and deliver a listening experience that is as brutal as it is fun.

Clocking in at a towering 21 minutes and 17 seconds, "Dirty Sanchez" contains sixteen tracks. You do the math. That's an average of a little more than a minute, fifteen seconds per song. As you might infer, Zeke don't mess around. They get to the rock'n'roll meat as quickly as possible.

There are times when the band eases back to a slower punk pace, but it isn't often. Most of the time, they're playing at a furious pace, as on "Razorblade," perhaps the CD's fastest and most furious song. The CD closes out with an unlisted but raucously raw cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon." And those who are tired of bands leaving out the solo will be pleased that several make an appearance throughout.

Fans of thrash and punk will find lots to like with Zeke's "Dirty Sanchez." Those who don't appreciate rock'n'roll being stripped down to its very core should probably stay away.

Zeke: Donny Paycheck, Mark Pierce, Blind Marky Felchtone, Abe Zanuel Riggs III.

For more information, check out http://www.zekeyou.com.

"Kicked in the Teeth" (Epitaph; 1998)

Reviewed by Snidermann

Zeke's "Kicked In The Teeth" is like sitting on a wing of a 747 at 35,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. Fast is not a good enough word to describe the way Zeke plays. You almost need a CD player with nuclear capabilities but, throughout, it's always fun and easy to listen to.

I recently caught Zeke live when they opened on the Thirtieth Anniversary of Motorhead tour. I have never seen music played that fast and loud and, for a band that opened for Motorhead, that is saying a lot.

The longest song on this CD is 3 minutes and most of the songs are only 1 minute or less. When I say fast, I mean fast. Also included here is a very cool cover of KISS's classic "Shout It Out Loud."

Zeke is the kind of band that does things the way they want and they don't care what anyone thinks. You just got to love that!

"Kicked In The Teeth" is a killer CD, the kind that gives you a cardiovascular workout just by listening to it.

For more information, check out www.zekeyou.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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