Hardcore Punk Dog Names

You might not think that there are too many hardcore punk bands that share names with dogs in pop culture, but the sheer number will surprise you. Below, you can learn about two standout options – Zeke and Zero Boys.

Zeke the Labrador Retriever from Michigan State University shares his name with Zeke, the American, Seattle-based hardcore punk band. Zeke the dog, known as Zeke the Wonder Dog, served as Michigan State’s mascot for several years during the 1970s.

He was a yellow Labrador who competed in frisbee games with his owner Gary Eisenberg during the halftime shows of the university’s football games. Gary was a Junior at MSU at the time. It all began when Zeke competed in the disc-catching national championships where the MSU Athletic Department noticed him. They invited both Gary and Zeke to perform at a Spartan football game. The rest was history.

Zeke spent several years performing, receiving a football letter and becoming the only non-human to obtain one at Michigan State. Zeke retired in 1984 and died in 1987.

Zeke the hardcore punk band, however, is less heart-warming and more head-banging. Zeke gets its influences from blues rock, hard rock, and the likes of Motorhead. As a band, Zeke has released six albums and have been producing music since the early 1990s. They even had their music appearing on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games and Project Gotham Racing 3. The band consists of Blind Marky Felchtone, Kurt Colfelt, Dayne Porras, and Kyle Whitefoot.

Zero is both a pop culture dog and a hardcore punk band too. However, the band’s full name is Zero Boys. Zero Boys is an Indiana-based hardcore punk quartet that has been around since the late 1970s. They have performed on and off over the years, including today. The band consists of Paul Mahern, Scott Kellogg, Dave Lawson, and Mark Cutsinger, but had several past members too.

Zero the dog, without the ‘Boys’ part, appeared in the 1941 film High Serra, alongside his owner Humphrey Bogart. Zero, a small dog of unknown breed, played the role of Pard.  The movie, which is an early heist film, follows an aged gangster and his plans for a robbery. He enlists the services of Roy Earle (Humphrey) to lead the heist.

Notable parts with Pard in the movie include trying to get Zero to lick the stunt performers hand, playing a dead Roy. They used treats in the performer’s hand to encourage him. Many people also thought that Pard (Zero) played the role of Toto in The Wizard of Oz, but that was incorrect.