Ezekiel's lyrical style bravely goes to the heart with a disarming honesty that challenges the listener to become part of the show. In songs such as "Misplaced my Medication", "Drops of water", and "Patriot Jake", Ezekiel cuts through with a salty voice, expressing the human drama from an uncommon, yet strangely familiar perspective. He has performed for audiences around the world from the mountain villages of Peru to the cities of America and Europe. For anyone who has ever dreamed of running away from it all, his is a voice that strikes the soul. In Auxerre, France, Catherine Ambertini writes, "His raspy voice empowered the compositions receiving salvos of applause". And as an instrumentalist, he "Delivers a powerful performance", says Brent Clark of the Priest River Times after attending a show where Ezekiel played a piano, drums and a five string-bass at the same time. Cory Fox, director of the Centrum Jazz Festival describes his music as "Representing a wide spectrum of Acoustical Bliss", often pulling things out of his hat seeming impossible for a solo musician on stage leaving the audience shocked and quite entertained.
Ezekel discovered his passion for songwriting shortly after picking up his mother's guitar at age 14 in Ketchikan, Alaska. Having been raised in a family of five aboard a 48' metal-hulled sailboat, his nomadic upbringing greatly influenced his unique style. His mother was a folk/gospel musician who performed in churches as his family traveled from port to port. And in the evenings before putting Ezekiel to sleep, his mom would improvise songs and encourage him to help with the lyrics. His father was a deep-sea salvage technician who taught him about the ocean and gave him the tools needed to survive outside the mainstays of modern society. In his music today one can hear these influences both in the tonal fabric of the music and the unique slant of its lyrical content. "This guy is just about the coolest thing I've seen here in our area ever... He is a pirate or a gypsy or something in between... an impeccable musician." says James Bauer, a bay area venue owner.
At his shows, Ezekiel is known for sharing stories from his diverse life experiences traveling and working on the water. He has sailed thousands of miles in some of the most challenging conditions. While writing his music, he worked as a Hard-Hat diver, a welder and even studied Nuclear Physics in the Navy. While recording and writing, he built his own steel sailboat with hopes to someday sail to the Antarctic.
His musical career began at 15 years old when his talent was discovered by the Seattle-based band, Archangel. Playing guitar in this group began his performing experience as they traveled through the small towns around Washington State. When the band finally split up, he began to perform and write solo. He studied finger-style techniques used by Chet Atkins and Alex De Grassi while attending music composition classes through the University of Nebraska. He quickly became interested in piano, drums, and a variety of ethnic instruments.
At 20 years old, he finished his first commercially-released album, working out of a makeshift studio he built on an island in Alaska. The album immediately received airplay and media attention. His most recent and ninth album, "Under the Sun" was written and recorded at sea on his 40' steel sloop while traveling down the West coast of America. It's currently receiving radio airplay and being featured in newspaper articles around the San Francisco Bay area.