Drake & Zeke – Memphis Flyer

Memphis radio personality Zeke Logan has died. The announcement was made on WXMX 98.1 by his wife and children at 2:00 today. Logan was known for his dry humor and gentle satire. He was the perfect foil to his on-air partner, Drake Hall, for more than two decades, first on Rock 103, then, since 2004 on 98.1.

Logan, whose real name was David Millar, was diagnosed with cancer nearly three months ago and had not been on air for several weeks. On February 4th, Hall announced to his listeners that “it [wasn’t] going well,” and asked them to pray for Logan and his family.

After the brief announcement, the station played “Jungleland” by Bruce Springsteen.

Zeke’s family has set up a site to help them pay medical expenses.

People have been curing pork for centuries and using the phrase “bring home the bacon” since the 12th century when an English church offered a side of cured pig meat to any man who could swear that he’d neither fought nor quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. Beer has been a popular adult beverage since the dawn of civilization and is, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. In a stroke of absolute genius, 98.1 The Max radio personalities Drake & Zeke (with some assistance from their production team) came up with the brilliant idea to build a festival around these two tasty treats.

Drake & Zeke

The idea is basically this: Once upon a time people ate bacon with eggs for breakfast. Today it’s used as an ingredient in everything from gourmet entrées to dessert pastries. Drake & Zeke’s Bacon & Beer Festival at Minglewood Hall is a competition to discover the most creative bacon chefs in Memphis. Categories for the competition run the gamut from best appetizer to best cocktail and best dessert. And there will be lots of beer to wash everything down with. Couldn’t be easier.

Drake & Zeke host an annual telethon for Ronald McDonald House every October, and the new Bacon & Beer Festival is an opportunity to start the fund-raising early. The festival is family-oriented with a “pig pen” area for younger kids. Regional bands scheduled to appear include country rocker Rosco Bandana, 2 Mule Plow, Will Tucker, and Charvey McLemore.