Kevin Tracy
Originally from the Midwest, Kevin Tracy arrived in the Portland area in 1980 following stints in San Diego and Denver. He met up with some of the area‟s top funk masters and spent the next several years in road bands doing the hotel circuit with players such as the Sanders Brothers, Randy Monroe, later the Linda Hornbuckle band, Stevie Mays and a host of others. This experience later brought him to the attention of several front-men leading to gigs as a side-man for greats such as Andy Stokes, Calvin Walker, Richard Arnold, Kirk Green, etc..
His versatility allowed for a number of solo gigs as a finger-style player for the restaurant and wedding markets, playing styles ranging from Flamenco and Classical to Smooth Jazz and even Country Swing. As a house guitarist at Andele‟s, Parker House and Chicago Blues for multi-year stretches, he has composed and polished hours of original material leading to the recording and release of his original CD "Long Way Back", and he is finishing a second project to be titled "Take a Moment". Kevin has enjoyed sharing his craft as a full and part time teacher for the past 25 years as well.
The last 5 years included work in the Vancouver area with rock bands which he co-founded, for the local tavern circuit such as the Kevin Tracey Band, Double Shot and Apex. He continues to share the stage with numerous top players and is called upon to sit in at every venue he visits. His influence was evident when a benefit was held for him at the Cascade Tavern, Vancouver in 2009 to help with some medical bills and over 900 friends and musicians showed up, along with all the local media.
Kevin has a long history with the band members of OCEAN 503, where he is able to showcase the various styles and skills he has cultivated over the years with this talented group and enjoys the challenge of meeting the high standards of their performances.