Tracker is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

ensemble from

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The act was founded in 1998 by John Askew, a freelance

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

for

Tape Op A tape operator or tape op, also known as a second engineer, is a person who performs menial operations in a recording studio in a similar manner to a tea boy or gopher. They may act as an apprentice or an assistant to a recording engineer and d ...

magazine.

Background

Askew, a

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

, initially performed studio recordings with little (if any) assistance, and recruited a revolving line of musicians for live performances. Among the artists in tow include

Michael Schorr Michael Schorr is a video game designer and the former drummer of Death Cab for Cutie with whom he recorded ''The Photo Album'' and two of their EPs '' The Forbidden Love E.P.'' and '' The Stability E.P.'' Career Drummer Schorr is the form ...

, the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

with

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

as well as

Dave Harding David Harding (born 14 August 1946) is an Australian former football (soccer) midfielder. He played for Wrexham from 1965 to 1966, New Brighton in the Cheshire League 1967-68 and then South Liverpool in the Northern Premier League,Jawad, Hyder ...

, the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

with

Richmond Fontaine Richmond Fontaine was an American four-piece rock and alternative country band, based in Portland, Oregon. They were active between 1994 and 2016 and recorded eleven studio albums, four live albums and two EPs. Underpinned by lead singer and so ...

. Schorr would eventually become a mainstay with the act. As Death Cab for Cutie came to prominence, Tracker shared stages with them, alongside

Giant Sand Giant Sand (formerly Giant Sandworms) is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The groups have developed idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country, but t ...

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Dieg ...

, and

The Black Heart Procession The Black Heart Procession (occasionally spelled The Blackheart Procession) is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. History Early years The band was formed in 1997 by Pall Jenkins (Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Palllap ...

Discography

*''Ames'' (2001) *''Polk'' (2002) *''Blankets'' (2004)

References

External links

Official siteBand profile at FILMguerrero
* Indie rock musical groups from Oregon Musical groups from Portland, Oregon {{US-indie-rock-band-stub