The Tracker Bar B Que:has included visitations from: Derek Trost,Todd Corbett, Cory Gray,
Michael Schorr, Adam Selzer, Erik Herzog, Chris Funk, Dave Harding, Paul Brainard, M. Ward, Bruce Winter, Tad Wagner, Andrew Giakumakis, John Nygren, Raymond Richards and.....currently playing shows again with Amanda Spring, Victor Nash, Brian Wright and Cory Gray.
Influences
Camper Van Beethoven, Roxy Music, The Coen Brothers, Tom Verlaine, Califone, Richard Linklater, Red Red Meat, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Black Heart Procession, Buellton, Giant Sand, Richard Buckner, Robert Fripp, MArc Ribot, the Silos, Wall of Voodoo, JOhn Parish, Polly JEan HArvey, Doug Sahm, TV on the RAdio, Townes Van Zandt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo, Mount Analog, Menomena, Ween, XTC, M.Ward, Jim White, Tom Waits, The Latin Playboys, Mitchell Froom, Roy Orbison, Charles Mingus, Monks of Doom, Headless Household, Kitty Wells, Tim Cullen, Erik Herzog, CAN, Suicide, Talking Heads, Frank Miller, Frank Zappa, Holy Sons, The Who, Television, Captain Beefheart, Fellini, Caffeine, Tom Petty, Steely Dan, Jon Brion...
Sounds Like
Can be found on the same picnic table as :
Califone
Camper Van Beethoven
Sparklehorse
Since 1997, Tracker has been the recording moniker for engineer / musician / label owner-worker John Askew. Following the release of AMES (the first proper Tracker album), a steady line-up took to the road. Often stopping and gathering random sorts along the way, Askew and Tracker recorded and toured and followed up AMES with the second release POLK and the third release BLANKETS: Recordings for the Illustrated Novel.
NOW, Askew engineers and produces records, scores music for film and television but still spends most of the time in his basement studio Scenic Burrows and an Urei LA -4.
Projects he has recorded includes but is not limited to: RemoteTreeChildren, Glen Phillips, Richmond Fontaine, The Dodos, Petracovich, Wow and Flutter, Carcrashlander, Pt. Juncture, WA., Faux Hoax, LIttle Sue, Mount Analog, Misc., Buellton, Tracker, Tad Wagner...
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Releases:
TRACKER- AMES (FILMguerrero 2001)
TRACKER- POLK (FILMguerrero 2003)
TRACKER- BLANKETS:Recordings for the illustrated Novel (FILMguerrero 2004)
To BUY Tracker records go HERE
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***********************This is the release sheet for the last album:
Portland, OR. Tracker-Blankets is the third release to come from song/ recording-man John Askew's assemblage called Tracker. Written and produced by Askew to accompany the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson, this album quietly threads it's way through Thompson's stark images of Winter and first love, and the dark, yet hopeful coming of age narrative. Following Tracker’s acclaimed cinematic, backyard epic POLK (2003), and the grainy, lo-fi first album AMES (2001), Tracker-Blankets juxtaposes the loose, dusty interiors of this pair of earlier Tracker concept albums with a more spare and cinematic instrumental record. The tracks on Blankets unravel slowly, never distracting from Thompson's drawings. While listening, the book's visuals come to the forefront of memory; the recordings perfectly provide the backdrop for the story to continue and replay. The recordings are ambient and breathing (Askew tips his hat to Brian Eno's Apollo, and Fripp/ Eno collaboration) and at times, the album shares the same sonic head-space as David Pajo's earlier Aerial M records and Yo La Tengo's Danelectro.
In an era where invention, concept, and the visual seem to be rapidly dissolving in modern recordings, Blankets: Recordings for the Illustrated Novel satisfies one's need to again experience story and image meeting with music. With Thompson's graphic novel already considered a timeless, illustrated masterpeice, Tracker's soundtrack will dutifully rest by the side of Thompson's epic, as a beautiful and moving, recorded classic.After receiving massive critical praise for his 2003 graphic novel Blankets, (Harvey award winner for
Best Graphic Novel of 2003) comic artist/ writer Craig Thompson approached Tracker's John Askew to do a "soundtrack" for his book. With the song writing/ production duties accomplished by Askew in his Scenic Burrows, Craig Thompson designed the package with all original art to suppliment the book Blankets. The package is hand crafted and assembled by Stumptown Printers and Pinball printers in Portland, OR.
Hey TRACKER, you are the power and presence of Love creating all of this. It's not real. It's completely made up. You are amazing for convincing yourself that any of this was real! Nice work. It's a very convincing illusion. I feel totally real.
Hey Friends, it's me, Flowmotion & the Summer Meltdown Festival.
Just wanted to remind everyone, the festival is coming up in about three weeks or so and tickets are about to go up in price on July 23rd. Now is the time to get your tickets. 30+ bands on three stages, camping on 40 acres next to the river and epic views of glacier capped Whitehorse Mountain from the stage. It's about 75 minutes north of Seattle in Darrington WA. This is going to be one of the best years yet, so please tell all your friends and spread the word about the tickets going up next week. Visit the official site by clicking on the graphic below to get all the details.
dear john, thanks SO much for all of the lovin during your mixing days at Flora. earl and i have really liked getting to know you and hearing the hot jams! xo
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