Trace Bundy
Encyclopedia
Trace Bundy is an instrumental acoustic guitar
player who lives and performs in Boulder, Colorado
. He is known to fans as "The Acoustic Ninja" for his legato
and finger tapping
skills. His playing style features him playing with both hands on the fretboard, intricate finger picking arpeggio
s and inventive use of multiple capo
s. Bundy is an independent artist and his shows are largely fan-driven.
and later moved to the small town of Buena Vista, Colorado
. He first started playing guitar when he was 11 years old.
Bundy met Jonah Werner (now an acclaimed acoustic folk
songwriter) in high school and started playing with him at a local coffee shop in Buena Vista. The duo played mostly Jack'o'Pierce and other various folk songs. Bundy then met Tim Thornton
from Newcomers Home and started playing old Dylan
and Cat Stevens
tunes. They all attended the University of Colorado at Boulder
and still continue to play together from time to time. Before pursuing his music career in a full-time capacity, Bundy was an engineering professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder
.
Bundy was influenced by a variety of musicians such as David Wilcox
, Ani Difranco
and Phil Keaggy
. He stopped using a pick
altogether when he realized he could play more complex music using all five fingers.
Bundy's first musical release was in 1999 with "O Night Divine", a collection of traditional Christmas songs
. His next recording, containing all original songs, was 2000's "Solomon's Splendor". In October 2004 he released a CD/DVD
combo titled "Adapt". The DVD shows a live concert filmed in Boulder, CO, in the summer of 2004. Many clips from this DVD circulated on YouTube
and have received well over one million views. Some of the more popular clips are Trace covering the Backstreet Boys
song "I Want It That Way
", and Pachelbel's Canon performed on an acoustic guitar using the fingertapping technique. Following this album was "A Few Songs For Christmas", an EP
of more Christmas songs released in December 2007.
In 2008, Bundy's released "Missile Bell", a two-part project, consisting of a studio CD, a live CD, and a DVD filmed live at the Boulder Theater in November, 2007. Also in 2008, Bundy was named "Most Promising New Talent of the Year" by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and came in third in the same magazine's "Best Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year" category.
Bundy was recently featured in his hometown newspaper, The Louisville Times
.
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
player who lives and performs in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. He is known to fans as "The Acoustic Ninja" for his legato
Legato
In musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
and finger tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
skills. His playing style features him playing with both hands on the fretboard, intricate finger picking arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s and inventive use of multiple capo
Capo
A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is frequently used on guitars, mandolins, and banjos. G.B...
s. Bundy is an independent artist and his shows are largely fan-driven.
Career
Bundy was born in Austin, MinnesotaAustin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
and later moved to the small town of Buena Vista, Colorado
Buena Vista, Colorado
Buena Vista is a Statutory Town in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,195 at the 2000 census.Buena Vista is located in central Colorado roughly midway between Salida and Leadville in the Upper Arkansas River Valley at an elevation of . The area between Buena Vista and...
. He first started playing guitar when he was 11 years old.
Bundy met Jonah Werner (now an acclaimed acoustic folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songwriter) in high school and started playing with him at a local coffee shop in Buena Vista. The duo played mostly Jack'o'Pierce and other various folk songs. Bundy then met Tim Thornton
Tim Thornton
Tim Thornton is an English drummer and novelist.Thornton was born in Darlington, had a boarding-school education, and gained a degree in drama. He is currently playing drums for the indie rock act Fink. His debut novel The Alternative Hero has been described by The Guardian as "the indiest book...
from Newcomers Home and started playing old Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
tunes. They all attended the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and still continue to play together from time to time. Before pursuing his music career in a full-time capacity, Bundy was an engineering professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
.
Bundy was influenced by a variety of musicians such as David Wilcox
David Wilcox
David Wilcox may refer to:*David Wilcox , Canadian rock musician*David Wilcox , American folk musician*David Wilcox , member of band Triple 8...
, Ani Difranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
and Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
. He stopped using a pick
Plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
altogether when he realized he could play more complex music using all five fingers.
Bundy's first musical release was in 1999 with "O Night Divine", a collection of traditional Christmas songs
Christmas Songs
Christmas Songs is a 2005 album by Diana Krall performed with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. This is Krall's first full-length album of Christmas songs , and her first studio album with a big band. It is her ninth album overall...
. His next recording, containing all original songs, was 2000's "Solomon's Splendor". In October 2004 he released a CD/DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
combo titled "Adapt". The DVD shows a live concert filmed in Boulder, CO, in the summer of 2004. Many clips from this DVD circulated on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and have received well over one million views. Some of the more popular clips are Trace covering the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
song "I Want It That Way
I Want It That Way
"I Want It That Way" is a song by the Backstreet Boys, and their first single from their 1999 album Millennium. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson along with other producers. The song was highly played on the radio and the video, directed by Wayne Isham, was well played on television...
", and Pachelbel's Canon performed on an acoustic guitar using the fingertapping technique. Following this album was "A Few Songs For Christmas", an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of more Christmas songs released in December 2007.
In 2008, Bundy's released "Missile Bell", a two-part project, consisting of a studio CD, a live CD, and a DVD filmed live at the Boulder Theater in November, 2007. Also in 2008, Bundy was named "Most Promising New Talent of the Year" by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and came in third in the same magazine's "Best Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year" category.
Bundy was recently featured in his hometown newspaper, The Louisville Times
The Louisville Times
The Louisville Times was a newspaper that was published in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1884 as the afternoon counterpart to The Courier-Journal, the dominant morning newspaper in Louisville and the commonwealth of Kentucky for many years. The two newspapers published a combined edition ...
.
Discography
Releases on the Honest Ninja Music label:- O Night Divine (1999)
- Solomon's Splendor (2000)
- ADAPT (2004)
- A Few Songs for Christmas EP (2007)
- Missile Bell (2008)