Trace Bundy must be seen, not just heard. His one-of-a-kind playing style, unique banter and stage presence deliver an unforgettable live concert experience that his fans have come to know and love. Listening to his intricate arrangements is one thing, but seeing the fan-dubbed “Acoustic Ninja” play live confounds even the most accomplished music lovers as to how one person can do all that with just two hands and ten fingers.
Born in Austin, MN (you know, where SPAM is made) and raised in the small town of Buena Vista, CO Trace Bundy first started playing guitar when he was about 11 or 12 years old. Trace and his brother Greg both chipped in $5 to buy a $10 acoustic guitar from a guy named Herbie, and even though they didn’t know where to start they picked up a guitar magazine and learned how to play a song by Metallica. Although not a fan of heavy metal, that was what Trace originally learned to play, on acoustic guitar of course.
Because he could never afford lessons, everything Trace learned was on his own, and in doing so became very interested in why music sounds good and why different notes and chords seem to work together. This got him very interested in music theory, so he started to figure out the patterns that exist in most music and began putting names to his discoveries like “Trace’s 7-chord theory.” (Later in college he took a basic music theory class and found that all of his discoveries already existed and had big important sounding names.) The more music theory he learned, the more he started writing his own songs, trying to incorporate his new discoveries into his music.
One of his latest discoveries is PocketGuitar, a virtual guitar iPhone app. Never one to shy away from the new and different, here’s how Trace embraces this new technology while sticking to his Metallica roots…:
