Spencer Tricker is a student in New York City, writing and recording his music in a desperate bid to avoid getting a real job one day. He plays in both NYC and Orlando, FL and plans on self-releasing (with the help of his friends in the Cooling Pie Collective) his first LP, entitled Logic, in the coming months.

What the Online Illuminati have to say:

"Spencer Tricker has to have one of the most arresting voices I've heard in some time."
-SKATTERBRAIN

"[...] Spencer Tricker divides his time between New York City and Florida, all the while doing his student thing and setting down sincere sounds in bedroom- and basement-style recordings. The pleasant surprise of it is his vocal sound, which even in demos lets a little gut and world-weariness seep through."
-Hello Gina

"Spencer has a great voice and a knack for writing beautiful songs!"
-Hits in the Car

"There's something striking and beautiful in his simplicity: his arrangements, as sparse as they may be at times, accompany his voice beautifully"
-Who Needs Radio?

"More than once I’ve found myself mentally comparing Tricker’s voice to Ray Davies of the Kinks. It’s seductive but unthreatening, and pleases the ear to a perfect degree. There’s nothing synthetic about it; it’s pure, unaltered talent."
-The Whit Online (Rowan University, NJ)

Spencer will be playing several shows in NYC over the next few months with his new backing band, The Kid Syndicate. Check out the "Shows" section for more details!

The Kid Syndicate is:

Nate Bliss: the bass guitar
Julian Fader: the drums
Carlos Hernandez: lead guitar, backing vocals


Vancouver (2001-2005)

When I was 14, I started playing music with my friend Greg Sutliff. At first, our collaborations consisted of horrendous attempts to play "In Bloom" in our makeshift rehearsal space in Greg's garage. As time went by and we started to learn our instruments, we began to play a little around the Orlando area. Enter Ben Yoakum, another close friend from our trio's woeful days in Catholic school.

The three of us would mostly just jam until nightfall, not really creating anything resembling a song for some time, but eventually we began hatching ideas for tunes of our own. By around 2004 we were ready to show our schoolmates are shiny new material, and Vancouver made it's live debut at Trinity Prep High School late in the school year. The set included rough versions of songs like "Crash and Burn," "Loopholes," "Bender,"  "Shot Down," and "In a Revolving Lounge," some of which would become classics in the band's repertoir.

The show was a success, and with the enthusiastic encouragement of our friends we launched our attempt to overthrow the hardcore and punk-dominated high school scene one gig at a time. And so during the course of our senior year we played a string of shows centered around such scene landmarks as O-Zone CD's and Austin Coffee and Film, as well as the odd school function.

By now we had established a set of entirely original material, including the songs "Siberia is for Lovers," "The Royal Paper Air Force," "The Artist in the Arctic Circle," and "Shoes Tied Together," and began to think about making a record to put it on.

The result was The Royal Paper Air Force EP, recorded over two weeks at O-Zone Studios in Altamonte Springs, FL at the beginning of 2005. The EP featured the highlights of the band's current live set recorded mostly live, but with the addition of electric piano and synthesizers (who could resist!). To replicate these additions in a concert setting, we turned to Shomik Chakrabarti to play live keyboards.

Thus the final line-up of Vancouver was established, and the band played a series of shows to promote the new EP. By now the band was experimenting with heavier arrangements for it's older songs ("Loopholes," "Vancouver") and writing new riff-rockers like "Bloody Murder" and "Lying on the Floor."

But, alas, nothing gold can stay, and it soon became evident that it was nearing sunset in Vancouver. As high school wound to a close, the band played it's last shows, culminating in a farewell appearance at Orlando's then-premier indie venue, The Social, in June of 2005. The band ended, and we have since gone our separate ways, but in the words of the Jesus and Mary Chain's Reid Brothers, "We're not sad, we're glad."

Vancouver is:

Shomik Chakrabarti: keyboards
Greg Sutliff: the drums
Spencer Tricker: vocals, guitar
Ben Yoakum: the bass guitar, backing vocals

Discography:

The Royal Paper Air Force EP (2005)



Tracklist:
1. Loopholes
2. The Royal Paper Air Force
3. The Artist in the Arctic Circle
4. Crash and Burn
5. Siberia is for Lovers
6. Shoes Tied Together
7. Le Fin

Greg is in Ithaca studying Music. Ben studies Engineering in Orlando. Shomik studies  Advertising in Gainesville. Thanks everyone.