Tracy Thornton

Born in North Carolina, Tracy Thornton first took up sticks at fifteen during the mid-eighties. Early on he served as a straight-ahead drummer for hard-rock outfits such as Soul Society, whose 1990 album Here We All documented that period, and Toxic Popsickle, which released Something to Suck On in 1991 and Friends of Zid the next year; he also appeared with the ska band Otis Reem on The Prophet in 1999. Over time his focus broadened to Caribbean rhythms and a wider range of hand drums. He performed with the reggae/calypso unit Trinidad North and played djembe and djun djun in Rhythms of Life, the West African ensemble directed by drum master Kahlid Saleem. Once he concentrated on steelpan, Thornton cut his first solo album, Steelin' Christmas, in 1994 and started the calypso/jazz project Been Caught Steelin', which delivered its self-titled debut in 1996 and Steel and Brass the following year. He later assembled the steel-drum band Sons of Steel, whose recordings include Outta the Blue (1999) and Carpe Diem (2000). A self-taught player, Thornton has long taught others through what he terms his “drill and kill to skill” method. His second solo album, Just Me and My Pan, arrived in 2002, followed in 2005 by Pan for Punks: A Steelpan Tribute to the Ramones.