Tracker - RIP

Today I got the news that my friend Kyle Brown, otherwise known throughout the world as Tracker, died two weeks ago.

Tracker was one of the few people who I grew up with in Sacramento that knew very much about me and what's interesting was that I don't ever remember having to explain or sort myself out to him.

I met Tracker at an underground club no doubt; he was the big black dude amongst a bunch of skinny, pale new wave kids. He looked after the girls; I remember that. And Tracker knew without question how much music meant to me. This was something that we shared.

While I was working for Tower Records in Boston (after having left Sacramento), Tracker showed up in my life again vis a via a self portrait in sharpie on a piece of cardboard that got shipped from MTS in Sacramento where he worked to the basement of my store in Boston. It read, 'To Stacia Yo, Ho! Tracker'. I remember wandering down to the basement of the store one day only to find this little message sitting on the floor waiting for me to stumble across it. It made me smile, it made me feel like someone from my home missed and remembered me.

While I was working for CMJ in New York City, an instant message window with an unfamiliar name popped up on my monitor. Boom! A decade later there was Tracker. We picked up right where we left off talking about music, he sent me some of his stuff to listen to and asked for my opinions, was quick to tell me how much they meant to him given my love and devotion to music. He made me feel terrific and he made me feel understood.

Thank you Tracker - you are missed, loved and will be remembered.