Trace Ritter

Trace Ritter is a native of Huntington, West Virginia, who moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to pursue a career in the music business. He studied guitar at The Guitar Institute of Technology from 1988 to 1989, then went to work at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys from 1989 to 1991, alongside bands such as Tom Petty, Nirvana, Redd Kross, Y&T, and Peter Criss of KISS.

From 1991 to 1994 he worked for Grammy-winning producer Keith Olsen — Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield, Sammy Hagar, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the Scorpions — at his studio, Goodnight LA. There he worked with bands and artists including ELP, Lynch Mob, Eddie Money, Lou Gramm, Vivian Campbell, and Ozzy Osbourne, and the list just keeps going.

In 1994, Trace began working as a professional touring guitarist for acts such as Tia Carrere, Michael Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel, and session guitarist Tim Pierce. In 1995 he started writing songs under a new project named Chalk FarM. The band signed a recording deal with Columbia Records and released its debut album, Notwithstanding, in 1996, touring with acts including the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Tonic, Better Than Ezra, Marcy Playground, and Days of the New. From 1999 to 2001 he toured as guitarist for DreamWorks recording artist KINA, and from 2003 to 2005 he recorded and toured with Gold Circle recording artist Kevin Martin and the Hi-Watts, fronted by the former Candlebox vocalist. In 2006 he was hired as guitarist for Geffen recording artist Vixtrola, and in 2010 he recorded with Dishwalla vocalist JR Richards, touring in support of Richards’ debut solo album, A Beautiful End.

In 2011 Trace opened a recording studio in Sherman Oaks, California, where he produced and mixed a number of different artists and bands — including members of Weezer, Jason Mraz, Nine Days, and Tonic — and recorded numerous spots for television, film, and commercials. In 2014 he moved to the small mountain town of Red Lodge, Montana, built a studio he named Ranch Road Recording, and recorded a number of bands and artists from all over the country.

He moved to Nashville, TN in 2018 to get back to playing guitar, started his company Top Rock Bands, and currently works with a number of tribute bands. It’s all live performance from here on.