By the time the 90s rolled around just about every single drop of innovation and
revolution within hard rock circles had been zapped bone dry. Motley Crue's livewire
buzzed out, AC/DC had simply run out of blues riffs, and Def Leppard had lost their new
wave rock sensation in placement of synths and disco strategy. Sure bands kept on
releasing quality albums...just take a nod at the late albums from Winger, Warrant, and
Tesla for example. But for the most part the whole world was going grunge and leaving
behind the latecomers who simply didn't exist in the mid 80s. The fire and intensity was
still there...only the crowd wasn't.
Kik Tracee was one of these latecomers.
Hailing from the golden state of California, Kik Tracee had IT, that unbridled aptitude
for simply rekindling life and hope from a dying rock and roll society. The opposite of
grunge entirely, Kik Tracee were showmen, wrapped in denim and leather and sporting a
modern rock sound that was far more educated than the 80s classmen they were packaged
with. Kik Tracee should have been huge, should have garnered the same success as Guns N
Roses, but instead we are left asking why the proverbial spotlight never fell on one of
hard rock's best kept secrets. The band released a stellar debut with "No Rules"
(BMG/RCA) in 1991, a slick and polished hard rock sound that seemed to combine the best
elements of Van Halen and Guns N Roses while retaining a good dose of funk (think Ugly Kid
Joe) to keep it lively and fun. The record was produced by Dana Strum who was busy at the
time launching his own band Slaughter. Whether or not this was a problem remains unclear,
but the band did hit the studio again for an EP entitled "Field Trip". After
that the band split and all hope of another Kik Tracee album simply disappeared.
According to Martin Popoff in his "Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal" Kik Tracee
vocalist Stephen Shareaux eventually turned down the mic job for Motley Crue after Vince
Neil left, a spot that was filled by ex-The Scream shouter John Corabi. Shareaux was
apparently involved in a band called Flipp before joining Revel 8. After that the fog
creeps in and Shareaux is simply caught in it. The whereabouts of the rest of the band,
including Michael Marquis (guitar), Gregory Hex (guitar), Rob Grad (bass) and Johnny
Douglas (drums), is simply a mystery.
Maximum Metal is asking the metal and rock community Where Are You Kik Tracee?
In 2002 Shareaux was one of the many singers who auditioned for Slash, Duff Mckagan's and Matt Sorum's "The Project" (later dubbed Velvet Revolver) His audition was featured on the documentary "The Rise of Velvet Revolver". He submitted a track "Stripper Girl," but was rejected in favor of Scott Weiland.
Shareaux joined Flipp before creating a new psychedelic band called Revel 8 while bassist Grad is currently fronting the band Superfine and guitarist Hex pursued placements in film and TV as well as a project called Deep Audio. Shareaux also recorded with former Tomorrow's Child and Engines of Aggression guitarist Rik Schaffer under the name Nectar; their sole album, Afterglow, was released in 1997 by German-based label Dream Circle.
In 1997, Superfine appeared on the T.V. show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with Rob Grad performing as a band member on the episode, "Teacher's Pet". In 2010, Grad left Superfine and put out his solo CD.
In November 2013, Shareaux released his debut solo album, Golden; former Small Faces and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan makes a guest appearance on the song "R&R". --Wikipedia