Shield
Yakima, Washington
1982 – 1986
Members
David
Gregson ~ Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Willie
Hoffee ~ Guitar
Troy
Keller ~ Drums
Tracey
Larimer ~ Vocals
Mike
Maxwell ~ Bass
David
Gregson ~ Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Willie
Hoffee ~ Guitar
Troy
Keller ~ Drums
Tracey
Larimer ~ Vocals
Mike
Maxwell ~ Bass
Shield formed a short time after the departure of Lee Johnson from Xanthus. The remaining members David Gregson, Mike Maxwell and Troy Keller took only a short break before gathering again to jam. A close friend of David's, Tracey Larimer, was invited to join as vocalist and front man along with ex-Xanthus photographer Willie Hoffee on guitar. Willie had made a deal with Xanthus to provide photos from live gigs in exchange for guitar lessons, which molded him for the job when the time came.
With already having the original material written by David during Xanthus as well as new material he had and would continue to create, Shield was soon playing live shows. They mixed an even harder rock combination of originals and Heavy Metal covers than before.
From grange shows to parties and local events, Shield had a large loyal following that caused most shows to end by way of law enforcement. They even caused a Yakima County ordinance that forced all grange events that provided live music to require a sheriff's presence. (That really sucked!)
The Shield lineup mainly stayed the same but with Willie's time in the US Coast Guard they played several shows with one guitarist and even a few as a three piece with just David, Mike and Troy while Tracey was making a career as an Alaskan crab fisherman.
After David completed Telecom at Perry Tech in 1986, talk was made of moving the band to Seattle but this would not come to be.
A few years later Shield performed a last minute surprise guest show at Colors with David doing vocals and guitar, Willie playing bass and Troy on drums.
Years later, the band reunited to record in Willie Hoffee’s garage and first location of Hearing Hole Studio. Six originals were recorded but Tracey was not available for vocals.David Gregson, July 2012
Some of the other Pacific Northwest music groups represented in members and crew of this group include: Xanthus, UHF and many other NW bands
