Jeff and Austin
Short Sirkit
Fort Lewis, Washington
1978
Members
Austin
"Beanpole" Majors ~ Bass, Vocals
Jeff
Morgan ~ Guitar, Drums, Bass, Vocals
Ken
Trader ~ Guitar, Vocals
Kevin
? ~ Drums
?
~ Guitar
Ken Trader
Austin
"Beanpole" Majors ~ Bass, Vocals
Jeff
Morgan ~ Guitar, Drums, Bass, Vocals
Ken
Trader ~ Guitar, Vocals
Kevin
? ~ Drums
?
~ Guitar
Ken Trader
Short Sirkit was made up of GIs stationed at Ft. Lewis Washington in 1978. The band leader was Ken Trader (originally from Florida), who was a childhood friend of Damon Titus, who eventually wound up in Seattle punk icons The Enemy.
The main band was a four-piece, made up of the above members, though Jeff Morgan also played drums, as well as bass. I was a guitarist who happened to be rehearsing by myself at a recreation center on Ft. Lewis, often times in a rehearsal room right next to Short Sirkit. I heard their music so much that I started learning how to play their songs by ear.... so one evening Ken came in to ask me if I would be interested in joining the band on bass. This was about May of 1978. It seems they had a lead guitarist who, though very good, had a style that was not what Ken was looking for. He was asked to leave when I joined on bass. Jeff had been playing bass, but switched to guitar and occasionally drums at that time.
We played all around Ft. Lewis that summer, and got our first real break in the Seattle scene opening for The Enemy at Bugsy's Tavern in the Pioneer Square area. We played there a few more times, once with The Refuzors opening for us. The rest of the time we played for biker parties and for various Army Recreational events.
We played the hard rock of the time.... some covers (REO Speedwagon, Ted Nugent, Steppenwolf) but many originals, pretty much all composed by Ken.
By September of 1978, I got out of the Army and within a month had moved (against my will) back to Kansas (a long story). Who WANTS to move AWAY from Seattle? Ken, Jeff & Kevin continued on until at least December of 1978, after which I lost track of them.
About four years ago, due to the wonders of the Internet Age, I got in touch with Damon Titus to see if I could track down Ken Trader. Short Sirkit was my first real rock band, and I wanted to thank Ken for his inspiration and for the knowledge he passed on to me.
Damon got in touch with a private detective friend, who discovered that tragically, Ken had died in 1989. At least we are 99% sure that it was him, not just someone with his name.
Ken had a girlfriend named Debbie, who had a sister named Karen, and a daughter named Chrissy, who was about 3 or 4 at the time. I would love to hear from them if at all possible, however I feel the odds are against me.
Austin Majors, May 2006
