Music >> Artists >> Rock

Cracker

December 9th, 2014

Formed:
1991 in Redlands, CA

Genre:
Rock

Years Active:
'90s, '00s, '10s






Cracker

Biography

During Cracker's heyday in the 1990s, the Virginia-based band molded elements of alternative pop/rock and country into several irreverent, buzzworthy anthems. Singer/guitarist David Lowery made no attempt to mask his affinity for traditional roots music, but his own background was far from traditional, as he spent the '80s fronting the quirky alternative outfit Camper Van Beethoven. Shortly after Camper Van Beethoven embarked on a long hiatus in 1990, Lowery began demoing new material with guitarist Johnny Hickman and bassist Davey Faragher. The three musicians named the project Cracker (although several of those early demos would later surface under the title David Lowery Demo Mixes) and set up their headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. By 1991, the band had signed a recording contract with Virgin Records and enlisted the help of several drummers (Jim Keltner, Rick Jaeger, and Phil Jones), all of whom helped shape the sound of Cracker's debut album.. Cracker released their self-titled debut in 1992. Filled with guitar-driven rock songs and gravelly vocals, the album established Cracker's presence in the rock arena, and "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" became a number one modern rock single. A year later, the sophomore effort Kerosene Hat spawned another popular MTV/radio hit with "Low," which charted in the U.K. and also cracked the pop charts in America. The album went platinum as a result. By the time Golden Age arrived in 1996, however, the band's hitmaking lineup had begun to splinter. Bassist Faragher was replaced by Bob Rupe, while the drum spot was occupied by a trio of players: Charlie Quintana, Eddie Bayers, and Johnny Hott.

Golden Age spun off another hit with "I Hate My Generation," and the band toured in support of its release. After returning home from the road, Lowery began focusing on his Richmond-based recording studio, Sound of Music, where he produced such artists as Joan Osborne, Lauren Hoffman, Magnet, Fighting Gravity, and Sparklehorse. He also co-produced the Counting Crows along with former Camper Van Beethoven producer Dennis Herring. Lowery's work wasn't limited to the music world, however, as he co-starred in director Eric Drilling's independent film River Red (also composing the film's score) and appeared in another film, director Matt Leutwyler's This Space Between Us.

By the end of the decade, Cracker seemed to have settled on a somewhat permanent lineup comprised of drummer Frank Funaro, keyboardist/accordion player Kenny Margolis, and the preexisting core of Lowery, Hickman, and Rupe. This version of the band issued 1998's Gentleman's Blues, a more reflective album that saw the musicians paying homage to Southern rock and blues. Camper Van Beethoven unexpectedly re-formed shortly thereafter, and Lowery began splitting his time between both bands, whose other members frequently joined whichever group was on the road.

Cracker (along with select musicians from CVB) issued a live album, 2001's Traveling Apothecary Show & Revue, and Cracker followed its release with Forever (2002) and a rowdy set of country covers called Countrysides in 2003. The latter album also marked Cracker's first effort as an independent band, as they had recently left the Virgin roster. Three years later, Cracker returned (this time via the U.K.-based indie label Cooking Vinyl) with Greenland, which featured help from guest artists David Immerglück and Mark Linkous. Another concert release, Live in Berlin, December 2006, arrived in 2008, and the studio effort Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, which cracked Billboard's Top 200 chart, followed one year later. That same year the band went on a tour of Iraq, playing for U.S. troops while working on the "Yalla Yalla" video, which was produced by compiling YouTube videos of American soldiers stationed overseas. Public radio network NPR profiled the tour on their weekly series The Show. A year later, the band played a series of sold-out shows with Camper Van Beethoven dubbed the 2010 Traveling Apothecary Tour.

In 2014, the core Cracker trio of Lowery, Hickman, and Faragher returned to the recording studio, joined by drummer Michael Urbano and keyboardist Thayer Sarrano. By the year's end, the group had released an ambitious two-disc set, Berkeley to Bakersfield, with the "Berkeley" disc devoted to Cracker's trademark brand of alternative rock and the "Bakersfield" chapter finding the band once again digging into their country influences with the help of a handful of guest musicians. ~ Andrew Leahey & Greg Prato, Rovi

Top Albums


1. Berkeley to ..
Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey, Cracker
2. Sunrise In t..
Kerosene Hat, Cracker
3. Kerosene Hat
Countrysides, Cracker
4. Countrysides
Live At The Crossroads/Rockpalast Festival, Cracker
5. Live At The ..
Get On With It - The Best of Cracker, Cracker
6. Get On With ..
Cracker, Cracker
7. Cracker
Gentleman's Blues, Cracker
8. Gentleman's ..
Greenland, Cracker
9. Greenland
Redux - the Best of Cracker, Cracker
10. Redux - the ..
The Golden Age, Cracker
11. The Golden A..
Forever, Cracker
12. Forever
Countrysides, Cracker
13. Countrysides

Top Songs

NameAlbumTimePrice
1.
LowKerosene Hat4:36$1.29
2.
Waited My Whole LifeBerkeley to Bakersfield4:13$1.29
3.
Almond GroveBerkeley to Bakersfield4:35$1.29
4.
Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now..Cracker4:14$1.29
5.
Get Off ThisKerosene Hat4:26$1.29
6.
When You Come DownBerkeley to Bakersfield4:04$1.29
7.
King of BakersfieldBerkeley to Bakersfield4:57$1.29
8.
California Country BoyBerkeley to Bakersfield3:13$1.29
9.
ReactionBerkeley to Bakersfield2:38$1.29
10.
Ain't Gonna Suck ItselfCountrysides5:49$0.99
11.
Buenas Noches from a Lonely RoomCountrysides3:46$0.99
12.
Reasons to QuitCountrysides3:28$0.99
13.
Bottle Let Me DownCountrysides4:40$0.99
14.
Family TraditionCountrysides4:41$0.99
15.
Sinaloa CowboysCountrysides3:52$0.99
16.
Up Against the Wall Redneck MothersCountrysides4:09$0.99
17.
Duty FreeCountrysides5:51$0.99
18.
Truckload of ArtCountrysides3:42$0.99
19.
Ain't That StrangeBest of Indie Roots4:07$0.99
20.
Guarded By MonkeysGet On With It - The Best o..4:23$1.29
21.
ShineGet On With It - The Best o..4:22$1.29
22.
Good LifeGet On With It - The Best o..3:49$1.29
23.
World Is MineGet On With It - The Best o..3:40$1.29
24.
Sweet Thistle PieGet On With It - The Best o..5:01$1.29
25.
Big DipperGet On With It - The Best o..5:40$1.29

Top Music Videos

Low, Cracker
1. Low
Low (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
2. Low (Live At ...
Euro-Trash Girl, Cracker
3. Euro-Trash Gi...
I See the Light (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
4. I See the Lig...
Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now), Cracker
5. Teen Angst (W...
I Hate My Generation, Cracker
6. I Hate My Gen...
Euro-Trash Girl (Live at the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
7. Euro-Trash Gi...
Mr. Wrong (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
8. Mr. Wrong (Li...
Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now) [Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.], Cracker
9. Teen Angst (W...
Movie Star (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
10. Movie Star (L...
This Is Cracker Soul (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
11. This Is Crack...
Low, Cracker
12. Low
Let's Go for a Ride (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
13. Let's Go for ...
Lonesome Johnny Blues (Live At the Ogden Theatre, Denver CO.), Cracker
14. Lonesome John...


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