Cracker with Camper Van Beethoven - The Middle East, Cambridge MA (January 16, 2010) It's not often that a musician gets to open for himself, but I've now seen this neat trick played out twice in the last four months, as David Lowery sang with Camper Van Beethoven prior to Cracker handling closing duties (Lou Barlow was the other instance, doing a solo set prior to Dinosaur Jr.). Expanding on the...
Photo courtesy of Pavement PR Between Cracker tonight and Gordon Gano tomorrow , alternative rock is well represented at World Cafe Live this week. For those who weren't there or don't remember, Cracker ( MySpace ) was an interesting ingredient in the modern rock mix in the early 1990s, thriving off the guitar-heavy alternative scene while not adhering to the usual Seattle grunge recipe of the time...
The call was scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, New Year's Day. That was 2 p.m. in Denver, probably not the best time, or season, for a rock star. The email came in about 3:45 p.m., noting that Cracker guitarist and co-founder Johnny Hickman was in no shape – after a night of having "done Keith Richards proud" – to chat.
A struggling musician is lucky to strike gold one time in the music industry, a place where there are multiple failures for every success story. However, David Lowery has been fortunate enough to experience the latter twice — first as a part of '80s underground alternative rockers Camper Va...
PLAN A: Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Benefit Concert @ Hilton Bayfront. The San Diego Chapter of the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program has assembled a first-rate lineup of local talent to play its First Annual Benefit Concert. Sean and Sara Watkins from Nickel Creek, Get Back Loretta, Gregory Page and Molly Jenson will take the stage to [...]
And Pluck Your Strings lists the 20 most anticipated albums of 2010. The CBC lists the biggest publishing stories of 2009. The Nashville Scene examines the "indie-fication of metal" in 2009. Cracker's David Lowery talks to the North County Times...
Ike Reilly is back. The Illinois singer/songwriter/rocker is a personal favorite, ever since his 2004 masterpiece Sparkle in the Finish made its way to the top of my list that year. Reilly is one of our best poets, coming at things from his hard-drinking, hard-living, Irish-American perspective; he's the musical equivalent of Tommy Gavin . Reilly isn't a power popper per se , but power pop is part...
Ike Reilly’s (Myspace / Official) Poison the Hit Parade was one of my favorite albums from a couple of years back. Reilly’s mix of rock, funk, country and blues wrapped around lyrics stocked with wit and venom made for an enjoyable listen. Reilly’s new record, Hard Luck Stories (Rock Ridge) doesn’t seem to be any different after the initial [...]
David Lowry has been making roots rock inspired indie music for more than a quarter century. Between his work with Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker he has made some of the most memorable, funny, and catchy songs of my lifetime. Finally Lowry returns, with guitarist Johnny Hickman and company in tow, with Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey , Cracker's eighth studio album. This new album sees the...
At its best, rock-n-roll in fiction brings music’s visceral immediacy to the page. Upon finishing Ben Greenman's novel "Please Step Back," I wanted to hear the band it describes: a groundbreaking group active in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven) on Athens: "Its intellectual energies have never been spent on creating material things. You can play in a band, and work a part time job, and not have a car, and ride your bike to work—to me that’s civilization. ” From Flagpole .
By Daniel Brielmaier Cracker played the Wisconsin State Fair Friday, but I missed that show. Instead I was in Minnesota this weekend for a family party, and as luck would have it, they played First Avenue in Minneapolis Saturday night. It was the perfect intermission from the family events. Their new album Sunrise in the [...]
but give a listen to Johntotaro.com. He’s playing with Cracker in Charleston, SC on 7/31. As you may know, Cracker is headlining the August Waterfront Wednesday. David Lowery produced John’s latest record, Vice Presidential Pardons . …Page 2
In 1990, when the legendary Camper Van Beethoven broke up, it must've seemed inconceivable that singer/guitarist David Lowery would ever front a band as initially straight ahead-sounding as Cracker. Where Camper was known for its zany, offbeat wit and rollicking stage presentation, Cracker’...
The 2009 Bonnaroo music festival live show downloads page has been posted, and includes sets by Phish, Wilco, Portugal. The Man, and many more acts. I will be updating the page daily for a month or so, until the shows...
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