Cracker (band)

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Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring Johnny Hickman and Camper Van Beethoven singer and guitarist David Lowery. They are best known for the hit songs "Low," "Eurotrash Girl," "Get Off This" and "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)". In 1993, Cracker contributed the song "Good Times Bad Times" to the Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin (which was recorded after their rendition of "When the Levee Breaks" was deemed "too weird").

Cracker mixes influences and sounds ranging from classic country music, psychedelia, punk and folk into their brand of "Americana" style rock.

Contents

[edit] Experiences

Shortly after Camper Van Beethoven called it quits in 1990, Lowery began demoing material along with guitarist Johnny Hickman and bassist Davey Faragher, eventually going by the name Cracker.

By 1991, the newly formed band had signed a recording contract with Virgin Records and enlisted the help of several drummers/percussionists (Jim Keltner, Rick Jaeger, and Phil Jones), issuing their self-titled debut in 1992, which featured radio hit "Teen Angst." A year later, Cracker issued their best-known album, Kerosene Hat, which spawned the hit "Low."

Three years later, The Golden Age was released, with "I Hate My Generation" as the lead single. However, the music scene was shifting away from guitar-driven alternative rock, and the single and album did poorly. The band tried again in 1998 with Gentleman's Blues featuring "The Good Life" as the lead single, but again the album sold poorly.

A compilation called Garage D'Or was released in 2000, with one disc of "greatest hits" and three new songs, and another with outtakes, soundtrack contributions, demos and other obscurities. In 2002, the band released another studio album, Forever which, once again, was met with limited commercial and critical success.

Cracker's auxiliary personnel underwent numerous changes during the late '90s and early 2000s. The group left Virgin in 2003 with the independent release Countrysides. A collaboration with bluegrass band Leftover Salmon, Oh Cracker, Where Art Thou? (2003), contained bluegrass versions of old Cracker songs.

The band's most recent studio album Greenland was released on June 6, 2006, and despite slow sales, was embraced by the band's fans as a return to form, and is largely considered their best record since Kerosene Hat.

[edit] Current members

  • David Lowery - Guitar/Vocals (1990-Present)
  • Johnny Hickman - Lead Guitar (1990-Present)
  • Frank Funaro - Drums (1996-Present)
  • Kenny Margolis - Keyboards, Accordion (1996-Present)
  • Sal Maida - Bass (2006-Present)

[edit] Former members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles & EPs

  • "Tucson" (1993)
  • "Low" (1993)
  • "Get Off This" (1994)
  • "Euro-Trash Girl" (1994)
  • "I Hate My Generation" (1996)
  • "Nothing To Believe In" (1996)
  • "The Good Life" (1998)
  • "The World Is Mine" (1998)
  • "Shine" (2002)
  • "Merry Christmas, Emily" (2002)
  • "Something You Ain't Got" (2006)
  • "Give Me One More Chance" (2006)
  • "Everybody Gets One For Free" (2006)

[edit] Charting Songs

Year Title Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Mainstream Rock UK Singles Chart
1992 " Happy Birthday to Me" - 13 - - Cracker
1992 "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" 1 27 Cracker
1993 "Low" 64 3 5 Kerosene Hat
1994 "Euro Trash Girl" 25 Kerosene Hat
1994 "Get Off This" 6 18 Kerosene Hat
1996 "I Hate My Generation" 13 24 "The Golden Age"
1996 "Nothing to Believe in" 32 40 "The Golden Age"
1996 "Sweet Thistle Pie" 33 "The Golden Age"

Compilations:

  • The Virgin Years (1995) with Camper Van Beethoven
  • Garage D'Or (2000) 2 disc Greatest Hits Album and oddities collection
  • Hello, Cleveland! Live at the Metro (2002)
  • Get On With It: The Best of Cracker (2006) Virgin Records greatest hits collection (Not authorized by the band)
  • Greatest Hits Redux (2006) Band authorized re-recordings of major hits

Tributes:

[edit] External links