Here’s some of the amazing regional media love in for Cracker’s recent summer tour dates and annual Campout Music Festival with Camper Van Beethoven…
THE DESERT SUN (Palm Springs daily)
Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven lead Campout at Pappy’s
Bruce Fessier, The Desert Sun
THROUGH SATURDAY
High desert festival: The annual Campout may be the best little rock music festival in the desert. Emphasis on the world little.
Every year for the past 11 years, Redlands native David Lowery brings both of his bands, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, to Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown for two days and nights of music with their friends. And, since Lowery used to have a cabin near Pioneertown, he and his childhood friend, Johnny Hickman of Cracker, have lots of friends in the area.
The fraternal spirit in the outdoor crowd is like a family reunion — but one in which everybody gets along. Most of the fans know the song lists by Camper and Cracker, including hits like “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and “Euro-Trash Girl,” and then there are offshoot acts from the headline bands, including the Hickman-Dalton Gang and Jonathan Segal from Camper, and local favorite Jessika Von Rabbit. Just as important as the ambiance, you can count on the music being good.
Campout 12, featuring Kolars, Hickman-Dalton Gang and Skylar Gudasz on Thursday, Camper Van Beethoven, Jessika Von Rabbit, Jonathan Segal and more on Friday; Cracker, Ike Reilly, Whiskey Gentry and more on Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m., Pappy & Harriet’s saloon, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown. $75 for three days, $25 for Friday or Saturday only. (760) 365-5956
http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/people/brucefessierentertainment/2016/08/23/cracker-camper-van-beethoven-lead-campout-pappys/89129706/
PALM SPRINGS LIFE (Palm Springs daily)
Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven to host their 12th Annual 3-Day Campout Music Festival in Pioneertown
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, along with many other great acts, will once again be rolling into the Joshua Tree region of California later next month to co-host their 12th annual CAMPOUT music festival.
http://www.palmspringslife.com/events/cracker-camper-van-beethoven-to-host-their-12th-annual-3-day-campout-music-festival-in-pioneertown/2016-08-25/
THE DESERT SUN (Palm Springs daily)
It’s unofficially the start of the entertainment season
It’s still August, but we might as well officially pronounce this the start of the season.
There’s not one major festival, but two: Comic Con Palm Springs, with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, and Campout 12, featuring Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven.
Aug. 25-27: Campout 12, featuring Kolars, Hickman-Dalton Gang and Skylar Gudasz on Thursday, Camper Van Beethoven, Jessika Von Rabbit, Jonathan Segal and more on Friday; Cracker, Ike Reilly, Whiskey Gentry and more on Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m., Pappy & Harriet’s saloon, 53688 Pioneertown Rd, Pioneertown. $75 for three days, $25 for Friday or Saturday only. (760) 365-5956
http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2016/08/22/unofficially-start-entertainment-season/89127372/
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT (weekly)
Do the Musical Math: After a Quiet Year, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker Reconvene for the Annual Campout
Written by Brian Blueskye
It’s again that time of year when Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker and fans of both bands take over Pappy and Harriet’s for a weekend known as the “Campout.”
The 12th annual Campout will take place from Thursday, Aug. 25, to Saturday, Aug. 27.
During a recent phone interview, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker frontman David Lowery noted that the year since the last Campout has included a lot of downtime—and no new material for either band.
“This is one of the first kind of years off we’ve had,” Lowery said. “The last two years, it’s been something coming out every year.”
However, Lowery pledged that the next year won’t pass without new material: He said a new Camper Van Beethoven album is in the works.
“We haven’t even really started writing songs or anything like that, at least not in a really serious way,” he said. “There are a few things floating around, though. … We wouldn’t want to start the process of that until the late fall or early winter; 2017 is when we’ll start creating new albums. There might be some surprises later this year, but we’ll have to see.”
Even when there are no new albums or recording sessions, all of the members of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker still enjoy getting together for the Campout.
“It’s definitely going to be a lot of fun for us, given we’ve had no shows this year,” Lowery said. “It’s good to have sort of a down year where we just concentrate on the Campout.”
Each night of each Campout has a different theme. For example, in 2014, there was a punk vs. new wave night.
“One year, we had cops vs. hippies. We had cowboys and Indians one year,” Lowery said. “There was also one year where everyone wore white the first night, and black the next night, which produced the best photographs. The fans kind of come up with these themes—and I don’t really know how we ordain it.”
I asked Lowery which theme was the most memorable.
“I think cops vs. hippies was really fun,” he said. “I dressed as a cop. I shaved my beard off and had a mustache. Nobody recognized me, and I was just going around and completely fooling people. It was pretty funny, actually.”
Lowery is also well-known for his academic life; he’s a college teacher, in fact. However, he wanted to make it clear that he’s not a mathematician.
“I don’t really do too much of that anymore,” Lowery said. “I teach at the University of Georgia, and it’s basically economics and finance related to the entertainment industry. That’s what I do. There is math involved in that, but it sort of underpinned my thinking about how I analyze the music business and the entertainment industry. I am interested in mathematics, but I’m not a mathematician.”
Lowery said it’s vital that all people understand the financial side of life.
“The thing is, there’s a difference between mathematics and logical thinking. Most people intuitively understand the logic,” he said. “Even though they may not understand calculus or geometry or anything like that, they have a pretty good grasp of it. I feel like people need some mathematical backing—not really in mathematics, but (in a) mathematical financial understanding of the world. I think people make really poor decisions, like paying money up front and going debt. I think people need financial knowledge. That’s the one place you get hurt if you don’t have it.”
The Campout lineup this year includes the queen of the High Desert, Jesika Von Rabbit, as well as other great bands with which Camper and Cracker fans may already be familiar. Lowery, however, did offer a suggestion for this year’s Campout attendees.
“Some fans are pretty familiar with Ike Reilly. He’s a friend of ours and a similar style songwriter,” Lowery said. “He’s had a similar career and legacy, but maybe not as popular as Camper Van Beethoven or Cracker. He’s been around for a long time, writing straight-up roots kind of rock with clever lyrics. He’s fantastic, and we cover a song of his, and I’ve appeared on his albums. I’m looking forward to bringing him to the desert and having our West Coast fans experience him performing live.”
The 12th Annual Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven Campout takes place Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 25-27, at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $25 for one-day passes, or $75 for a three-day pass. For tickets and more information, visit www.crackersoul.com/store.
http://www.cvindependent.com/index.php/en-US/music/previews/item/3228-do-the-musical-math-after-a-quiet-year-camper-van-beethoven-and-cracker-reconvene-for-the-annual-campout
AXS (music site)
Camper Van Beethoven’s Victor Krummenacher interviews ahead of special music festival
By: Will Engel
It’s a cultural phenomenon. It’s California culture. It transcends any category, even that of rock ’n’ roll.
Here it comes. It’s the annual CAMPOUT music festival, appropriately named CAMPOUT 12, as it’s the twelfth one. California’s legendary Joshua Tree area warmly welcomes Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, and a plethora of other truly fantastic musicians. The excitement is palpable.
This event occurs at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace Aug. 25, 26 and 27, meaning that it’s all happening in the California desert, right near where Cracker famously recorded one of their most iconic albums more than twenty years ago. Relatively recent albums from Cracker as well Camper Van Beethoven showcase a continued creativity as well as their trademark notable fondness for California’s culture.
Fans excitedly wonder what music will be performed at the CAMPOUT. Yes, the recent albums add to the remarkable depth of the prolific artists’ repertoires. Furthermore, each group will also be diving much deeper in pulling out hit songs as well as comparatively obscure songs that still clearly deserve to make the cut. There is a sense that anything magical has the chance of happening in the unique atmosphere that is the CAMPOUT 12 music festival.
Here, Camper Van Beethoven’s Victor Krummenacher graciously and often humorously takes the time to interview ahead of the special CAMPOUT music festival.
AXS: What is the best thing about returning to the Campout music fest at Pappy & Harriet’s?
Victor Krummenacher: After twelve years of this, this very much seems like home and family. I don’t even know how it has happened, how so much time has elapsed. It’s not always easy to pull off all of the playing in the heat, and the logistics are fearsome, but the fact that it has worked for as along as it has is humbling. The best thing about returning to the Campout is simply that we can.
AXS: How will this year’s festival differ from previous year’s festivals?
VK: In general, we’ve realized making it predictable has helped. There are a ton of people we would like to bring in and haven’t always been able to work out, and we feel like this is our fans’ celebration of what we do. That said, there are always some special guests, and Ike Reilly is playing this year, which will be great. We’ve also got a couple of small events surrounding the festival, if people feel like coming early or staying an extra day. I think if you haven’t been to the Pioneertown area, you have to see Joshua Tree, you should maybe visit the Integraton, and in general, explore the desert a bit. It’s a cool place, and I like to support the business around the festival.
AXS: If you could convey one thing about your music to your numerous fans, what would it be?
VK: We are maybe one of the most diverse and incoherent group of musicians on the face of the planet. I’m not sure of the body count of players between Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker over thirty-three odd years, but it’s a LOT. Every one of the players has brought an association to another group of musicians, meaning we have a LOT of reference points musically that go outside the bounds of what a single band would usually give you. So don’t go into it expecting a play down the middle… we thrive on giving you the most unexpected stuff we can muster up in moment. At this point I trust in our abilities – what we’re looking for is a great moment on stage. They can’t be predicted, they can only happen. Our fans are enormously gracious and (usually) on our side. If everything goes right, we’ll find a zone that works for both the band and the audience that creates a unique and special time in space. Unless it all blows up in our face, even then it’ll all be OK – there’s an urgent care facility in town…
It’s rock and roll, it’s not supposed to be perfect, and it doesn’t work on a cell phone.
SPONSOR
http://www.axs.com/camper-van-beethoven-s-victor-krummenacher-interviews-ahead-of-special-105075
PALM SPRINGS LIFE (monthly magazine)
Campout XII Friday at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
August 26 @ 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Campout XII – Friday
Friday
Camper Van Beethoven 9:30 – 11:00 pm
Jesika Von Rabbit out side 8:30- 9:10
Jonathan Segel outside 7:30 – 8:00
Lauren & Jason from Whiskey Gentry ( 11:15 – Midnight )
Skylar Gudasz 7:00- 7:45 Inside
Doors 7:00
** Camper Van Beethoven – (Set time: 9:30 PM)
(OUTDOOR STAGE)
At the time of their 1985 debut, Camper Van Beethoven’s merging of punk, folk, ska, and world musics was truly a revelation. Self-described as “surrealist absurdist folk,” the band formed in Santa Cruz, CA, after singer/songwriter David Lowery of Redlands, CA, with his dry humor and valley-boy voice (sometimes confused for a faux English accent), and boyhood friends Chris Molla and Chris Pedersen disbanded Box o’ Laffs. Victor Krummenacher was added on bass and soon they were joined by Greg Lisher (guitar) and Jonathan Segel (violins, keyboards, mandolin). It was Segel’s violin that would prove to be the band’s hallmark at a time when alternative rock had yet to be invented, and indie rock was still shy of roots music or traditional elements.
The 1985 re-release of their debut, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, made the Top Ten in the 1986 Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll, as did their second album, II & III, and Camper Van Beethoven, both released in 1986. On II & III, they went for a purer indie rock sound with touches of country, as evidenced in their “Sad Lovers Waltz” and their cover of Sonic Youth’s “I Love Her All the Time.” The band deftly switched modes from punk to ska to rock on alternate takes, but by this time Molla had left the fold. The third album, confusingly titled Camper Van Beethoven, continued the thread, but outstanding tracks like “Joe Stalin’s Cadillac” were in the more straight-ahead indie rock vein. However, the band would consistently blow people’s minds by tossing around things like a reverent version of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive.” For its Virgin Records debut, coinciding with the label’s U.S. re-launch in 1988, the band took a more serious tack on Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart, and the group that had once been confined to low budgets and small studio facilities stretched out perhaps a little too aggressively.
For Key Lime Pie, Camper Van Beethoven’s final release in 1989, the band took it as far as it could go. Morgan Fichter had replaced Segel by this time. Krummenacher, Pedersen, and Lisher continued to play together in what began as a side project in 1985, Monks of Doom, which turned into a full-time job for them, with four albums and an EP to their credit. Though no longer working as the Monks, the trio, along with Segel and Camper touring guitarist David Immergluck, continue to play together in various formations. Jonathan Segel released three albums as Hieronymous Firebrain from 1990-1994 and two with Jack & Jill for the Magnetic label, followed by a a couple rock cds under his own name and several electronic music cds under his own name and as a duo with Dina Emerson called Chaos Butterfly. Krummenacher has released several solo records, (Out in the Heat, St. John’s Mercy, Bittersweet, Sans Soleil and Nocturne), also for Magnetic, worked with members of Tarnation in Lava, and continues to work with Bruce Kaphan on various projects. Immergluck and Fichter continue to tour and play sessions with bands of considerable renown (Counting Crows and Natalie Merchant respectively, among others); Lowery took some time off before forming Cracker, but didn’t commingle with his former bandmates until reuniting with Krummenacher and Segel in late 1999 to assemble the bizarre rarities collection Camper Van Beethoven Is Dead: Long Live Camper Van Beethoven.
In 2002, Camper Van Beethoven reunited for a nationwide tour on what seemed like a whim, occasioned by a closet-cleaning belated issue of a song-by-song cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, an album they’d recorded as a joke back in 1987. The tour must have gone really well, because unexpectedly, the full band — the original lineup of David Lowery on vocals and guitar, violinist Jonathan Segel, guitarist Greg Lisher, bassist Victor Krummenacher, and drummer Chris Pedersen, with alumni Chris Molla and Monks of Doom cohort David Immergl
** Jesika Von Rabbit – (Set time: 8:30 PM)
(OUTDOOR STAGE)
Dubbed “California’s ultimate postmodern, intergalactic pop provocateur ” by the LA Weekly, Jesika von Rabbit formed the group Gram Rabbit with partner Todd Rutherford sparking a creative force unlike any other at the time. Their debut album “Music to Start a Cult To” was released to rave reviews and the LA Weekly hailed them as LA’s Best New Artist. Momentum grew quickly landing Gram Rabbit a slot on the main stage of the Coachella Music and Art Festival while Gram Rabbit’s fan base grew steadily as they honed their live chops playing or touring with the likes of Le Tigre, Maximo Park, the Raveonettes, Satellite Party, Kinky, Ima Robot, West Indian Girl, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, The Handsome Family, The Lovemakers, Electrolane, The 88, John Doe, The English Beat, and many more. The group produced six albums and and received numerous TV and film licenses. NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, FX, BRAVO, STARZ, and MTV have all used the band’s music in shows and movies such as CSI, Life, the Real World, Sons of Anarchy, Crash, Hit & Miss, Crazy Stupid Love and War Inc., just to name a few. Gram Rabbit also landed a commercial spot for Fruit of the Loom that aired during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Their unique hybrid of psychedelic rock and electro-pop redefined and modernized the old- school labels of retro and synth-pop.
As the front woman of Gram Rabbit, and as a solo artist, Jesika von Rabbit commands the stage. With a combination of her self-penned songs, her voice, her musical and programming talents, and compelling stage presence, von Rabbit literally owns the audience during her shows.
Armed with a stockpile of songs celebrating von Rabbit’s love of electronics she has created and released her first solo album, a playful, poppy, and psychedelic ‘adult theme park-pop’ experience titled Journey Mitchell which she is supporting with an entertaining stage show featuring her entourage of ‘prairie gangsters’. After trailblazing high-desert rock as the front woman in her band Gram Rabbit, Jesika now steps out on her own with a solo project, Journey Mitchell. Part pop princess parody, part desert gypsy, Jesika takes us on a strange trip. Journey Mitchell, is laden with new wave influenced synths, keyboard melodics and infectious dance beats. But make no mistake, this is not a collection of pop songs that induce a brief sugar high; Jesika von Rabbit wants to penetrate and disturb you. The undercurrent of Gothic industrial baselines, ghostly echoes and Jesika’s hallowing voice, leaves resin in your system that will bewitch you long after the music fades.–Coachella Magazine
Jonathan Segel – (Set time: 7:30 PM)
(OUTDOOR STAGE)
Jonathan Segel started playing guitar when he was about 7 years old. At about 10 he had a crush on a girl who played violin, so he thought he’d try that too.
Unfortunately he sucked at it.
That did not stop him, however, from later playing the violin in rock bands when everybody else played guitar. Sometime around 1983 while carrying a violin across the quad at Porter College at UC Santa Cruz, he was approached by some kids who had moved their band up from Redlands, CA. This turned out to be Camper Van Beethoven and the Border Patrol.
Well, what we didn’t know is that this association was apparently for life, as Camper Van Beethoven has now made records/CDs for the past 23 or so years, and is still playing (recently touring with Built to Spill).
Through all the ups and downs of that band,Jonathan has continued to make his own records (../CDs/tapes/whatever… seems like a billion of them so far!) in a variety of genres ranging from guitar-based rock music to way-avant-garde electronic music and many places in between. In 2008 he finished a very guitar-based CD, “Honey” which is available in a limited edition of 400 hand-screened covers, then in 2012 came a limited release of “All Attractions”, which came with a bonus disc “Apricot Jam”. Both of these recent collections are very electric-guitar heavy rock music albums!
** Skylar Gudasz – (Set time: 7:00 PM)
(INDOOR STAGE)
“Sometimes a whisper can say more than all the shouting in the world.
Skylar Gudasz writes subtly evocative, quietly powerful songs, and she performs them with an understated authority that resonates deeply in the listener’s soul. The 26-year-old Durham, NC-based artist’s sublimely expressive voice and effortlessly enchanting compositions disarm cynicism and defy easy categorization, embodying a timeless blend of worldly insight and open-hearted innocence.
Although she’s yet to release a solo record, Skylar has already won considerable international acclaim, thanks in part to her spellbinding performances as part of the all-star touring Big Star Third tribute concerts, with which she’s appeared in such far-flung locales as New York, Chicago, London, Sydney and Barcelona, as well as at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX. As an unsigned unknown sharing the stage with such notable artists as Ray Davies, Robyn Hitchcock, Sharon Van Etten and members of R.E.M. and Wilco, she commanded the attention of fans and critics, as well as her fellow performers. The Sydney Morning Herald called her “the most impressive figure of the night,” while the shows’ musical director Chris Stamey noted, “She’d sing ‘Thirteen’ or ‘Dream Lover,’ and time would stop.” Indeed, the response she received from live crowds was so profound that it soon became known among her tourmates as “the Skylar effect.”
Her breakout performances in the Big Star concerts convinced Stamey (known for his work as a solo artist and with the dB’s, as well as his production for the likes of Ryan Adams and Alejandro Escovedo) to take Skylar into the recording studio, tapping the talents of noted avant-garde clarinetist Ken Vandermark, southern pop godfather Mitch Easter, Brad Cook of Megafaun, Michael Blair (Elvis Costello, Tom Waits), Casey Toll (Mt. Moriah), and several talented young musicians from the fertile Chapel Hill alt-pop scene. The resulting recordings mark Skylar Gudasz as both a unique talent and a major artist in the making.” – Scott Schinder
** Lauren & Jason from Whiskey Gentry – (Set time: 11:15 PM)
Amongst many attempts to describe The Whiskey Gentry, perhaps the best take was from Paste Magazine, who called them a “toe-tapping, steamrolling kind of band, its fingers picking deep into fields of bluegrass…with a punk-inspired kick drum.”
The Whiskey Gentry’s catchy tunes reel in listeners ranging from young music novices to wider mainstream audiences, while their musical chops earn the professional praise and respect of those with the most sophisticated of musical palates.
Initially a quintet formed by husband and wife duo Lauren Staley and Jason Morrow, the band’s 2011 debut album, Please Make Welcome, became a critically-acclaimed success, garnering official recognition as a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition held at MerleFest. While touring in support of the record, the full lineup was solidified, with Michael Smith on mandolin and Rurik Nunan on fiddle/vocals joining Chesley Lowe on banjo, and Sammy Griffin on bass.
For their 2013 sophomore effort, Holly Grove, the band once again sought the talents of engineer and co-producer John Keane (R.E.M., Uncle Tupelo). In early 2013, the band successfully rallied fans to help fund the studio sessions through a Kickstarter campaign. Local artists and established pros alike pitched in as well, creating a true ensemble effort on songs such as a duet with Butch Walker on “One Night in New York,” and cameos throughout the album by Les Hall, the Dappled Grays, and Radiolucent. Mastered by Glenn Schick (Indigo Girls, Drive-By Truckers), Holly Grove infuses elements of country, bluegrass, folk, rock, and punk with a mix of poppy and poignant lyrics, fiery and heartfelt vocals, traditional and progressive sounds, honesty, edginess, and entertainment all around.
With two studio albums under their belt, April 2014 saw the release of Live From Georgia on Goose Creek Music, which captures the raw energy and powerful stage presence fans have come to expect at live shows. Indeed The Whiskey Gentry is riding a wave of momentum. Holly Grove peaked at #16 on the Americana Radio Chart, they continue touring extensively up and down the East coast from Tampa to Boston, through Texas and Louisiana, the Midwest, and many points in between, including Europe. Luring listeners in, capturing their ears, hearts, and minds, and blazing new trails in Americana music and beyond, The Whiskey Gentry is only just warming its heels.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote that “the whiskey gentry” was “a pretentious mix of booze, failed dreams, and a terminal identity crisis.” Though they are never lacking offers from fans for a shot of whiskey, their dreams are becoming reality, their identity is distinct, their future on a steady crescendo.
http://www.palmspringslife.com/events/campout-xii-friday-at-pappy-and-harriets-pioneertown-palace/
THE RED & BLACK (Athens college weekly)
Music Notes:
Saturday, Aug. 20
Cracker
In honor of its first anniversary, the Southern Brewing Company will be hosting a party featuring long-standing rockers Cracker. The band, fronted by MBUS professor David Lowery, features a genre-bending guitar led sound. The first anniversary party at the Southern Brewing Company starts at 4 p.m. and tickets are $35.
http://www.redandblack.com/culture/music-notes-reptar-to-play-the-watt/article_a381c836-63f9-11e6-9d0e-1bce9be3ad67.html
FLAGPOLE (Athens weekly)
Saturday, August 20
Southern Brewing Company
First Anniversary Party. 4 p.m. $35. www.sobrewco.com
CRACKER Acclaimed rock group fronted by David Lowery that has explored many genres and sounds over its two-decade career.
http://flagpole.com/events/live-music
LIVE MUSIC ATHENS, GEORGIA (Athens A&E listings site) Brief show preview
Southern Brewing Company First Anniversary Party. 4 p.m. $35.
CRACKER Acclaimed rock group fronted by David Lowery that has explored many genres and sounds over its two-decade career.
THE BIG SMOOTH Bluesy acoustic tunes with soulful vocals.
SOMETHING ONCE SACRED Local heavy alternative rock trio.
http://livemusicathensga.com/music-this-week-aug-17th-thru-aug-23rd/
QRO MAGAZINE (NYC music site)
CRACKER
By Ted Chase
Before their show even started, Cracker’s David Lowery (QRO interview) joked that he was happy that his band’s fans, despite being in their forties by now, still go in the alley behind the venue to smoke weed. The fans were indeed in their forties, and the venue in front of the alley was New York’s classy City Winery (QRO venue review) on Friday, August 12th. Years removed from Cracker’s nineties heyday, the show instead was an intimate one between artists & fans.
David LoweryIntimate indeed, as it started with just Lowery on the stage. He joked that those adult Cracker fans who were smoking weed in the alley should ask their kids about fake vape pens, and their ability to hide the marijuana smoking. Lowery started the evening with “Torches and Pitchforks”, off of 2014’s Berkeley to Bakersfield (QRO review), noting that, though he had written it a few years ago (explaining that it takes awhile to go from writing a song to recording to releasing), it could be the soundtrack for today’s political scene.
This was billed as an acoustic set by Cracker, and after “Torches” on stage were just Lowery, Cracker guitarist & co-founder Johnny Hickman (QRO interview – “The nice one in the band,” as Lowery joked that people refer to Hickman), and pedal steel guitarist Pistol Stoessel (real first name: Rainbow, as Lowery still finds funny, Stoessel would occasionally leave the stage for a few songs, “to get on his vape pen…”). The early part of the set was mostly devoted to the group’s latest, Bakersfield, including “Torches”, “Almond Grove”, and “California County Boy”. With decades of existence, and their biggest hits way back when, it’s always tricky for Cracker to come up with a set list; they clearly want to play the new songs, they know crowd wants to hear the original hits, and each fan has his or her own pieces that they specifically hope to hear.
Johnny HickmanOther than the trio from Bakersfield early on, the first half of the set was largely ‘the hits’, such as “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)”, their first hit single off of their 1992 self-titled debut, and 1993 follow-up Kerosene Hat hit single “Low”. Both were given a different spin in the semi-acoustic, seated setting, less rocking, more emotional and evocative. “Dr. Bernice”, on the other hand, was just as creepy at City Winery as it was on Cracker. The setting particularly lent itself to sad, even tragic alt-country, such as Kerosene Hat Jerry Garcia cover “Loser”, or two from 1998’s Gentlemen’s Blues (a particularly tragic alt-country record), “Been Around the World” and “Wedding Day”, the latter sung by Hickman. While not Cracker’s frontman, being “the nice one in the band” has its benefits, as he got his usual many cheers of “Johnny!” from the crowd.
Of course, that when the fans weren’t singing along to all the songs that they already knew. A seated show at a winery/restaurant can naturally get a less engaged audience, more interested in their Merlot than music. But for a certain age-group, this was kind of the perfect show, where they could see an act that they’ve loved since when they would go to standing room all-ages rock shows, but now could sit down and have a fine glass of wine with their Cracker.
Pistol StoesselThe trio managed to hit up a song from every record but 2006’s Greenland, but naturally the most played were the most recent, Bakersfield, and their original ‘big hit’, Kerosene Hat, like “Low” and “I Want Everything”, the latter another sweet, sad song that gave Hickman a chance to solo. The back half had sad songs like that and “Big Dipper” (from 1996 Kerosene follow-up The Golden Age) as well as somewhat reimagined rockers such as “Hey Brett (You Know What Time It Is)” (from 2009’s Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey – QRO review) and maybe Cracker’s most beloved piece, Kerosene classic “Euro-Trash Girl”, which had the most sing-along. There was even time for one from 2003 cover album Countrysides, Ike Reilly’s “Duty Free”, which Lowery tried to explain was about people moving from one place to another and not knowing where to be – or something, as even he admitted that he probably made it more confusing…
The covers weren’t finished, as Cracker returned for an encore with Frank Sinatra’s “It Was a Very Good Year”, a wistful piece suited for the setting (and crowd), before ending back in Bakersfield with “King of Bakersfield”. And the seated audience did stand and cheer, having enjoyed an old favorite in a new way.
http://www.qromag.com/reviews/concert_reviews/cracker-2/
Additional photo gallery from the show:
http://www.qromag.com/concert_gallery/?g2_itemId=756683
BROOKLYN VEGAN (NYC music blog)
Cracker @ City Winery TONIGHT
After spending the ’80s in the college radio underground with Camper Van Beethoven, David Lowery hit alt-rock paydirt with Cracker who had a number of big hits, including “Low” and “Euro-Trash Girl.” We wouldn’t be surprised if tonight’s set featured a few CVB songs too.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/whats-going-on-friday-24/
South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) will be promoting their No Cover No Minimum radio show featuring Cracker in their monthly magazine for September. (per Matti Smith)
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION (ATL daily)
Live music picks
By Melissa Ruggieri
Cracker
In 2014, the David Lowery-fronted alt-country-rockers released “Berkeley to Bakersfield,” a double album that spotlighted two distinct areas of California — the northern Bay region and the five-hours-south Bakersfield. The “Berkeley” disc featured the original Cracker lineup — Lowery, Davey Faragher, Michael Urbano and Johnny Hickman — and focused on garage rock. The “Bakersfield” side slanted toward what the band dubbed “California country.” Both discs perfectly epitomize the eclectic nature of Cracker.
7:30 p.m. July 28. $26-$34. City Winery Atlanta, 650 North Ave., Ponce City Market, Atlanta. 615-324-1010, www.citywinery.com/atlanta/.
http://www.myajc.com/news/entertainment/music/live-music-picks/nry5T/
HOLY CITY SINNER (Charleston A&E blog)
CRACKER PLAYS THE WINDJAMMER ON JULY 29TH
MUSICJULY 4, 2016BY HOLY CITY SINNER
Credit: Bradford Jones
Alternative rock band Cracker will perform at The Windjammer on Friday, July 29th at 9 pm.
The group is further touring in support of their acclaimed double-album Berkeley To Bakersfield. The record is the band’s tenth studio effort.
The band, which was founded by singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman, is probably best known for their platinum-selling 1993 release Kerosene Hat. That album included the hit songs “Low,” “Euro-Trash Girl,” and “Get Off This.”
Tickets for the show at The Windjammer are already on sale here.
http://www.holycitysinner.com/2016/07/04/cracker-plays-the-windjammer-on-july-29th/
VAIL DAILY
Cracker returns to kick off Hot Summer Nights free concert series
VAIL — Throughout time, a musician becomes adept at reading the audience, determining what they’re in the mood for and then delivering.
That’s precisely why the members of Cracker don’t arrive at shows with a pre-determined set list. And it’s likely at least part of why the band has found sustained success for two and a half decades.
“We just get up and start playing,” said lead guitarist and founding member Johnny Hickman during a 2011 interview with the Vail Daily. “David (Lowery, lead singer) will throw out a song and we’ll do it, or someone from the audience will yell out a song and we’ll jump into it.
“I like being in a band where we walk on stage and have no idea what we’re going to do,” he continued. “You let the audience tell you. You just pay attention to the people.”
That’s just what the alt-rock band will do when they kick off this season’s Crazy Mountain Brewery Hot Summer Night concert series on Tuesday.
Fans of ’90s music will likely be singing along to hit singles like “Low,” “Get Off This,” “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)” and “Eurotrash Girl” during the show. Cracker celebrates 25 years this year and the band is still hard at work delivering the guitar-driven alternative rock fans love, having released 10 studio albums, most recently “Berkeley to Bakersfield” in late 2014.
Inevitably the songs that end up the fan favorites are the ones Hickman and Lowery write together.
“We have a certain chemistry and we realize how valuable that is,” said Hickman, who met Lowery in rural California in the ’80s, where their dads both worked on an Air Force military base.
They had similar musical upbringings as well, listening to equal shares of soul and country music. Over the years, it was frustrating for journalists and record companies to come up with a pat label to identify the band’s sound and market them, he said.
“As far as our sound, we’re a hard band to identify,” Hickman said. “You can’t put us in any genre. I’m honored when people have called us the ‘godfather of alternative rock.’ We’re equally at home opening for the Ramones or the Grateful Dead, both of which we’ve done. I’m proud of that.”
The band has played at the Hot Summer Nights concert series before — back in 2011.
“Cracker put on a stellar show for us, which is why we wanted to have them back,” said Tom Boyd, director of communications for the Vail Valley Foundation.
The music is only part of why the concert series makes it on many folks calendars week after week.
“Cracker is one of the last, great guitar-rock bands,” Boyd said. “They’d be a rippin’ show in any setting, but at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, together with a cold Crazy Mountain Brewery brew and a lot of good friends around, it’s going to be amazing.”
http://www.vaildaily.com/entertainment/22355255-113/cracker-returns-to-kick-off-hot-summer-nights
SF GATE (weekly)
Cracker will be filling the afternoon with live alternative rock tunes. Featuring original front men David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, Cracker is touring its new album “Berkeley to Bakersfield,” but you may also remember them from their hits “Euro-Trash Girl,” “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now),” and, of course, “Low.”
http://blog.sfgate.com/storystudio/2016/05/23/sierra-nevadas-beer-camp-across-america/#photo-762136
INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Daily)
5 best out-of-town summer concerts
Justin Jacobs
Cracker
6 p.m. June 10, Lincoln Amphitheatre, 15032 E. County Road 1500, Lincoln City, $19-$28, (812) 937-2329 or lincolnamphitheatre.com.
Though California band Cracker broke out in the early 90’s, they never quite fit in with the grunge scene that defined the day — their music mashed together psychedelic rock, jangly 80’s indie, twangy country, punk and more. Cracker is best known for their 1993 alternative radio hit “Low” (we know you remember: “I’ll be with you girl, like being low; hey, hey, hey, like being stoned”), but the band has released a steady flow of new music all the way to 2014’s well-received double album “Berkeley to Bakersfield.”
http://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/06/06/out-of-town-summer-concerts/82714054/
STEAMBOAT TODAY (daily)
California band returns to town Monday
By Audrey Dwyer
Steamboat Springs — Fresh off the release of a new album, the alternative rock bank Cracker will be back in town Monday to give Steamboat Springs a sampling.
Known for hits such as “Low,” “What the World Needs Now” and “Get Off This,” the band now has a new list of songs to add its repertoire from the 2014 album “Berkeley to Bakersfield,” which is a double studio album with “Berkeley” being influenced by punk rock and “Bakersfield” leaning more toward the band’s country side.
Led by singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman, Cracker has been on the road since 1990 and continues to tour today.
Blending an assortment of influences and sounds, Cracker’s songs range include rock, punk, grunge, country, blues folk and psychedelia.
Earlier this week, Steamboat Today caught up with Hickman to discuss Cracker’s influences and the process of creating a dual album such as “Berkeley to Bakersfield.”
Steamboat Today: Where does a band name like “Cracker” come from?
Johnny Hickman: It’s something we were toying around with early on. We had a bartender we really like who was African-American, and he would always say, ‘Here comes those crackers again.’ And we just thought that it would be a good name for us.
#ST: You guys are known for creating songs that derive from a variety of musical influences. Where does that initially come from?
#JH: We grew up on Air Force bases as kids and met as young guys in our teens in California’s early punk rock band days. During those early days, we would sneak off and listen to country music, too, because it wasn’t something that was mainstream at that time. As kids, a lot of music was played in our homes, like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, who was like the Johnny Cash of southern California. There was also some southern rock, too, with Hank Williams and Willie Nelson and even the Beatles. We started Cracker’s sound as one big mix of genres and didn’t really worry about what people called it. That was during the grunge period of time. But we have an eclectic style of genre mixing. A lot of it contains those elements of things that influenced us as young guys. The soul, punk rock and British rock. Country has always been there, too.
#ST: Why did you decide to do a double record — one with country, the other rock — on one album?
#JH: It was an interesting approach to separate the two works of music. At first, we thought we would do each on its own, but then, six months into it, decided to do both in one. We thought that the crazier the idea, the more we wanted to do it. It turned out to be fantastic, and the reviews and response has been great. People will get something different from each album.
#ST: What is the songwriting process like, and how did that go for “Berkeley to Bakersfield”?
#JH: I tend to write with a sense of humor with the country music side, and some of David’s are a little more serious — kind of like a poor man’s folk music. But music, to us, is storytelling, and it’s traditional genres that we really like. Country, stylistically, the sound appeals to us — always has. It’s in our bloodstream and is a natural way for us to write. At the base of it, though, is our respect for the song. We’ve known that from the beginning and were able to push the ego out of the way to recognize what would make the song work best.
#ST: The last time you were in Steamboat was in 2010 at the Ghost Ranch. What will be different about Monday’s visit?
#JH: Well, we’ve had a bit of a line-up change. Cracker has always been David and I, and we’ve incorporated and performed with different bands and people. Every time we play, though, we try to represent songs from each one of our 10 records. This time when we will be in Steamboat, we have a full new record that we will perform with our pedal steel guitar player, Matt “Pistol” Stoessel. We are glad to be back in Steamboat and really look forward to coming back and seeing familiar faces.
#Tickets for the show are $20 and can be purchased online at chieftheater.com.
#To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@ExploreSteamboat.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1
#Starting at 7 p.m., the performance “Steamboat Radio Presents: Cracker Unplugged” will take the Chief Theater stage. Doors open at 6:30.
If You Go
#What: Steamboat Radio Presents: Cracker Unplugged
#When: 7 p.m. Monday, June 6
#Where: Chief Theater, 813 Lincoln Ave.
http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2016/jun/03/california-band-cracker-will-be-back-town-monday/
REAL VAIL (Vail A&E site)
Cracker to play free Crazy Mountain Hot Summer Nights concert series opener
Over the years, a musician becomes adept at reading the audience, determining what they’re in the mood for and then delivering. That’s precisely why the members of Cracker don’t arrive at shows with a pre-determined set list. And it’s likely at least part of why the band has found sustained success for two and a half decades.
“We just get up and start playing,” said lead guitarist and founding member Johnny Hickman during a 2011 interview with the Vail Daily. “David (Lowery, lead singer) will throw out a song and we’ll do it, or someone from the audience will yell out a song and we’ll jump into it.
“I like being in a band where we walk on stage and have no idea what we’re going to do,” he continued. “You let the audience tell you. You just pay attention to the people.”
That’s just what the alt-rock band will do when they kick off this season’s Crazy Mountain Brewery Hot Summer Nights concert series on Tuesday, June 14.
Fans of ’90s music will likely be singing along to hit singles like “Low,” “Get Off This,” “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)” and “Eurotrash Girl” during the show. Cracker celebrates 25 years this year and the band is still hard at work delivering the guitar-driven alternative rock fans love, having released 10 studio albums, most recently “Berkeley to Bakersfield” in late 2014.
Inevitably the songs that end up the fan favorites are the ones Hickman and Lowery write together.
“We have a certain chemistry and we realize how valuable that is,” said Hickman who met Lowery in rural California in the ’80s, where their dads both worked on an Air Force military base. They had similar musical upbringings as well, listening to equal shares of soul and country music.
Over the years it was frustrating for journalists and record companies to come up with a pat label to identify the band’s sound and market them, he said.
“As far as our sound, we’re a hard band to identify,” Hickman said. “You can’t put us in any genre. I’m honored when people have called us the ‘godfather of alternative rock.’ We’re equally at home opening for the Ramones or the Grateful Dead, both of which we’ve done. I’m proud of that.”
The band has played at Hot Summer Nights concert series before – back in 2011.
“Cracker put on a stellar show for us, which is why we wanted to have them back,” said Tom Boyd, director of communications for the Vail Valley Foundation.
The music is only part of why the concert series makes it on many folks calendars week after week.
“Cracker is one of the last, great guitar-rock bands,” Boyd said. “They’d be a rippin’ show in any setting, but at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, together with a cold Crazy Mountain Brewery brew and a lot of good friends around, it’s going to be amazing.”
Along with great tunes, there’s another reason to attend the Crazy Mountain Brewery Hot Summer Nights concert series — the chance to score free beer for an entire year. Crazy Mountain Brewing Company, which returns as the title sponsor of the event, will award one lucky sipster a free pint of beer a day for an entire year, redeemable at either the Edwards taproom or the new Denver location at 471 Kalamath Street. Enter the raffle at each concert (one entry per person per concert) by adding your name and a valid email address. A winner will be picked during the final show, The Motet concert, set for Aug. 23.
The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is located east of Golden Peak at Ford Park in Vail. Concert attendees are asked to park at the main Vail Village parking structure, with overflow parking at the Lionshead parking structure. Free town of Vail shuttles run past Golden Peak from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with a drop off at the soccer field near the Ford Amphitheater. Additionally, a special Village-to-Village express bus runs from 4 to 9:30 p.m. with stops at the east entrance of the Lionshead parking structure, in front of the Vail Village Information Center and at Ford Park. Once in Ford Park, golf cart shuttle service is available.
Once inside the concert venue (a non-smoking venue), picnics with commercially-sealed non-alcoholic beverages are permitted, as are legless lawn chairs, blankets and umbrellas. Bikes, skateboards and dogs are prohibited at the amphitheater.
To view the entire free concert series line-up, visit www.vvf.org and follow Vail Free Concerts on Facebook. The Vail Valley Foundation produces year-round free concerts from Vail to Eagle enriching our community with various music genres from rock to country and everything in between.
IF YOU GO
What: Cracker plays the first Crazy Mountain Brewery Hot Summer Nights concert of the season.
Where: Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail.
When: Tuesday, June 14. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; show starts at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Free.
More information: Visit www.vvf.org to learn more.
http://www.realvail.com/cracker-play-free-crazy-mountain-hot-summer-nights-concert-series-opener/a3181