Cracker

CRACKER

Formed: 1991, Richmond, Virginia

Members: Frank Funaro, drums; Johnny Hickman, guitar; David Lowery, vocals (born San Antonio, Texas, 10 October 1960); Brandy Wood, bass. Former members: Davey Faragher, bass; Kenny Margolis, keyboards; Bob Rupe, bass.

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Kerosene Hat (1993)

Hit songs since 1990: "Low," "Get Off This," "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)"

Cracker enjoyed a short run of commercial success in the early 1990s with a string of eclectic rock hits.

Cracker evolved out of Camper Van Beethoven, a 1980s band. After leaving Camper, vocalist David Lowery began recording demos with guitar player Johnny Hickman and bass player Davey Faragher. In 1991 they signed with Virgin Records and, with the help of a variety of session drummers, released their self-titled debut album the following year. Cracker featured the quirky MTV hit "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)," an uptempo folk-rock number that features the memorable hook: "What the world needs now is another folk singer / Like I need a hole in my head."

Cracker refined its sound for the follow-up album, Kerosene Hat (1993), offering up a tougher, more traditional electric guitar-based production. The band retained its celebrated lyrical quirkiness, as typified by the lead single "Low." "Low," which features spiraling electric guitars and a sprawling power-chord chorus, poses the memorable question to listeners: "Hey, don't you wanna go down, like some junkie cosmonaut?" The dizzying and drug-themed lyrics reach a climax with the song's main hook: "Being with you girl like being low / Hey, hey, hey / Like being stoned." With its catchy melody and memorable lyrics, "Low" became a staple on MTV and a minor hit on commercial radio. The follow-up "Get Off This" enjoyed similar success. Like "Low," "Get Off This" rocks in a straight-ahead manner and belies a decided funk influence; its jaded lyrics hearken to the band's previous hit "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)," with the band challenging idealists to make a difference: "Let's get off this / And get on with it / If you wanna change the world, shut yer mouth and start to spin it." On the strength of its hit singles, Kerosene Hat sold more than 1 million records.

For the remainder of the 1990s, Cracker experienced a number of lineup shifts, including the departure of original member Davey Faragher; Lowery also spent significant time away from Cracker, producing acts such as Joan Osborne, Magnet, and Sparklehorse, while also appearing in various films. On releases such as Gentleman's Blues (1998) and Forever (2002), Cracker forsook the straight-ahead rock style of Kerosene Hat and embraced its musically eclectic roots, mixing blues rock, Southern rock, and Grateful Dead-styled jams into its records. Though the albums were hailed by critics for their musical imagination, none enjoyed the commercial success of Kerosene Hat.

Cracker's time in the commercial spotlight was brief. Nevertheless, with its taut rock sound and evocative lyrics, the band offered up some of the memorable pop-rock singles of the mid-1990s.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Cracker (Virgin, 1992); Kerosene Hat (Virgin, 1993); The Golden Age (Virgin, 1996); Gentleman's Blues (Virgin, 1998); Forever (Back Porch, 2002).

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