Cracker is one of those bands that everybody thought (and some prayed) would fade away after having a big hit. For Cracker and lead singer/guitarist David Lowery, the track that made the band stick in the consciousness of music lovers everywhere was “Low,” the lead single from Cracker’s 1993 release Kerosene Hat.
“Low” was one of those songs that seemed to be everywhere, from top-40 radio to compilation CDs handed out with the purchase of a bean burrito at Taco Bell.
Overexposure is a dangerous toxin, though, and has killed many once “popular” bands. When was the last time that you heard from the Wallflowers, Counting Crows, or everybody’s favorite victim, Hootie and The Blowfish? Since Cracker is still standing, it only seemed fitting to question Lowery about the perils of overexposure and the risk that a track like “Low” innately held.
“We did worry about [overexposure] a little bit, but we had singles on the record before that and singles with my old band, Camper Van Beethoven, that got on the radio. Maybe nothing to the level that ‘Low’ did, but we sort of had some familiarity with what could happen,” Lowery recounts.
Nearly 12 years into its career, Cracker has released its sixth album, Forever. The album finds the band standing strong after weathering every kind of musical storm that a band could face, as well as being content with making music on its own terms.
Although the commercial success of Kerosene Hat hasn’t been recreated, Lowery and his longtime composing partner and Cracker co-founder Johnny Hickman don’t seem too concerned with having another big single.
“Our goal has always been just to make a living playing music and as long as we continue to do that, we are satisfied with that,” Lowery explained.
That doesn’t mean that the creative fire or personal goals of the band have changed, though. Lowery is appreciative of his stateside fans, but admits that he has more global goals with Forever.
As Lowery put it, “I do have a thing right now. We’ve always had more success in the U.S. than the rest of the world and this record is doing really good in Europe right now and this is a goal that I’ve had for a long time now. The press in Europe is going nuts for this record — the French write about us like we’re Clint Eastwood.”
Whether or not the record stacks up with Dirty Harry is debatable, but Forever is as eclectic as it is simple. Though the album won’t stick with hard-rock cronies, it does find a nice niche with fans of more earthy, folk-rock bands. Those who haven’t listened to the band in some time will probably be shocked to hear the mellow, layered approach that Cracker has pursued on its latest release.
Whereas 1996’s Golden Age featured the aggressive rock tracks like “I Hate My Generation,” Forever is a collection of softer tones. From the acoustic touches of tracks like “Brides of Neptune” and “Shine” to the Lenny Kravitz-esque rock of “Shameless,” Forever is definitely an album that isn’t reaching for commercial success as much as it is for creative peace of mind.
“Miss Santa Cruz” is by far the best track on the album and perhaps one of the most straight-ahead songs on the thirteen-song disc. One of the most personally significant songs for Lowery, “Miss Santa Cruz” recalls his past in Santa Cruz, California. “It was just a sort of little snapshot of the f*cked up people in Santa Cruz, so that had some significance to me and it was sort of a secret message to my friends that lived in Santa Cruz at that time. They get a kick out of that song, but I’m not sure if anyone else gets that song in the way that I do. But I don’t think you need to, necessarily,” Lowery said.
Enough people have “gotten” the music of Cracker that the band has been able to make music for 12 years now. According to Lowery, “I guess that’s actually the thing I’m most proud of. I’ve got a platinum record, a gold record for this thing I produced and a Juno Award [Canadian equivalent of an American Music Award. But yeah, the thing I’m most proud of is that we’ve been able to stick around for twelve years with Cracker and even longer if you add on the time with Camper Van Beethoven. So for a good fifteen years I’ve been on the road, making a living and playing music.”
Cracker seems to find its comfort zone on Forever, an album it hopes will solidify its legacy in the United States and help it reach new markets worldwide. Even if Forever doesn’t burn up the charts, it is almost a certainty that Lowery and his band mates will be back with another record — for them, it’s all about making music.
Cracker is like a two-headed monster that won’t die; its here whether you like it or not, and that kind of commitment noteworthy.
You can check out Cracker Sat. March 16 at Luther’s Blues.
