Cracker – big dipper

from “The Golden Age ” 1996 Shortly after Lowery’s former group Camper Van Beethoven called it quits in 1990, he began demoing material along with guitarist Johnny Hickman (formerly in The Unforgiven) and bassist Davey Faragher, eventually going by the name Cracker. A brief tour with Virginia drummer Greg Weatherford followed. The band recorded a demo tape, later nicknamed Dirty Yellow Demos by the group’s fan base, which included early versions of songs that would appear on later albums. By 1991, the newly formed band had signed a recording contract with Virgin Records and enlisted the help of several drummers/percussionists (Jim Keltner, Michael Urbano and Phil Jones), issuing their self-titled debut in 1992. The album featured the radio hit “Teen Angst”, which peaked at #1 on Modern Rock Tracks, and a second single entitled “Happy Birthday to Me”. A year later, Cracker issued their best-selling album, Kerosene Hat, which featured the hits “Low” and “Get Off This”, as well as a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Loser”. The album sold close to half a million copies. Urbano performed on Kerosene Hat and toured with Cracker before leaving the band, along with Faragher. After a short stint with Bruce Hughes, the group added Bob Rupe as bassist. 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”). Three years later, The Golden Age …