David Lowery

All Music Guide:

With his band Camper Van Beethoven, vocalist David Lowery was college radio's preeminent smart aleck in the mid-to-late '80s, writing goofy, witty songs delivered with his trademark slacker whine. Although in retrospect not as acknowledged in pioneering American alternative rock as R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe or Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Lowery embodied the independent spirit of college music with his unpolished, nasally vocals and irreverent, sometimes surrealistic lyrics.

Born in Texas on September 10, 1960, Lowery was a military brat, constantly relocating to different locales with his family until moving to Redlands, CA, where he attended high school. Lowery formed Camper Van Beethoven in Santa Cruz, CA, with Chris Molla (guitar), Chris Pedersen (drums), Victor Krummenacher (bass), Greg Lisher (guitar), and Jonathan Segel (mandolin, violin, keyboards). The band's 1985 debut LP, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, was hailed by critics and became an instant college-radio classic. The oddball cult hit "Take the Skinheads Bowling" eventually took a life of its own, immortalized on '80s flashback radio programs and compilation CDs.

Along with R.E.M. and the Replacements, Camper Van Beethoven were among a handful of American underground acts that prevented U.K. post-punk groups from completely dominating campus left-of-the-dial stations. Unlike those other two bands, though, Camper Van Beethoven weren't treated as seriously, praised for their genre-bending clash of punk, country, and folk but not viewed as making important, revolutionary contributions to rock & roll. Camper Van Beethoven had little success outside of the college circuit; they were too quirky and unpredictable for mainstream audiences. In 1989, accusations of selling out to AOR radio arrived with the group's slick and FM-friendly cover of Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men." The remake elevated them to regular rotation status on MTV; however, the band soon split up.

A year later, Lowery created a new band, Cracker, with guitarist Johnny Hickman and bassist Davey Faragher. Jettisoning the weirdness of Camper Van Beethoven, Lowery opted for more of a straightforward rock sound. Consequently, Cracker developed a much bigger following and scored a number of MTV and radio smashes such as "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" and "Low." Despite his increasingly commercial approach, Lowery's tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic observations remained intact.

Wikipedia:

David Lowery (born September 10, 1960) is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker. Lowery released his first solo record, The Palace Guards, on February 2, 2011 via the 429 Records label.

Lowery was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of a career Air Force father. His family moved around a great deal during his youth before finally settling in Redlands, California, where he attended high school. Lowery formed Camper Van Beethoven in Santa Cruz, California. The band is best known for their cover of the Status Quo song "Pictures of Matchstick Men" from the Key Lime Pie LP and their original composition "Take the Skinheads Bowling" from the band's 1985 debut LP, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, later featured in the Michael Moore movie Bowling for Columbine.

In the early 1990s, Lowery formed Cracker with guitarist and long-time friend Johnny Hickman, and bassist Davey Faragher. Cracker rejected the indie-rock sound of Camper Van Beethoven in favor of a more traditional, roots rock sound. Cracker's biggest hits were "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" from its eponymous LP released in 1992, and "Low" from 1993's Kerosene Hat. Cracker continues to perform today, although Lowery has also re-formed Camper Van Beethoven, which released a cover of the entire Fleetwood Mac album Tusk in 2002 and a new album of original music, New Roman Times in 2004. Cracker was still touring throughout the USA during the summer of 2009, Camper Van Beethoven followed with several California shows in September, and early 2010 saw a double bill with both bands together.

Lowery has also done work as a producer at Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, Virginia, working on records by Sparklehorse, Counting Crows, Lauren Hoffman, September 67, Wormburner, L.P.(iamlp.com), Tea Leaf Green, and others. David, along with Ian Solla-Yates of WNRN started RadioVA with Sound of Music in May 2010, an interview program hosted by David that has featured The Hold Steady, Drive-By Truckers, Minus the Bear and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

On September 13, 2010, David married Velena Vego. Vego has been the manager for both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven since 2004. She is also the Talent Buyer of the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA and Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, GA.

Lowery is a trained mathematician who has worked as a "quant" (a derivatives trader and financial analyst) and has started a large number of music-related businesses, including a studio, a record company and a publishing company. Lowery's extensive experience in business led to his appointment as a lecturer in the University of Georgia's music business program.