John McCrea (born June 25, 1964)[1] is an American singer and musician. He is a founding member of the band Cake.[2] He is the vocalist and primary lyricist for the band, in addition to playing acoustic guitar, vibraslap, and piano. He also programs drums and does mixing work while he and the rest of the band have produced all of their albums.
McCrea spent most of the 1980s playing in various bands or performing solo. His mid-1980s band John McCrea and the Roughousers recorded the songs "Love You Madly" and "Shadow Stabbing," which were later re-recorded by Cake (both featured on 2001's Comfort Eagle).[citation needed] This band included Michael Urbano (drums), Pete Costello (bass), and Robert Kuhlmann (guitar).
In 1985 or 1986 John McCrea, Joe Snook, Kirk Watson, and Rick Marcroft had a band called the DALAI LAMAS which distributed copies of "Some Songs Demos".
In the late 1980s, McCrea moved to Los Angeles and began playing acoustically in local coffee shops.[citation needed] His first solo release was a double-sided single on vinyl only called Rancho Seco. One side was electric and the other acoustic. The single was a protest song against the now-decommissioned nuclear power plant Rancho Seco built southeast of Sacramento.
McCrea moved back to Sacramento in 1991, forming Cake later that year.
As of 2022, McCrea resides in the Portland, Oregon area.
McCrea's voice has a distinctive "rough-around-the-edges" quality, which is especially evident when he sings in the lower part of his vocal range. He is also known for half-singing, half-speaking lyrics in many of his songs, sometimes in a kind of energetic monotone, such as the hits "The Distance" and "Never There." McCrea also commonly sings with off-beat rhythms and emphasizes the consonants in words instead of the vowels. The single "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps," is a good example of this.
Personal lifeedit
McCrea is a vocal activist for various causes, notably global warming, reforestation and world poverty.[3] He frequently uses the band's website and concerts as a platform to increase awareness about these and other issues.[4] He was a member of the board of directors of HeadCount, a non-profit organization that uses music to promote voter registration and participation.[5] He is also a founder of the Content Creators Coalition, a group of musicians and creatives that advocates for the rights of artists.[6]
McCrea either is, or has been, married and has kids as he stated in an interview "To be really honest, I had kids. My wife and I had kids."[7]
Equipmentedit
John exclusively plays a Goya GG12 acoustic guitar with under saddle pickup.
Collaborationsedit
He has collaborated with Ben Folds, singing on the track "Fred Jones, Part 2" from 2001's Rockin' the Suburbs and performing the song live with Folds and on Folds' 2002 album Ben Folds Live.
John McCrea contributed vocals to "The Headphonist," a track from Mexican rock band Kinky's 2003 Atlas album.
Referencesedit
^. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014.
^Widerhorn, Jon (November 4, 2004). "Cake Singer So Not Excited About Touring, Admits His Band Is Irrelevant". MTV News.
^Gokham, Roman (May 6, 2021). "John McCrea spreads roots with reforestation, talks 1st CAKE LP in a decade". Riff Magazine. Concord, CA. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
^"John McCrea On CAKE's First New Music Since 2011, Unionizing, Leather Jackets, And More". Stereogum. November 12, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^"Who's Who". headcount.org. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
^Sisario, Ben (February 24, 2014). "Musicians Sing for a Cause That's Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
john, mccrea, musician, other, people, named, john, mccrea, john, mccrea, disambiguation, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that,. For other people named John McCrea see John McCrea disambiguation This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources John McCrea musician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message John McCrea born June 25 1964 1 is an American singer and musician He is a founding member of the band Cake 2 He is the vocalist and primary lyricist for the band in addition to playing acoustic guitar vibraslap and piano He also programs drums and does mixing work while he and the rest of the band have produced all of their albums John McCreaMcCrea performing in 2006Background informationBorn 1964 06 25 June 25 1964 age 59 GenresAlternative rockOccupation s Vocalist musicianInstrument s Vocals guitar piano vibraslapYears active1982 presentWebsiteCakeMusic com Contents 1 Biography 2 Vocal style 3 Personal life 4 Equipment 5 Collaborations 6 ReferencesBiography editMcCrea spent most of the 1980s playing in various bands or performing solo His mid 1980s band John McCrea and the Roughousers recorded the songs Love You Madly and Shadow Stabbing which were later re recorded by Cake both featured on 2001 s Comfort Eagle citation needed This band included Michael Urbano drums Pete Costello bass and Robert Kuhlmann guitar In 1985 or 1986 John McCrea Joe Snook Kirk Watson and Rick Marcroft had a band called the DALAI LAMAS which distributed copies of Some Songs Demos In the late 1980s McCrea moved to Los Angeles and began playing acoustically in local coffee shops citation needed His first solo release was a double sided single on vinyl only called Rancho Seco One side was electric and the other acoustic The single was a protest song against the now decommissioned nuclear power plant Rancho Seco built southeast of Sacramento McCrea moved back to Sacramento in 1991 forming Cake later that year As of 2022 McCrea resides in the Portland Oregon area Vocal style editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately Find sources John McCrea musician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2024 Learn how and when to remove this template message McCrea s voice has a distinctive rough around the edges quality which is especially evident when he sings in the lower part of his vocal range He is also known for half singing half speaking lyrics in many of his songs sometimes in a kind of energetic monotone such as the hits The Distance and Never There McCrea also commonly sings with off beat rhythms and emphasizes the consonants in words instead of the vowels The single Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps is a good example of this Personal life editMcCrea is a vocal activist for various causes notably global warming reforestation and world poverty 3 He frequently uses the band s website and concerts as a platform to increase awareness about these and other issues 4 He was a member of the board of directors of HeadCount a non profit organization that uses music to promote voter registration and participation 5 He is also a founder of the Content Creators Coalition a group of musicians and creatives that advocates for the rights of artists 6 McCrea either is or has been married and has kids as he stated in an interview To be really honest I had kids My wife and I had kids 7 Equipment editJohn exclusively plays a Goya GG12 acoustic guitar with under saddle pickup Collaborations editHe has collaborated with Ben Folds singing on the track Fred Jones Part 2 from 2001 s Rockin the Suburbs and performing the song live with Folds and on Folds 2002 album Ben Folds Live John McCrea contributed vocals to The Headphonist a track from Mexican rock band Kinky s 2003 Atlas album References edit Sac History Happenings In History s Spotlight John McCrea Archived from the original on January 16 2014 Widerhorn Jon November 4 2004 Cake Singer So Not Excited About Touring Admits His Band Is Irrelevant MTV News Gokham Roman May 6 2021 John McCrea spreads roots with reforestation talks 1st CAKE LP in a decade Riff Magazine Concord CA Retrieved May 21 2021 John McCrea On CAKE s First New Music Since 2011 Unionizing Leather Jackets And More Stereogum November 12 2018 Retrieved April 23 2019 Who s Who headcount org Retrieved January 6 2022 Sisario Ben February 24 2014 Musicians Sing for a Cause That s Their Own The New York Times Retrieved December 11 2021 Interview on Stereogum November 12 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John McCrea musician amp oldid 1215181968, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
