Jason Cruz
| Jason Alexander Cruz | |
|---|---|
 Jason Cruz in Adelaide, November 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 6, 1974 (age 42) |
| Origin | Southern California |
| Genres | Punk Rock, roots rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Lyricist, Artist |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1989—present |
| Labels | Fat Wreck Chords |
| Associated acts | Strung Out |
| Website |
amerikanblackheart.com |
Jason Alexander Cruz (born February 6, 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist of punk band, Strung Out, which formed in 1990 when he was 17 years old.[1] He is also an artist, and a poet and fronts his roots Americana band 'Jason Cruz and Howl'. His personal website showcases his various forms of original artwork (paintings as well as graphic design and photography).
Early life
Cruz grew up in and around Los Angeles. He focused his energies on art and creative writing in school and began playing with Strung Out in 1991 in Southern California.
Jason's major influences include classic artists such as Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Hank Williams Sr,William Burroughs Charles Bukowski and Bob Dylan and visual artists Robert Mcginnis and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He has said that he was influenced by the desert, dirt road swap meets and the melancholy music that his mother used to listen to when he was growing up,[2] The first concert he ever went to was Depeche Mode in 1986 when he was 12 years old then graduated to punk rock shows and skateboarding.
Jason apprenticed as a tattoo artist for two years then took up oil Painting under the moniker 'Amerikan Blackheart' and has been showing regularly in L.A. and southern California for the past four years as well as performing with his band Howl . In addition to being a song writer, musician, and artist, he has also published 3 original poems, which can be found in the collection entitled Revolution On Canvas: Poetry From The Indie Music Scene.
Cruz provided lead vocals and wrote the lyrics for T4 Project, a band made up of many well-known punk musicians, for its 2008 "Story-Based Concept Album."
On August 21, 2012, Cruz self-released his first solo record titled Loungecore under the name, Jason Cruz and Howl.
Jason currently lives in Ventura California. In July 2010 Jason welcomed daughter Sydney Echo Cruz.
Discography
Strung Out
See Strung Out for full list
- Another Day in Paradise (1994)
- Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues (1996)
- The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat (1991)
- Twisted by Design (1998)
- The Element of Sonic Defiance (2000)
- An American Paradox (2002)
- Live In A Dive: Strung Out (2003)
- Exile In Oblivion (2004)
- Blackhawks Over Los Angeles (2007)
- Prototypes and Painkillers (2009)
- Agents of the Underground (2009)
- Transmission.Alpha.Delta (2015)
T4 Project
- Story-Based Concept Album (2008)
Jason Cruz and Howl
- Loungecore (2012)
- Good Man's Ruin (2014)
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110915151228/http://punkfiction.servhome.org/Strung-Out. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2012. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Apicella, Vinnie. "Strung Out: Jason Cruz; Girls, guns and caffeine bombs". CounterCulture.co.uk. Accessed June 12, 2006.