Jon Crocker

Jon Crocker (born in Greenville, South Carolina as Jonathan Charles Crocker on October 31, 1981) is a one-man band and songwriter from California. His music is best classified as American folk music, but contains elements of indie rock, rock and roll, bluegrass, jazz, classical music, and even punk rock (best represented by his DIY ethic).
Crocker is known to play at least a dozen instruments, including piano, guitar, bass guitar, electronic organ, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, trumpet, accordion, concertina, banjolele, psaltery, and drum set, as well as other kinds of percussion, vocals, and whistling. All string instruments are played left-handed, with the strings upside down.
He currently releases his albums either as self-releases or through Greydawn Records, which is a DIY subsidiary of Greyday Productions and is distributed by NAIL Distribution. As of 2008, he has begun working with Bluetint Records of Laconia, NH.

Touring

In early 2004 he began touring, and has not slowed down to date, having completed several tours of the United States (including shows in Canada and Hawaii), as well tours of Europe, all done in a DIY fashion. He uses many methods of transportation for touring, including trains, ferries, bus, hitchhiking, walking, hopping, skipping, and his (former) 1992 Mazda 626.

Tall Tales

Crocker is the subject of many modern tall tales, most of which are stories that involve his famous beard, climbing mountains, or "porking babes". These tales are spread by word of mouth and are fairly common throughout the internet, mostly via myspace.com. These are quite similar to popular "facts" about figures such as Chuck Norris and Vin Diesel. Some examples are as follows:

"One time Jon Crocker was enjoying a cup of soup on the beach of an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean (he discovered it that day while rafting through the raging ocean waters). He was just finishing his soup and getting ready to embark to a nearby island (where he was to be performing that evening) and had just pushed off his raft when suddenly a giant shark emerged from the waters below and knocked Jon off of his small one-man raft. Jon remained calm and began treading water. After circling around and around and still being unable to spot his raft, it seemed that this might be the end for him, as he saw the shark's menacing fin heading directly for him. However, the shark didn't count on this human being so crafty and strong. When the shark approached Jon, he opened his mouth wide to swallow Jon whole. Jon karate kicked the shark directly in the face and hopped on top of the shark. Using a makeshift rope that he had fashioned from the hairs of his beard, Jon lassoed the shark and, much like riding a horse, Jon made the beast take him to his island destination. Later that night at the show, Jon used the shark for percussion during his set by stomping loudly all over the beached shark, thus killing the shark and giving the islanders food for a month. There is now a shrine to Jon Crocker on this remote island." [ [http://www.myspace.com/joncrocker MySpace.com - jon crocker - in the mountains or by the water...out west - Folk / Punk / Americana - www.myspace.com/joncrocker ] ]

"One time, a tribe of angry native Americans tried to lay claim to a small town in western Virginia. Jon Crocker just so happened to be in the area that day climbing a mountain after a show he played. Using his super-vision (which could easily be compared to a modern day telescope) he saw the tribe attacking the town. Jon quickly plucked one hair from his enormous beard, attached it to his mountain climbing stick and, using this contraption as a hunting bow, began firing arrows down the mountain at the tribe (Jon often carries a quiver of arrows with him). Within mere minutes, Jon had singlehandedly taken out the entire war party and saved the town. There is now a statue of Jon in this small town." [ [http://www.myspace.com/robot40 MySpace.com - The Robot 40 Podcast - 69 - Garçon - Cleveland, Ohio - www.myspace.com/robot40 ] ]

Mountain Climbing

Jon has many hobbies, but he is an avid mountain walker. A partial list of those he has summited:

Mt. Whitney (CA highpoint, Sierra Nevada, 14,494 ft.)
Mt. Elbert (CO highpoint, Sawatch range of the Rocky Mountains, 14,433 ft.)
Uncompahgre Peak (San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains, 14,309 ft.)
Handies Peak (San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains, 14, 048 ft.)
Mt. Muir (Sierra Nevada, 14,015 ft.)
Wheeler Peak (NM highpoint, Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains, 13,161 ft.)
Mt. Walter (Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains, 13,141 ft.)
Humphreys Peak (AZ highpoint, San Francisco Mountains, 12,633 ft.)
Frazer Mountain (Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains, 12,160 ft.)
Bull-of-the-Woods Mountain (Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains, 11,640 ft.)
Shell Mountain (Sierra Nevada, 9,900 ft.)
Guadalupe Peak (TX highpoint, Guadalupe Mountains, 8.749 ft.)
Pointe de Mossette (Swiss Alps, 7,470 ft., approached from Croix de Culet)
Harney Peak (SD highpoint, Black Hills, 7,242 ft.)
Moro Rock (Sierra Nevada, 6,725 ft.)
Mt. Mitchell (NC highpoint, Black Mountains of the Appalachian ranges, 6684 ft.)
Croix de Culet (Swiss Alps, 6,437 ft., approcahed from Les Crosets)
Craggy Pinnacle (Black Mountains of the Appalachian ranges, 5892 ft.)
Moscow Mountain (Bitterroot range of the Rocky Mountains, 4,983 ft.)
Brasstown Bald (GA highpoint, Appalachian Mountains, 4,784 ft.)
Ben Nevis (UK/scotland highpoint, Scottish Highlands, 4,409 ft.)
Mt. Mansfield (VT highpoint, Green Mountains of the Appalachian ranges, 4,393 ft.)
Mt. St. Helena (CA coast ranges, 4,339 ft.)
Mt. Sunflower (KS highpoint, 4,039 ft.)
Mt. Diablo (CA coast ranges, 3,849 ft.)
Snowdon (Wales highpoint, Cambrian Mountains, 3,560 ft.)
Saddle Mountain (OR coast ranges, 3,283 ft., winter ascent)
Slieve Donard (Northern Ireland highpoint, Mourne Mountains, 2,786 ft., from Newcastle Town Center)
Mt. Magazine (AR highpoint, Ouachita Mountains, 2,753 ft.)
Piestawa Peak (Phoenix Mountains, az, 2,608 ft.)
Mt. Tamalpais (CA coast ranges, 2,571 ft.)
Mt. Cheaha (AL highpoint, Appalachian Mountains, 2,407 ft.)
Las Trampas peak (CA coast ranges, 1,827 ft.)
High Point (NJ highpoint, Appalachian Mountains, 1,803 ft.)
Knocknagullion (County Kerry, Ireland, 1,289 ft.)
Mugu Peak (Santa Monica Mountains, CA, 1,266 ft.)

Previous Bands

Jon played in several bands before his career as a solo musician. These bands included State of Confusion, the Gnomophobes, and the Continental Light Brigade, all of which were based in southern California and featured longtime collaborater Johnny Thomas on drums.

Discography

Gnomophobes Releases:
-Call the Doctor (2002)
-Stilb at 90 (2003)

Continental Light Brigade Releases:
-The Whites of Their Eyes (2004)
-The Irresistible Nature of Truth (2004)

Jon Crocker Releases:
-Buffalo-Mein (2004) (split release with Nothroughroad)
-Songs About Trains and Other Things (2005)
-Maybe Monday Afternoon (2005)
-Edison-Free Sediment (2005)
-Death (2006)
-Edison-Free Sediment Vol. II (2006)
-Edison-Free Sediment Vol. III (2007)
-The Family Album (2007)
-7 Days, 6 Nights (2007)
-The Dust Will Settle (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.joncrocker.com Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/joncrocker Jon Crocker on myspace.com]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:qlfnzfs5ehpk~T0 Jon Crocker on the All Music Guide]
* [http://www.greydawnrecords.com Greydawn Records]
* [http://www.greydayproductions.com Greyday Records]
* [http://www.bluetintrecords.com Bluetint Records]