David Lowery doesn’t play by the rules—and, frankly, never has. Whether fronting Camper Van Beethoven or Cracker, the singer-songwriter has made a career out of zigging when the industry zags. From mushroom-fueled record deals to crafting Americana rock at the height of grunge, Lowery’s stories read like the ultimate behind-the-scenes exposé of the music industry.
“It wasn’t necessarily the goal to be on a major label,” Lowery says of Camper Van Beethoven’s unlikely Virgin Records deal in 1988. “We didn’t fit with punk or indie at the time. Honestly, even having any sort of record deal felt like a trip.” That deal, he reveals, was the result of two Virgin execs tripping on mushrooms during a Camper Van Beethoven show. “They were so freaked out by these guys dressed like jesters playing horns on top of speakers, they signed us the next week,” he laughs. “Completely irrational, but that’s how the music business worked back then.”
Lowery’s sardonic wit and knack for storytelling are as much a part of his identity as his music. He teaches music business courses now and regularly uses his own career as a case study. “Back then, labels signed you on gut instinct. There was no Big Data or market research. It was all about finding what people didn’t know they wanted yet. That’s gone now.”
By the time Cracker hit its stride in the early ’90s, Lowery was once again out of sync with the zeitgeist—intentionally so. “Kerosene Hat came out at the height of grunge,” he says of Cracker’s 1993 breakout album. “We were doing Americana and Southern rock with British influences. It was completely improbable.” The album’s hit single, “Low,” wasn’t even supposed to be a single. “The label didn’t think it would work on radio. They literally had me sign a letter saying it wasn’t a drug song so they could send it to stations.”
“Gentleman’s Blues,” Cracker’s 1998 album, is one he describes as the band fully embracing its classic rock roots. “We were done pretending we were ‘alternative.’ We brought in Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and it just clicked. Benmont’s parts made some songs better than we could’ve imagined.”
The industry, however, wasn’t as kind to Gentleman’s Blues. “Nobody cared,” Lowery admits. “It was the Limp Bizkit era, and here we were making an album that leaned heavily on roots rock. But looking back, it’s one of my favorites.”
Despite the ever-changing trends, Lowery’s philosophy remains steadfast: make the music you want to hear, not what you think people want. “I’d rather be standing like the last rock band on the planet than chasing whatever’s trending.”
What’s next for Lowery? He’s tight-lipped but hints at more music for both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, though don’t expect it anytime soon. “I just finished my dissertation for a doctorate,” he says. “It’s slowed things down, but I’d like to do another run of albums like we did in the early 2010s—a Cracker album, a Camper Van album, maybe even a solo record. We’ll see.”
Until then, Lowery remains one of the music industry’s most fascinating contrarians—a storyteller who’s lived it all and isn’t afraid to tell you exactly how it went down.
Listen to the interview above and then check out some classics below:
