Singing the shades of California

If you’re planning a California road trip, here’s a game to play. Try to hit up every spot artist David Lowery sings about in the band Cracker’s latest double album, Berkeley to Bakersfield. It won’t be easy.

“We’re definitely playing homage to our roots, but also something greater than that. It’s sort of the climate, culture and atmosphere of different parts of California,” said Lowery about the album. “These are almost all little essays that you could sing on your acoustic guitar. It’s closer to a Joan Didion essay than it is a rock album.”

Lowery plays at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara with both his bands, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven on Monday, December 28th. While Lowery describes Cracker as more “streamlined,” Camper Van Beethoven interweaves various melodies, influences and styles.

“We have a license to wander very far afield,” said Lowery. “We go from noise stuff to little folk ballads.” It’s collaborative, he says. “We get in one room and it’s just kind of a mess, and eventually something comes out of it.”