Jon William Drenning (born April 5, 1965) is an American musician and songwriter best known for being the lead guitarist of Crimson Glory. He is also known for his work in the bands Crush and Erotic Liquid Culture.

Biography

Crimson Glory

In 1979, guitarist Ben Jackson and drummer Dana Burnell co-founded the band Pierced Arrow, which was later renamed Beowulf. This band underwent multiple lineup changes before they were later joined by Drenning, bassist Jeff Lords, and finally vocalist John Patrick McDonald, Jr., who would become professionally known as

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

, and settled on the name Crimson Glory in 1983. Since their inception, Crimson Glory have released four studio albums with Drenning and Lords being the only members to appear on each one; Drenning would also serve as the sole guitarist on their third album '' Strange and Beautiful''. Other studio members have been drummer Ravi Jahkotia and vocalist Wade Black, who appeared respectively on ''Strange and Beautiful'' and '' Astronomica''. The original lineup eventually reunited in March 2005 with tentative plans for recording a fifth album. However, Midnight passed away in 2009 at the age of 47 from a stomach aneurysm. In 2010, Crimson Glory reemerged with new vocalist

Todd La Torre Todd La Torre (; born February 19, 1974) is an American singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead singer for progressive metal band Queensrÿche, and a former lead vocalist of the bands Crimson Glory and Rising West. Originally from St. Pe ...

and tentative plans for a fifth album. The band toured for three years before La Torre parted ways with the band to join

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

, putting the band on hiatus again.

Other musical projects

When Crimson Glory first went on hiatus after a brief tour in support of ''Strange and Beautiful'' with vocalist David VanLanding filling in for Midnight, Drenning along with Lords and Jahkotia formed the short-lived projects Crush (with vocalist Billy Martinez) and Erotic Liquid Culture (with VanLanding), releasing one label-supported, self-titled album for each project.

Equipment

Drenning is a long time user of Jackson guitars, normally favoring the Rhoads model. He also uses other guitars, most notably a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top.

Personal life

Drenning and his ex-wife Danae Saree have a son and an adopted daughter. In 2005, while playing in Crush, Drenning pursued a career as football journalist, mentored by senior ESPN

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

analyst and College and Pro Football News Weekly editor Frank Ross and appearing occasionally on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

. In April 2014, Drenning was arrested on charges of conspiracy to purchase

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

Discography

;Crimson Glory → ''See Crimson Glory discography'' ;With Crush *''Crush'' (1994) (cassette only, not on label) *''Crush'' (1995) ;With Erotic Liquid Culture *''Erotic Liquid Culture'' (1996)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drenning, Jon Living people 1965 births Crimson Glory members American male guitarists American lead guitarists American hard rock musicians American heavy metal guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Erotic Liquid Culture members Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida