John Arthur Hickman (born September 10, 1959) is an American
musician
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
best known as the
lead guitarist and co-founder of U.S. rock band
Cracker.
Biography
Early years
Hickman is a native of
Redlands in
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...
in California's
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
. Prior to his tenure in Cracker, Hickman had stints in various California bands including
The Unforgiven and The Dangers. In the early 1990s, he co-founded Cracker with childhood friend,
David Lowery. His often imitated signature sound, influenced by punk rock, surf guitar and
"Bakersfield Country" sound, is played on a 1977 Les Paul guitar.
In addition to his role with Cracker, Hickman engages in solo work and various side projects such as the Hickman-Dalton Gang (a collaboration with Jim Dalton of
Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers and
The Railbenders), All Thumbs Trio (with
Chuck Garvey
Chuck Garvey is one of two guitarists for the American rock band moe. His playing has been influenced by Frank Zappa, Mick Ronson, David Bowie, Pete Townshend, Andy Summers, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He lives in the Cincinnati, Ohio ...
and Gibb Droll) and Crazysloth, an Arizona-based band. He has one full film score to his credit (''River Red'' (1998)), and several of the songs that he has co-written with David Lowery have been used in films.
In 2005, Hickman released his first solo album, ''Palmhenge''. On July 3, 2012 he released his second solo album, ''Tilting''.
Filmography
*1994 ''The Cowboy Way'' - writer: "Blue Danube Blues"
*1995 ''White Man's Burden'' - writer: "How Can I Live Without You"
*1996 ''The Cable Guy'' - writer: "Get Outta My Head"
*1998 ''Origin of the Species'' - writer: "I Hate My Generation"
*1998 ''River Red'' - composer
References
External links
*
Cracker's official siteRiver Red (1998)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickman, Johnny
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Guitarists from California
1956 births
Living people
Musicians from Greater Los Angeles
20th-century American guitarists
Cracker (band) members
20th-century American male musicians