Jason Cropper
From Weezerpedia
| Jason Cropper | |||
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Jason Cropper (2007)
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| Background information | |||
| Born | June 27, 1971 Oakland, California, U.S. | ||
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer, songwriter | ||
| Years active | Late 1980s–present | ||
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals | ||
| Website | MySpace | ||
| Associated acts | |||
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Jason Cropper (born June 27, 1971 Oakland, California) was the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist from Weezer and also a founding member. Cropper first befriended the Stoner Avenue gang through Pat Finn. At the time, Cropper was living in northern California. At the time, Pat Finn's band Bush was missing a guitarist and Cropper was invited to fill the blank role.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Years
Cropper claimed to have picked up the guitar at age 16. His mother reports that he first "rocked" to a small 45 rpm record in his bedroom where he played "Let's Go To The Hop" by Danny and the Juniors. He was about two years old, and he loved it. He used to spend hours, as a very young child, listening to "Tommy" by The Who. He has never openly admitted what the first record he bought was, but his first "cool" album was Jimi Hendrix. He was a fan of various genres, like psychedelic, grunge, and punk. He was in various bands in his twenties before joining bands that contained the core members of what would become Weezer.
[edit] With Weezer
In early 1991, Cropper formed the Brotherhood Groove Grand Junction, but eventually moved to Los Angeles upon Pat Finn's request. Upon arrival, Cropper helped form what would become 60 Wrong Sausages taking up the role of guitar. By June 1991, Cropper, Pat Finn and Pat Wilson were all spending lots of time with Rivers Cuomo and began to form 60 Wrong Sausages.
When 60WS disbanded, Cropper helped found what would become Weezer. Originally, Cropper's role was acoustic guitar and backing vocals, but as Weezer's sound shifted Cropper set down the acoustic guitar and picked up an electric to play rhythm. Cropper wrote the famous intro guitar part to My Name Is Jonas.
While Weezer was recording their first album, Cropper's girlfriend became pregnant. Cropper was ordered to sign a gag order and to this day has not spoken about his departure from Weezer. Although the truth is clouded in legal documents, it is most likely that Cuomo asked Cropper to leave because everyone felt anxiety about his girlfriend's pregnancy. Cropper left on fairly negative terms and had little to no contact with Cuomo for over a decade.
[edit] Post Weezer
After leaving Weezer, Cropper and his then wife, Amy Wellner Cropper, formed the band, Chopper One in the mid-1990s, and, after releasing an indie single in 1995, wrote and recorded a CD of original songs in 1997 called Now Playing on Restless Records. The album was re-released in 1998 as Chopper One with a different cover and including a new single, "A Punk Named Josh".
In January of 1994, their first of three children was born, a young girl they named Kiefer Rain Cropper. Their son, Jake Hudson Cropper, was born in 1999, and their third child, a daughter, Devon Jade Cropper, was born in 2001. The couple divorced circa 2004-2005, but live near one another as they co-parent their three children.
In early 2006, Cropper built a home studio and is currently recording himself and other locals, namely Buffalo Alice, whose second album "Mitchell" (2007) he produced. He also has writing credits on at least one song and is created as playing guitar and singing on several songs. He has signed on to co-write and produce a third album for the band, and is currently listed as bass player on the bands website. Cropper plans to release a solo album in the near future.
Cropper also provided vocals on the theme song to the short-lived television series, "Andy Richter Controls The Universe".
[edit] Peace with Weezer
In 2004, while Cuomo was taking up meditation, he sought amends with all he had done wrong. He began to regularly interact with Cropper and the two re-befriended each other. While touring for Make Believe Cuomo met up with both Matt Sharp and Cropper, two members he was previously on ill terms with. Cropper attended Cuomo's wedding in 2006.
[edit] Discography
[edit] With Weezer
- The Kitchen Tape (1992)
- The Real Demo (1992)
- DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 (1994) - ("Jamie")
- Buddy Holly single (1994) - ("Jamie")
- Weezer (The Blue Album) deluxe edition (2004) - (several tracks)
- Video Capture Device DVD (2004) - (several tracks)
[edit] With Chopper One
- "Free Lunch" 7" (1995)
- Hush: Los Angeles Acoustic compilation (1995) - ("Superhero")
- Now Playing (1997)
- "Touch My Fuzz" promo single (1997)
- Hear You Me! A Tribute to Mykel and Carli (1997) - ("I Like You")
- Chopper One (1998)
- "A Punk Named Josh" single (1998)
[edit] With 22 Jacks
- Uncle Bob (1996)
