Background
Cruz grew up in and around Los Los Angeles
Cruz grew up in and around Los Los Angeles
He is also an artist, and a poet and fronts his roots Americana band "". His personal website showcases his various forms of original artwork (paintings as well as graphic design and photography). He focused his energies on art and creative writing in school and began playing with in 1991 in Southern California.
Jason"s major influences include classic artists such as Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Hank Williams Senior,William Burroughs Charles Bukowski and Bob Dylan and visual artists Robert Mcginnis and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
He has said that he was influenced by the desert, dirt road swap meets and the melancholy music that his mother used to listen to when he was growing up, The first concert he ever went to was Depeche Mode in 1986 when he was 12 years old then graduated to punk rock shows and skateboarding. Jason apprenticed as a tattoo artist for two years then took up oil Painting under the moniker "Amerikan Blackheart" and has been showing regularly in Los Angeles and southern California for the past four years as well as performing with his band Howl.
In addition to being a song writer, musician, and artist, he has also published 3 original poems, which can be found in the collection entitled Revolution On Canvas: Poetry From The Indie Music Scene. Cruz provided lead vocals and wrote the lyrics for, a band made up of many well-known punk musicians, for its 2008 "Story-Based Concept Album." On August 21, 2012, Cruz self-released his first solo record titled Loungecore under the name.
Jason currently lives in Ventura California.
In July 2010 Jason welcomed daughter Sydney Echo Cruz.
