Jason Alexander Cruz (born February 6, 1974) is the American lead singer and lyricist of punk band Strung Out, which formed in 1989 when he was 15 years old.[1] He is also an artist, and a poet and fronts his rootsAmericana band 'Jason Cruz and Howl'. His personal website showcases his various forms of original artwork (paintings as well as graphic design and photography).
Early life
Cruz grew up in and around Los Angeles. He focused his energies on art and creative writing in school and began playing with Strung Out in 1989 in Southern California.
Jason's major influences include classic artists such as Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Hank Williams Sr, 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.[2] 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'.
Cruz provided lead vocals and wrote the lyrics for T4 Project, 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 Cruz and Howl.
