Jason Cruz

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 1991 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' and has been showing regularly in L.A. and southern California for the past four years as well as performing with his band Howl. In addition to being a songwriter, 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 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.

Jason currently lives in Ventura, California. In July 2010 Jason welcomed daughter Sydney Echo Cruz.

• Jason's website
• Revolution On Canvas