Jon Crocker at the Raven: New Album, “The Dust Will Settle”

Musician Jon Crocker may be from California, but he’s not exactly based there these days. Crocker is something of an explorer, touring the world, checking out new places and visiting favorite locations, to share his Americana, roots rock tunes.
Crocker said he usually tours about 200 days a year, sometimes playing multiple shows in one day and recording in different locations around the country on breaks from the road. On Tuesday, April 1 he’ll be bringing his most recent tour to Fargo.

His latest album, “The Dust Will Settle” (Bluetint Records) came out January 8; by January 11 the artist had hit the road for his current tour. “It’s definitely the best recording I have so far,” Crocker said. “The songs are a little on the catchier side than some of my previous work, and pretty representative of what I do.”
Five of the songs on the new release were previously released in 2004, but he re-wrote parts of them and re-recorded them for “The Dust Will Settle.”  He said that many of the songs on the album are ones he plays regularly in his live set, so fans may remember earlier versions of them from his previous visits to the Red River Valley.

Crocker has played in Fargo on two prior occasions and enjoys playing here. “I like it a lot, so far,” he said. “[Fargo] definitely has charm. Of course, I might not say that if I had to spend winters there. It’s nice in the spring, though.”

The desire to share his songs has carried Crocker across the United States and Europe, so the musician has seen a wide variety of music scenes around the world. He said Fargo’s is good compared to those in some other cities similar in size. “Music scenes everywhere come and go, depending on the availability of venues and promoters,” He said, “I’ve seen scenes in some towns live and die around just one venue or promoter, so Fargo seems to be doing all right in that there are multiple venues having music regularly. I hope it continues to be that way.”

The Red Raven Espresso Parlor is Crocker’s venue of choice in the F-M area, because they allow all ages shows. “On top of being all-ages, I like that the Red Raven has a separate room for music,” He said. “It’s the perfect size for me, and the people working there have always been kind to me. So, I’ll gladly keep going back there so long as they’ll have me.”

This tour is coming to a close in May, but that doesn’t mean Crocker is going to take it easy. “There are a couple of albums in the works right now,” he said. “I actually have one album completely recorded, mixed and mastered, another album recorded and partially mixed. And, I’ll be recording yet another one during a two-week stay in Florida this May… The partially mixed album was recorded last March in a friend’s studio in Nashville, and the yet-to-be recorded album will be done in a studio in Orlando. I seem to record them faster than I can release them.”

When recording wraps up, Crocker plans to head to Europe to kick off another tour. “I’d been planning on slowing down, but it just didn’t happen,” he said.

If You Go:

WHAT: Jon Crocker with Ghost Hand Punch
WHERE: The Red Raven Espresso Parlor
WHEN: Tuesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m.
WHO: All-ages
HOW MUCH: $4