Click Here to see my resume.

So who is this Jon McCracken, and why is there a website on him? Well I'll tell you.... about me.

I was born in Los Angeles on May 30, 1990 to Joanne McCracken and Rick Frauman. I was their only child. I lived in LA until 1997 when my mother and I moved from Silverlake to Glendale, CA.  That same year, I began to take interest in the drums. Since birth, my parents had me listen to classic rock, mainly The Beatles. Watching Ringo play always caught my attention, so I spent that year annoying my parents by banging on pots and pans. Eventually, my parents got sick of the CONSTANT noise and I got my first "drum set". It was a cheap toy electric drum kit with plastic drum sticks that had large rubber tips. So with that, I would play to all sorts of Beatle songs. My stepmother, who played piano, and I would also play all sorts of songs, and of course some were from the Beatles. I'm sure many of those performances were video taped.

As I got older, I started to realize how much I liked music and drums, so in the fourth grade I took a music class. I played the violin. It was a mistake. Two years later, I began my first class on drums. By the end of the year, I had received a trophy for the most outstanding in percussion.  In middle school, I joined the drumline. I started out on the marching bass drum, and eventually moved up to snare. In 2004, I began my life at Glendale High School. That year, I also took my first private lessons. They were held in Redondo Beach at Robin's Drumworks. My instructor was a great drummer by the name of Jonathan Brown. I was on the GHS drumline for all four years where I was taught by Sergio Gonzales. I started out on cymbals, moved to bass, and finally reached tenors my Junior year. I became one of two drum captains for the line. Oh but the fun doesn't stop there. In sophomore year I was accepted in the GHS Jazz Band, and became section leader the next year. I was in two talent shows playing for bands, and even did a drum solo for one of them.

While taking lessons from Jonathan Brown, I read his bio. In it he wrote that he had graduated from PIT at Musician's Institute. From then on, that was the school I was going to go to. In 2008 I was accepted to MI, and began that October. I was there until mid 2010. While there, I studied with the best of the best drummers including Gary Hess, Fred Dinkins, Chuck Silverman, Stewart Jean, Donny Gruendler, Rob Carson, and Charlie Waymire.

So how do I get all my cymbals, drums, sticks, and other stuff? Well its a few things. While in high school, Senior year to be exact, I managed to get a job in Glendale's best music store, Charles Music Store. I started working part time, only working on Saturdays, and later became a drum manager and computer tech for the store. While there, I managed to teach myself web design and html formatting. My employee discount definitely helped with buying various drum hardware and cymbals. As for the drums, in 2009 I thankfully got endorsed by Six Gun Custom Drum Co. They supplied me with a four piece green glass glitter drum set.

In 2010 I joined an AC/DC tribute band. The band was good, but didn't work out in the end. One good thing did come out of it though. I met guitarist Crazy Tomes. Tomes was an incredible guitarist who can pretty much play any genre thrown at him. Like myself, he also worked in many different projects. One of them was a band called Arrest My Sister. Fronted by Tomes and lead singer Scott Siegel, the band had been together for a year and had already created a huge following. Well, it just so happened that they needed a drummer. I auditioned for the band in March of 2010, and got in. To show the driving force of the band, the first show I did with them was at the world famous Whisky A Go Go. From there I've played many shows with the group, playing many covers and original tunes. Arrest My Sister has performed in venues ranging from USC, to SXSW, to the infamous Carnegie Hall in New York.

In 2011 a friend of mine told me that one of my favorite stand-up comedians, Doug Benson, had a live podcast that was recorded in front of an audience every Tuesday. Going to those shows sparked an interest in doing stand-up, so I started writing material. This idea was in my head for a good two months, until I came up with another idea. In August, 2011, while in the shower, I came up with an idea to do my own podcast. It would be about pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. I wrote pages and pages of ideas. Eventually Samantha Hanna and Meline Pterodactyl joined on, and Unsuccessful People was formed. The comedy podcast debuted on September 15, 2011, and is still going on today.

My Influences: Keith Moon, John Bonham, Buddy Rich, Stewart Copeland, Roger Taylor, Neil Peart, Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, Steve Gadd, Ringo Starr, Ginger Baker, Terry Bozzio, Mitch Mitchell, Nick Mason, Chad Smith, Gene Krupa, Graham Broad, Rob Carson, Charlie Waymire, Donny Gruendler, Johnny Rabb, Todd Sucherman and various other awesome drummers.

Summary of Skills:
--Drum and percussion performance live and in a studio
--Drum performance in the genres of Rock, Funk, Jazz, Punk, Hip Hop, R&B, Electronica/Techno, and Reggae
--Music recording for drums and percussion
--Music editing in Pro Tools, Logic, and Ableton
--Music programming in Ableton and Reason
--Drum and percussion repair
--Web design using Microsoft FrontPage and FTP

Live Performances:
--2004 through 2008: Glendale High School shows for Jazz band and marching drum core
--2006: Godspell for Glendale High School drama department
--2006 through 2008: Glendale High School talent shows
--2007 through 2008: Glendale High School choir shows
--2008 to 2009: Sonic Impulse gigs
--2008 to Present: The Shade gigs
--2008: Sonic Impulse at Hoolie Fest in Sonora, CA
--2009: The Shade debut at The Scene Bar in Glendale, CA
--2009: Kelby Thwaits gigs
--2009: Elise Ackermann gigs
--2009: Sonic Impulse at Shamrock in San Diego, CA
--2010: Shoot to Thrill gigs
--2010 to Present: The Verm gigs
--2010 to Present: Arrest My Sister gigs
--2011: Arrest My Sister at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY

Awards:
--2002: Most outstanding in percussion
--2008: Louis Armstrong Jazz Award
--2009: Drum endorsement with Six Gun Custom Drum Co.
--2010: Cymbal endorsement with TRX Cymbals

Bands/Artists:
--2007 to 2008: Crowd Control
--2008 to present: The Shade
--2008 to 2009: Sonic Impulse
--2009: Elise Ackermann
--2009: Kelby Thwaits
--2010: Shoot to Thrill (AC/DC tribute)
--2010 to Present: The Verm
--2010 to Present: Arrest My Sister
--2011 to Present: Krystal Black Trio
--2011 to Present: Crazy Tomes

Music Jobs:
--2006 to present: Drum line instructor at Wilson Middle School, Glendale, CA
--2007 to 2010: Drum/percussion sales and repair at Charles Music Store
--2009 to present: Private lessons

Music Education:
--2004 to 2008: Glendale High School concert band, marching band, drum line, and jazz band
--2004: Private lessons with Jonathan Brown
--2008: Private lessons with Sergio Gonzales
--2008 to 2010: Private lessons with Charlie Waymire
--2008 to 2010: Musician's Institute/PIT

Discography:
--2008: Pipe Dreams - Sonic Impulse
--2010: Spirit - The Shade
--2010: The Mothra E.P. - The Verm
--2010: Make Your Move - Arrest My Sister
--2011: Hunters & Gatherers - Bennett Chesne
--2012: coming soon - Krystal Black
--2012: coming soon - Crazy Tomes
--2012: coming soon - Carly Ritter