Cracker, Deep Blue Something ready to rock at Gorge Games' final event

The concert will be held at Lot 6 on the Hood River waterfront. General admission is $20; children 3 and under get in free. Registered Gorge Games athletes and volunteers will receive a 50 percent discount.

Concert tickets are available at the National Geographic Adventure Village in Hood River, through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or on the Subaru Gorge Games website, www.gorgegames.com.

Featured band Cracker is one of the few bands of the 1990s that has successfully impacted both diehard rock fans and its not-so-distant alternative-leaning cousins.

The talented David Lowery and fellow guitarist Johnny Hickman front the band and are accompanied by bassist Brandy Wood, Kenny Margolis on keyboard and accordion, and drummer Frank Funaro.

Cracker debuted with its self-titled album, "Cracker," in 1992. Its newest release, "Garage D'or," is a succinct synopsis of the band's eight-year history and includes hard-to-find compilation and soundtrack appearances, early demos, outtakes and assorted gems, including its popular hit "Low."

The Gorge Games concert will mark Cracker's only appearance this year in the Northwest. In October it will be releasing a new album on Virgin Records.

Dallas, Texas-based Deep Blue Something is back in action after a hiatus spent on creative exploration, intensive songwriting, the occasional sneak show, producing other bands, and recording of its self-titled new album on the EMI-distributed Aezra Records.

The new album is the band's first full-length release since "Home," which sold more than two million copies worldwide and featured the international hit single "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Evident on the new 13-track studio release is Deep Blue Something's potent mix of guitar rock, power pop, and crafted lyrics and melodies. The first single from the disc is "She Is."

Brothers Todd and Toby Pipes, with John Kirtland and Clay Bogus, founded Deep Blue Something in the early '90s while attending the University of North Texas in Denton.

In 1993, the band recorded and released the lo-fi "Eleventh Song" on a small Dallas label. The disc sold briskly at local gigs and throughout the band's hometown area but wasn't up to radio airplay standards. Undaunted, Deep Blue Something booked time in a small Denton studio and recorded "Home." It was released on Texas indie Rainmaker Records.

A Dallas FM station latched onto the first single, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," in 1995. The song took off regionally, selling over 10,000 records independently, and caught the attention of Interscope Records, which signed the band to a major deal and re-released "Home" worldwide.