Accomplished musician of exceptional
depth & creative ability
Touring across the world as an original member of multi-platinum selling Ugly Kid Joe, playing venues from the renowned Whiskey-a-go-go through to taking the stage in front of 750,000 at Polish Woodstock, Cordell Crockett is every atom the natural born musician.
Born in the Bay Area, California, son of Guitar Player magazine co-founder and music legend Jim Crockett, Cordell was raised on rock’n’roll.
Joining his first band at 12, Cordell never looked back. From playing high school dances, weddings, jazz festivals and clubs to then at 16 forming his first metal band inspired by AC/DC, Van Halen and Ozzy records.
After finishing High School in Salinas, Cordell attended the Musician’s Institute, Hollywood. He studied three courses simultaneously, graduating from the Bass Institute, Guitar Institute and Institute of Audio, Video & Sound Engineering. Whilst at MI Cordell formed DV8 with record producer Jay Baumgarder from NRG Studios.
Surrounded by iconic musicians from a young age, learning from the best, jamming with the greats including B.B King and Tom Coster made him an accomplished and versatile artist able to collaborate with musicians of every genre.
With such musical proficiency, it was inevitable that Cordell would be seized by one of the more unique upcoming bands on the California scene. Joining local musicians Klaus Eichstadt and Whit Crane, Ugly Kid Joe was formed in 1991 with Cordell on bass and backing vocals.
Signing with Mercury Records on the Stardog label in 1991, Ugly Kid Joe enjoyed a meteoric rise to global fame.
From being the only band to ever see a debut EP go platinum to touring stadiums worldwide, sharing the bill with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Def Leppard; Cordell was given the ultimate induction to living the rock star dream.
The commercial success of the band’s first album achieved double-platinum sales and hit single ‘Everything about you” featuring in the film ‘Wayne’s World’
From the same album came the eternal favourite ‘Cat’s in the cradle’ (a cover of Harry Chapin’s 1974 Billboard hit) which sold over 500,000 copies in USA alone and in 2022 saw the track pass 100, 000, 000 streams on Spotify.
Recording with Rob Halford, Lemmy, Stephen Perkins and welcoming Shannon Larkin to the band, Cordell continued to hold his own alongside the greatest Rock and Metal musicians.
After the release of a further two studio albums and numerous world tours, including sharing festival bills with the legends such as Page/Plant, Ugly Kid Joe disbanded in 1997. Cordell returned to Hollywood where he joined Steven Adler’s ‘Road Crew’ and Abercrombie as well as recording with Atomship produced by Dave Fortman.
Eventually joining Hear Kitty Kitty with fierce female LA front woman Nikita La Tijera (Kitty) Cordell (aka Jonny Kat) showcased his lead guitar prowess and further vocal abilities. The band released their first record ‘Tails from the alley’ in 2009 with a number of guest contributors including Gina Schock (The Go Gos) and Kim Fowley.
In 2010, the band signed an early record deal with EFM/UNIVERSAL Records and videos, photoshoots and touring followed.
From famous LA venues such as Viper Rooms, Key Club, House of Blues and The Roxy through to taking the stage at Download festival in Donnington, England in 2013, Hear Kitty Kitty engaged audiences with their addictive eco-conscious grit and glamour punk rock.
Cordell continues to play in Hear Kitty Kitty, additionally taking a more hands-on role including shooting and editing videos and production.
2010 saw the long-awaited highly-anticipated reunion of Ugly Kid Joe and once again Cordell found himself on stages across the world both in the headlining slot and touring with Rock icons such as Guns n’ Roses, Alice Cooper, Duff McKagan, Faith No More, Judas Priest and Skid Row as well as playing all the prestigious European festivals including Hellfest (France), Graspop (Belguim), Copenhell (Denmark), Wacken (Germany) Hard Rock Hell (UK) and Gods of Metal (Italy)
In 2012 the band released ‘Stairway to hell’ EP and in 2015 released the crowd-funded studio album ‘Uglier than they used to be’ both of which garnered exceptional industry reviews and a whole new legion of fans. Still touring and recording, the band have just released another full-length studio album ‘Rad Wings of Destiny’ with more dates planned for the Summer.
Cordell has been working on a few personal music projects at home in Los Angeles and is always looking for new opportunities to collaborate and create with other musicians.
CHECK OUT this recent in-depth interview with Cordell
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