John D. Cronise
| John D. Cronise | |
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Cronise performing with The Sword in 2013.
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | J.D. Cronise |
| Born | Richmond, Virginia, USA |
| Origin | Austin, Texas, USA |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
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B.C. Rich Mockingbird Exotic Classic Gibson 1979 Explorer II Gibson Les Paul Custom B.C. Rich Bich Double Neck Ibanez Iceman |
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John D. Cronise, also credited as J.D. Cronise, is an American heavy metal musician and record producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, he is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and former producer for Austin, Texas-based band The Sword, which he co-founded in 2003. Prior to the formation of The Sword, he also performed in the bands Those Peabodys and Ultimate Dragons, the latter of which also featured original The Sword drummer Trivett Wingo.
Originally from Richmond, Virginia, as a child Cronise wanted to become a comic book artist, admitting he was "more interested in drawing [than songwriting] as a kid". He first started playing guitar at the age of 13; his first instrument was an Ibanez RG-550, although he had originally wanted a Gibson Les Paul as Jimmy Page had been his first main inspiration to play guitar.
Cronise moved to Austin, Texas in 1999, claiming that he chose the location over larger cities like Los Angeles and New York City as it was a "laid back music town" at the time. After originally meeting and first performing together in Virginia, original The Sword drummer Trivett Wingo also moved to Austin a few years after Cronise, and the two returned to playing together "almost immediately" according to the vocalist and guitarist. Another band in which Cronise performed prior to the formation of The Sword was Those Peabodys, which he has described as "pretty much a straight-up rock 'n' roll band"; he claimed the reason he left the band was because he felt he "needed to do something heavier".
Cronise formed The Sword in 2003 with guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and drummer Trivett Wingo, after writing and recording music on his own for "a few years". The majority of the band's early material was written solely by the frontman before the band was formed, although when it was released in 2006 in the form of Age of Winters the musical compositions were credited to the band as a whole. For Age of Winters and the 2008 follow-up Gods of the Earth, Cronise was credited as producer in addition to his contributions of guitar and lead vocals.
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