Craig's Brother is an American skatepunk band from Santa Cruz, California that was formed in 1995. Since then, they have released three full-length albums and several other records.
Biography[]
Foundation and Homecoming (1995-1998)[]
Craig's Brother began in 1995 when Ted Bond quit his high school group, General Handywork, to join up with Andy Snyder, Scott Hrapoff, and Heath Konkel, the remnants Scott and Andy's high school band, Liquid Amber. Scott Hrapoff's brother was a popular jock in high school, and people would often refer to Scott simply as "Craig's Brother". When making flyers for their first show, the band was forced to pick a name, and "Craig's Brother" was chosen as a joke, initially just to irritate Scott. The name stuck.
Adam Nigh joined the group in 1996 just after they finished recording a demo and their EP Keepin' It Real. Adam got them in contact with christian alternative rock label Tooth & Nail Records'. Not wanting to be labeled a christian band, the rest of the band was unwilling, but as Ted recalls, A&R Bill Power and Adam persuaded them that "T&N was not really a Christian label, but really belonged in the same category as us; they were Christians who ran a label not a Christian record label." So the band was signed on to record their first full length album Homecoming. Recorded at Westbeach Studios in Hollywood, and produced by Donnell Cameron, it was released in 1998 to moderate success.
Relations with Tooth & Nail soon began to sour after complaints came from a christian bookstore operated by The Family, about the song "Going Blind" which dealt with the issue of lust. This led to Tooth & Nail's biggest distributor dropping the band, although demand for the album convinced them to pick them back up a few months later. Also from Ted's dissatisfaction with the label, perceiving them to be taking advantage of christian bands and consumers. He also felt that President & CEO Brandon Ebel "never liked us" and that in contrast to their A&R, he "was never really totally on board". Rumors circulated that the band had been signed to facilitate a tax write-off for the label, although this was never proven. However, the general feeling within the band was that after Homecoming they were left up to their own wits. At this point, guitarists Adam Nigh and Andy Snyder both left the band, meaning that Craig's Brother had lost two of its three songwriters in an instant, and also the one member who was the main factor in their signing with Tooth & Nail in the first place, furthering their alienation with the label. Ted has admitted his disappointment with Tooth & Nail led him to start making decisions without asking them first.
Lost A Sea and breakup (1999-2001)
Adam and Andy were replaced when Ryan Key and Dan McLintock both moved from Jacksonville, Florida to audition for the band and were both hired. Dan had recently graduated and left his old band, Inspection 12 when this opportunity arose. At one point, the two of them represented Craig's Brother at the Cornerstone Festival as an acoustic duo. After a bit of touring, the band's van broke down and when they decided to cancel the rest of their tour, Ryan went back to Jacksonville where he got a job with Sean Mackin and eventually joined Yellowcard. The band returned home and started to work on their second album, Lost at Sea. The budget for the album, according to Ted, was "the same as Homecoming minus marketing". After recording finished in Vancouver, Canada in January, Dan McLintock also opted to return home to Jacksonville, rejoining his old band Inspection 12. Then when drummer and founding member Heath Konkel left the band to get married and return to school, replacing him proved to be an even harder task than finding new guitarists. Many members came and went at this time, among others Steven Neufield and Justin "Juice" Cabrera. The band had a sudden upsurge of fans with the advent of Napster when Steven uploaded an mp3 of the song "Who Am I?" from the first album with the artistname "Craig's Brother (NoFx & Lagwagon)". Whether this was intended to act simply as a hint about their sound or intentionally confuse downloaders, many casual listeners still think that Craig's Brother was the name of a one-time collaboration between NOFX and Lagwagon. The band openly gave their support to file sharing, although reminding the fans that their label was against it.
Once again, they got into a quarrel with Tooth & Nail over a bill for $500 after adding a choir to the opening track "Glory", going over budget without telling the staff. Then later in 2000, a photograph was posted on the band's website gallery of Juice giving the finger to the camera, which once again earned them complaints from bookstores operated by The Family and got them dropped by the distributor again. The animosity between the band and the record label reaching it's climax, Craig's Brother were finally dropped by Tooth & Nail Records. This spelled disaster for the band, as their already finished new album was left unreleased with the company, where it lingered for nearly a year. Eventually, Tooth & Nail would press the album in February 2001, but refused to distribute or promote it, even neglecting to inform retailers of its existence. Record outlets would usually only stock the album at the costumer's requests, and at the turn of the new millennium, online shopping was only starting to become commonplace, so sales were expectedly disappointing. Members kept dropping off to devote their time to school and family, and later that year Ted announced that Craig's Brother was disbanding.
Reformation and The Insidious Lie (2003-present)
The three longest-lasting members, Ted Bond, Scott Hrapoff and newly divorced Heath Konkel reunited around Christmas 2003 and Craig's Brother was reformed, with Sam Prather as their new guitarist. The following year, E.P.idemic was released on Takeover Records, a label run by former Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper, with former guitarist Steven Neufeld playing the second guitar. Following it's release, Sam left the band. At this point, the band members were all busy with their family lives and jobs, in and around the Santa Cruz area. Struggling to find any suiting guitarists, as Steven was often busy working with his own band, HeyMike!, lead singer and songwriter Ted himself took up the role of rhythm guitarist. He was later joined by permanent lead guitarist Glade Wilson in late 2006.
On March 23, 2009 the band began recording their third full length album at The Compound recording studio in Felton, CA with Kyle Black acting as producer, collaborating with their former guitarist Andy Snyder, and also again incorporating the services of former members Steven Neufeld and Adam Nigh. Without a record label, they financed this record via fan donations, and worked on it over the next year and a half at DK2 Studios in Santa Cruz, CA with Andy and Ted producing. On December 22, 2010, the band announced the completion of the album dubbed The Insidious Lie via their Twitter feed. It was made available for streaming its entirety on Christmas Day and then released on January 24, 2011 as a digital download.
Members
- Ted Bond — Guitar & Lead Vocals (1995–2001, 2003–present)
- Heath Konkel — Drums & Backup Vocals (1995–2000, 2003–present)
- Scott Hrapoff — Bass (1995–2001, 2003–present)
- Glade Wilson — Lead Guitar & Backup Vocals (2006–present)
Discography
Albums[]
- 1998 —Homecoming (Tooth & Nail Records)
- 2001 —Lost at Sea (Tooth & Nail Records)
- 2011 —The Insidious Lie (Takeover Records)
E.P.s[]
- 1996 —Craig's Brother (demo)
- 1997 —Keepin' It Real (Apple Jack Records)
- 2004 — E.P.demic (Takeover Records)
Musical style[]
[This still has to be added]