Craig attended to Mead High School where he hung out with stoners and musicians. By the time he was seventeen, the local law enforcement raided his house, although he wasn't home. He wasn't so lucky when he was later arrested for DUI. After spending some time in jail, Craig knew he didn't want to spend the rest of his life behind bars. From that point on, he gave up the drug addiction.
Instead, he got involved with another addiction: music. Both his dad and brother played guitar, but for a long time, Craig wanted to play the drums. However, there weren't a lot of bassists in the area. When he was sixteen, he spent his summer mowing lawns, and with the money he earned and the help of his grandfather, Craig was able to get his first bass guitar and amp.
After he graduated, he worked at a boat repair shop where his co-workers teased him for being in a band (Soul Hammer). The group planned to move to Portland, Oregon, and Craig told everyone that he was leaving Spokane for good and will be successful in the music business, hoping to visit his hometown on tours. They said that he would never make it.
They would later eat their words. Soul Hammer sent in a demo tape, hoping to be signed under a certain label, but they also dropped Craig once the tape was finished. He looked for a bass position in The Rocket, a Northwest newspaper, and found an ad from Art Alexakis, the former lead singer of Colorfinger. Art hired him and Scott Cuthbert, a hired drummer, and together they became Everclear (everclear is the 80%-proof of alcohol that looks like water but is very dangerous). The trio recorded many b-sides and performed many live and local shows. In 1993, they released World of Noise, which was recorded in a friend's basement studio.
Toward 1995, Everclear made a few major changes. Scott was against the "no-drug" policy and was replaced by Greg Eklund. The group also went from Tim/Kerr Records to Capitol. The new and improved Everclear finally released their US debut album Sparkle and Fade with singles like "Heroin Girl," "Heartspark Dollarsign," and "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore." However, "Santa Monica," Everclear's second single, sparked the attention of alternative rock listeners. Suddenly, they found themselves playing in sold out shows!
In 1997, Everclear went back to the studio to record So Much for the Afterglow. They released ready-made songs like "Everything to Everyone," "I Will Buy You a New Life," and "One Hit Wonder," which all made the Top 10 Rock charts. Then in 1998, Art released "Father of Mine," a song that was based from his horrible childhood. The single became the band's biggest single, which meant more tours for the band.. Meanwhile, Craig got married to Christel Bevins and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where most of her family lived. By the end of 1999, the band decided it was time for a break, and Art decided to go solo.
Less than a year later, Everclear was ready to hit the road again with two back-to-back albums, starting off with what would have been Art's solo album.. In July 2000, Songs from an Amercian Movie, Volume One: "Learning How to Smile" debuted at number nine thanks to another message-orientented tune called "Wonderful," which was in relative to Art's second divorce and how it affected his daughter Annabella. Songs from an American Movie Volume Two: "Good Time for a Bad Attitude," however, couldn't keep up with its counterpart in November 2000, primarily from low promotions from Capitol and older fans' dissapointment with "Learning How to Smile." Since the band was touring non-stop once again, Craig and Christel's marriage was on the rocks until they divorced during that summer.