| Craig Aloysius Montoya |
Hailing from Spokane, WA, Craig Aloysius Montoya was born on September 14, 1970. He spent most of his life in that town and attended Mead High School. Craig has an older brother Dave, who had a big influence on him, and a sister Tami. He was raised by his mother Marge and father Dan, though they later got a divorce. Young Craig was not rich, popular, or into sports, except racing DMX bikes. Instead, he hung out with the musicians and stoners, where he seemed to fit in the most. Throughout most of his teens, he dealt drugs, until police officers raided his house when he was seventeen. Luckily, he was not home at at the time. However, he was not so lucky another time when he spent a couple days in jail for DWI. His father and brother played guitar, but Craig wanted to play drums. Unfortunately, he could not afford a drumset, so he saved up for a bass guitar by mowing lawns during the summer before he turned 16. He figured that the bass was easier to learn than the guitar and, because there were fewer bassists in the area, there was a greater demand for them. He started playing by listening to a Motley Crue record and learning to play it down pat. Then, he and a couple of friends started a cover band that played things like Motley Crew, Iron Maiden, and KISS songs. Once during a school talent show, they even decided to wear tie-dyed shirts, bell bottoms, and wigs and play "Light My Fire" by Jimi Hendrix. Before moving from Spokane to Portland, Craig worked at a boat repair shop. His coworkers teased him about being in a band. They got a real kick out of it when he told them he was quitting his job to move to Portland and have a career in music. They told him that he would never make it, and that he would be back in a year. He told them that he was not coming back, but to come to his concerts when he comes back through town. Then, in 1990, with his band, Soul Hammer, Craig moved to Portland. Soul Hammer released a demo tape before changing their name to Dropsy and finally splitting up in 1992. By chance, Craig happened to be looking through The Rocket, a Seattle music paper, and saw Art's advertisement, looking for a bassist and drummer. He called him up, and he, Art Alexakis, and Scott Cuthbert (a drummer found from the ad), created the beginning of what we now know as Everclear. Art did go somewhere with the help of Craig. After releasing their debut album, World of Noise, labels became interested in the band. Scott left the band because he did not get along with Art and Craig musically and personally. They found a new drummer, Greg Eklund, and, shortly after, were signed to Capitol Records. Everclear released their major-label debut Sparkle and Fade and enjoyed success from singles like "Santa Monica." Art, Craig, and Greg went on to record So Much for the Afterglow, which ended up going double platinum, due to singles like "Everything to Everyone," "I Will Buy You a New Life," and "Father of Mine." They toured for this album for over two years, hardly taking any time off. Craig married his long-time girlfriend, Christel Bevins, on October 24, 1998. After meeting him at an Atlanta show, she sent him a letter. He called her the next day, and it went from there. Craig moved to Atlanta, where they lived together until the summer of 2000. The year 2000 was a big one for the band. They released two albums, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. One: Learning How to Smile and Songs from an American Movie, Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude. It was during that summer, Craig and Christel got divorced. The band spent much of the year promoting the two albums and embarked on several large tours in 2001. Craig recently bought a new house in Portland and is enjoying the single life and living with his dog, Madison. He has many plans for the future, one of which is a possible solo album next year.. who knows? |