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Biography
He has not only proven himself to be one of the most prolific and enigmatic figures in the Pacific Northwest, but has also done so within the current post-hardcore community. Listening to Craig’s music, it might come as a surprise to what his formative influences are. In his childhood he received a great deal of inspiration from his grandmother, who acted as a member of the church choir. From his mother he was introduced to blue-eyed-soul artists such as Michael Bolton and a variety of Christian artists. Craig later progressed on to emo pop acts like New Found Glory and even R&B megastars like Boyz II Men. However if there is to be one influence that best represents Craig’s ethos and sound, a probabilistic answer might be the experimental punk outlet mewithoutYou.
After auditioning for several band’s in high school Craig finally landed a position as the lead singer of the Tacoma based garage band westerHalts. The group formed in 2000 and released their first song “Change, Leisure and Retirement” in 2001. The band was never treated with much integrity and after it’s demise Craig joined the melodic punk group Ghost Runner on Third. This group disbanded as well, allegedly due to drug problems emanating amongst it’s members. Craig’s struggle with drug addiction is also stated as the reason for his leaving the groups Emarosa and Dance Gavin Dance. He acted as the frontman for Dance Gavin Dance from 2005-2007 and 2010-2012 and headed Emarosa from 2007-2011. With these acts he released multiple albums, several which broke into the Billboard Top 200.
In 2008 Craig went on to form the group Isles & Glaciers with Chiodos’ lead vocalist Craig Owens. The band released only one EP “The Hearts of Lonely People” before disbanding; however, it received ecstatic reviews and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 104 and the Billboard Top Heatseekers at No. 1.
In between these various bands, Craig released several solo efforts, his first being “A Dream Is A Question You Don’t Know How To Answer”. The album was released through Rise Records on 18 August 2009, making him the first solo artist to join the label. He supported the album with a tour opening for AFI and Cinematic Sunrise. Several months later he was headlining a tour of his own receiving support from Tides of Man, Eye Alaska, and Sleeping with Sirens.
Following his studio debut, Craig put out “Live at Bamboozle 2010” and subsequently released his 2013 EP “Find What You Love and Let It Kill You”. In-between these two albums four of Craig’s demo tracks received an unauthorized release.
In 2014 Craig started yet another band, Slaves. In addition to Craig, the group consists of Alex Lyman and Christopher Kim from Hearts & Hands, as well as Tai Wright from Four Letter Lie. Their debut album “Through Art We Are All Equals” was released on 24 June 2012 and featured contributions from Issues’ Tyler Carter and Pierce the Veil’s Vic Fuentes.
Live reviews
Battling more demons than most, Jonny Craig has infused his past into his music creating truly soulful and meaningful pieces of work. Known from his previous musical projects Emarosa and Dance Gavin Dance, Craig steers away from post-hardcore and sees him embrace a more acoustic / r &b style. Surrounded by controversy and his battle with addiction provided him with material which was honest and raw, rife with personal experiences. As well as his incredible gospel infused vocal capabilities, the lyrics featured on his debut album “A Dream Is A Question You Don’t Know How To Answer” (2009) are full of anguish as he lays down his heart and soul. It’s no surprise then that Craig captivates live audiences, with a simple stage set up of a synth pad, percussion, bass and a backing track, his voice soars above the accompaniment. Behind him are the letters J & C in white lights and with the dim lighting makes it a spectacular sight. “The Open Letter” is full of raw emotion and soul, Craig embraces the crowd as he heads to the front of the stage. With his eyes closed, hand on his chest, his impeccable vocals resonate through the crowd as they feel every word. When he plays “7 am, 2 Bottles and the Wrong Road” the passionate and screaming fans throwing their arms back and forth. ‘I’m only getting better, I’m only getting clean’ sings Craig in “The Party and the Dream”.
A lot of artists say they’re nothing without their fans, but in all honesty Craig probably means it more than most. You can tell he’s adored by the fans as they shout “WE LOVE YOU!” and through the controversy have stuck by him and supported him and you can see that he is genuinely grateful. Breaking the show into an acoustic section, Craig dedicates “Rhythm to My Soul” to the fans stating that he’d been substance clean for year and a half with thanks to the fans encouraging him to keep writing and playing music. Demanding complete silence before he sings “A Toast to the Future Kids!” an Emarosa song, to which the crowd go wild singing the lyrics back to him.
The great thing about Jonny Craig is his honesty regarding his past and his journey, but you don’t look at where he’s been but at how far he’s come and where he’s going. They say that music is healer, and in Craig’s instance it certainly is.
EvieCriedWolf
American-Canadian recording artist Jonny Craig manages to separate his time recording and releasing solo music with his duties of fronting his post-hardcore band Slaves. Despite all of these existing commitments, he regularly heads out onto the road to his cult like fanbase. Although his solo shows are not quite as extreme as the band's tours, the audiences engage and interact with an equal level of intent.
The man himself steps out in a modest manner to the expected applause. His soulful vocal paired with the hardcore outer layer of the music leads to an overall entrancing, crushing and honest performance. The musician has suffered with issues with drugs and addiction throughout his career and he talks openly about his past which makes tracks such as '7 AM, 2 Bottles and the Wrong Road' seem all the more heavy. The songwriting experience must have been incredibly cathartic for tonight's setlist and this is reflected in the finale as Jonny looks partly exhausted, partly exhilarated.
sean-ward
Such a brilliant night! Sea foals to open mellow yet a good sing along to covers everyone knew! Kyle lucas blew my mind he was incredible and a really nice guy! And jonny himself well with a voice of an angel theres just no faulting his talent and also a very nice guy dispite what people say all acts took the time to hang out by merch and chill with the fans taking pictures and the lot amazing night!
Cicihughes
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