Craig's Brother
Encyclopedia
Craig's Brother is an American punk rock
band founded by Andy Snyder, Scott Hrapoff and Heath Konkel, later joined by Ted Bond and Adam Nigh. They have released three full length recordings internationally, two on Tooth & Nail Records
and one self-released through digital distribution.
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.
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.
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 themselves, 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.
as one of their main sources of inspiration. The song "Head in a Cloud" from Lost at Sea was written in part about the feeling of inferiority when watching Lagwagon perform live. Others that have been listed as inspiration for the band include Bad Religion
, The Beatles
and NOFX
.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band founded by Andy Snyder, Scott Hrapoff and Heath Konkel, later joined by Ted Bond and Adam Nigh. They have released three full length recordings internationally, two on Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
and one self-released through digital distribution.
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
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and their EP Keepin' It Real
Keepin' It Real (Craig's Brother album)
Keepin' It Real is Craig's Brother's first EP, released on May 10, 1997 through Apple Jack Records.-Track listing:- Personnel :* Ted Bond - Vocals* Andy Snyder - Guitar* Scott Hrapoff - Bass* Heath Konkel - Drums...
. Adam got them in contact with Christian
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
alternative rock label Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
'. Not wanting to be labeled a Christian band, the rest of the band was unwilling, but as Ted recalls, A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
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
Homecoming (Craig's Brother album)
Homecoming is Craig's Brother's first full length album, released on May 19, 1998 through Tooth & Nail Records.-Track listing:...
. Recorded at Westbeach Studios
Westbeach Recorders
Westbeach Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California famous for recording punk rock groups, such as Bad Religion, NOFX, Rancid, The Offspring and Pennywise. It was established in 1985 by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and re-located to Hollywood, California in February 1987 and...
in Hollywood, and produced by Donnell Cameron
Donnell Cameron
Donnell Cameron is a record producer, who is credited working with such artists as Sublime and Blink-182; as well as producing the Avenged Sevenfold album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He is also the owner of Westbeach Recorders recording studio in Hollywood, California.-References:...
, 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
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
. 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
Brandon Ebel
Brandon Ebel is the founder, President & CEO of Tooth & Nail Records. He founded the label in 1993 in California, USA. The label has since grown to include sub-labels BEC Recordings, Solid State Records and Uprok Records...
"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
Write-off
The term write-off describes a reduction in recognized value. In accounting terminology, it refers to recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, it refers to a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income...
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 at Sea and breakup (1999-2001)
Adam and Andy were replaced when Ryan KeyRyan Key
Ryan Key is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the American pop punk band Yellowcard, and one of the two lead singers in his side project Big If.-Early life:...
and Dan McLintock both moved from Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
to audition for the band and were both hired. Dan had recently graduated and left his old band, Inspection 12
Inspection 12
Inspection 12 is an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, founded by Robert Reid, Dan McLintock, John Comee and Scott Shad. They have released two full length recordings internationally, one on Honest Don's Records and one on Suburban Home Records and Takeover Records...
when this opportunity arose. At one point, the two of them represented Craig's Brother at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
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
Sean Mackin
Sean/Seán Mackin may refer to:*Seán Mackin , Northern Irish activist, fundraiser for the Friends of Sinn Féin*Sean Mackin , American musician for the pop punk band Yellowcard...
and eventually joined Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
. The band returned home and started to work on their second album, Lost at Sea
Lost at Sea (Craig's Brother album)
Lost At Sea is Craig's Brother's second full length album, released on July 17, 2001, their final release with Tooth & Nail Records. The violin part on "Back and Forth" was performed by Sean Mackin from Yellowcard, the band which ex-Craig's Brother member Ryan Key had recently joined.-Aftermath:The...
. 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
Inspection 12
Inspection 12 is an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, founded by Robert Reid, Dan McLintock, John Comee and Scott Shad. They have released two full length recordings internationally, one on Honest Don's Records and one on Suburban Home Records and Takeover Records...
. 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
HeyMike!
HeyMike! is a U.S. punk band out of Ventura County, California. The band's name was originally used by singer/guitarist Steven Neufeld as the title of his early demo tapes from 1998-2001...
and Justin "Juice" Cabrera
HeyMike!
HeyMike! is a U.S. punk band out of Ventura County, California. The band's name was originally used by singer/guitarist Steven Neufeld as the title of his early demo tapes from 1998-2001...
. The band had a sudden upsurge of fans with the advent of Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
when Steven uploaded an mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
of the song "Who Am I?" from the first album with the artistname "Craig's Brother (NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
& Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
)". 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
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
, 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
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
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
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, 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.idemicE.P.idemic (Craig's Brother album)
E.P.idemic is Craig's Brother's second EP released on July 9, 2004 through Takeover Records.-Track listing:#"10,000" – 2:54#"Bad Marriage" 3:43#"Long Way" 3:08#"E.P.issdumbology" 4:23#"Flag Down" 3:23-Personnel:*Ted Bond – vocals...
was released on Takeover Records
Takeover Records
Takeover Records is a punk music record label based in Long Beach, California, U.S.A.The company was founded by former Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper and his friend Greg McDonald in 1997.-Current:*Bracket*HeyMike!*Near Miss*River City High...
, a label run by former Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
guitarist Ben Harper
Ben Harper (musician)
Not to be confused with Ben HarperBenjamin Eric Harper is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the former lead guitarist for the American pop punk band Yellowcard, as well as for the bands Amber Pacific and HeyMike!. Harper is co-owner of Takeover Records.-Yellowcard :Harper formed...
, 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!
HeyMike!
HeyMike! is a U.S. punk band out of Ventura County, California. The band's name was originally used by singer/guitarist Steven Neufeld as the title of his early demo tapes from 1998-2001...
, 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 themselves, 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
The Insidious Lie
The Insidious Lie is Craig's Brother's third full length album. It was available for streaming in its entirity online at www.CraigsBrother.com on Christmas Day 2010, and then released on January 24, 2011 as a digital download. The song "Crutch" was omitted from the download version in order to be...
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.
Music style and influences
The band have cited LagwagonLagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
as one of their main sources of inspiration. The song "Head in a Cloud" from Lost at Sea was written in part about the feeling of inferiority when watching Lagwagon perform live. Others that have been listed as inspiration for the band include Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
.
Albums
- HomecomingHomecoming (Craig's Brother album)Homecoming is Craig's Brother's first full length album, released on May 19, 1998 through Tooth & Nail Records.-Track listing:...
(1998) - Lost at SeaLost at Sea (Craig's Brother album)Lost At Sea is Craig's Brother's second full length album, released on July 17, 2001, their final release with Tooth & Nail Records. The violin part on "Back and Forth" was performed by Sean Mackin from Yellowcard, the band which ex-Craig's Brother member Ryan Key had recently joined.-Aftermath:The...
(2001) - The Insidious Lie (2011)
EPs
- Keepin' It RealKeepin' It Real (Craig's Brother album)Keepin' It Real is Craig's Brother's first EP, released on May 10, 1997 through Apple Jack Records.-Track listing:- Personnel :* Ted Bond - Vocals* Andy Snyder - Guitar* Scott Hrapoff - Bass* Heath Konkel - Drums...
(1997) - E.P.idemicE.P.idemic (Craig's Brother album)E.P.idemic is Craig's Brother's second EP released on July 9, 2004 through Takeover Records.-Track listing:#"10,000" – 2:54#"Bad Marriage" 3:43#"Long Way" 3:08#"E.P.issdumbology" 4:23#"Flag Down" 3:23-Personnel:*Ted Bond – vocals...
(2004)
Compilation appearances
- Dominate '98, contributed "Homecoming" (1998)
- Songs From The Penalty Box, Tooth & Nail Vol. 2, contributed "Dear Charlotte" (1998)
- Songs From The Penalty Box, Tooth & Nail Vol. 3, contributed "Lonely Girl" (1999)
- Songs From The Penalty Box, Tooth & Nail Vol. 4, contributed "Head in a Cloud" (2000)
- Tooth & Nail 10th Anniversary Box Set, contributed "Dear Charlotte" (2003)
Band 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)