Jonny Craig
| Jonny Craig | |
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Craig performing at The Knitting Factory in September 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan Monroe Craig |
| Born | March 26, 1986 |
| Origin | Minot, North Dakota, US. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | |
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Jonathan Monroe "Jonny" Craig (born March 26, 1986) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. He is currently working as a solo musician. He has been the lead vocalist for the bands Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, Ghost Runner on Third, Slaves, and westerHALTS. As a solo artist, he has released one studio album, two EPs and a live album to date. He was also a part of the supergroup Isles & Glaciers. Craig possesses the vocal range of a baritenor and his distinct type of soul-based singing has earned him considerable acclaim.
Jonathan Monroe Craig was born in Minot, North Dakota. In a further interview with the music blog Eat Yo Beats, Jonny said "my mom made me listen to tons of shit when I was kid, everything from Michael Bolton to some weird ass Christian rock bands" and also that it was this that became his main influence, rather than gospel music. Craig cites some of his early idols as Boyz II Men and New Found Glory. He was put into the school choir as a default elective but was ultimately kicked out. As a child, he says that he "had a hard time keeping out of trouble" and that "high school wasn't for him." He would explain later that that was the reason he left high school and attained his G.E.D, then focused on music full-time. "I just wanted an escape from a lot of the things when I was a child I guess. I just wanted to get away from a lot of the problems that I was dealing with at home and stuff", Craig states in an interview with KLSU radio as his reason for starting his path in music.
Prior to forming his first band, Craig was auditioning for bands when entering high school in the United States in 2000, none of which he was accepted into. Craig then formed the band westerHALTS in 2000, a garage band from Tacoma, Washington. At age 15, Craig released his first known song with them titled "Change, Leisure, and Retirement" in 2001. In a recent AP Podcast he states that the band was "...just for something to pay for weed, something I played over the weekends." He then joined as the lead vocalist for Tacoma based pop punk band Ghost Runner on Third in 2002. Jonny Craig says that he met the guitarist at his secondary college. He received positive reviews with this band's debut EP, Speak Your Dreams, released on January 4, 2005. AllMusic stated that Craig was: "the band's secret weapon, a passionate vocalist. There's not a bad track to be found here, but Craig tends to outshine his bandmates throughout."
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