BIOGRAPHY

In the last few years alone he’s driven 80,000 miles to play in more than 50 cities in 20 states. When you figure in the airplanes and rental cars, it adds up to a lot of scenery and a lot of songs.

The journey, and the songs, began in the Pacific Northwest. Craig’s parents were both music teachers. Around the house, sounds ranged from Brubeck to Mancini; Victor Borgé to Jonathan Winters. Later influences included Motown, Joni Mitchell, Tom Lehrer, and The Beatles.

Venues were plentiful around his home in Portland, Oregon, and Craig spent more than 20 years playing almost every night of the week inside a forty-block radius.

During that time he shared the stage with a wide variety of acts: Mose Allison, Karla Bonoff, Jonatha Brooke, Rosanne Cash, Bruce Cockburn, Paula Cole, Robert Cray, Catie Curtis, Crash Test Dummies, Donovan, Peter Himmelman, John Hiatt, Janis Ian, Leo Kottke, Patty Larkin, Michael McDonald, Dennis Miller, Anne Murray, Danny O'Keefe, Leroy Parnell, Paula Poundstone, Boz Skaggs, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Richard Thompson, Jethro Tull, Romeo Void, Loudon Wainwright III, Tim Weisberg, David Wilcox, Warren Zevon, and many others.

Things changed in 1995, when country music star Trisha Yearwood recorded Craig’s song “Little Hercules.” He hung a gold record on the wall and started traveling to Nashville on a regular basis.

A publishing deal followed, and over the next five years his travels produced new performance opportunities as well. Soon, he had regular gigs all over the country.

In 2000 he made Nashville his home.

In recent years, in addition to Trisha Yearwood, Craig’s songs have been recorded by artists including: Kathy Mattea, Lorrie Morgan, Sons Of The Desert, Kate Markowitz, Andrea Zonn, Steve Seskin, Berkley Hart, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Craig also teaches songwriting workshops all over the country with NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) at "song camp," as well as other NSAI workshops with local chapters in California, Florida, and Ohio. He’s been on staff at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolinaa, the Fishtrap Writers Retreat in Eastern, OR, the NCSI (Northern California Songwriters Inc), the Portland Songwriters Association, the Songwriters Gallery in Hot Springs, SD, the Song Sisters in Asheville, NC, as well as numerous independent seminars and workshops alone and with fellow songwriter and teacher Steve Seskin.

Quotes:

“ … smart, memorable material put across with abundant personality…”
—Birmingham News

“… the right mix of weary-eyed cynicism and helpless hearted romanticism…”
—Performing Songwriter Magazine

“He has a voice that should be famous.”
—Patty Larkin

“Who? Never heard of him.”
—John Prine