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Craig Montoya (born Craig Aloysius Montoya, September 14, 1970, Spokane, Washington, United States) is the American bassist of Castella, Tri-Polar and former bassist of Everclear.[[http://books.google.com/books?id=0ioEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44&dq=%22Craig+Montoya&cd=3 CMJ New Music Monthly] Magazine - Sep 2000 - no. 85 - Page 44][[http://books.google.com/books?id=ra1GApGshtQC&pg=PA34-IA2&dq=%22Craig+Montoya&cd=5 SPIN] Magazine - Sep 1995 - v. 11, no. 6 - Page 34]
Early lifeMontoya was born Spokane, the son of Daniel and Marge Montoya. He has an older brother named Dave, and an older sister named Tami; their parents would later divorce.
Montoya attended to Mead Senior High School, where his friends included "drug-users and musicians." When he was seventeen, the local law enforcement raided his home. He was not arrested at that point, but later was for a DUI. After spending some time in jail, Montoya knew "[he] didn't want to spend the rest of [his] life behind bars." From that point on, he gave up the drug addiction.
CareerFrom an early age, Montoya wanted to play music. Though he was originally interested in the drums, there was a lack of bassists in the area. In order to form a band, he chose that as his instrument. He bought his first bass guitar and amp when he was sixteen, with money he earned from mowing lawns. Montoya joined a band named Soul Hammer after he graduated. The group planned to move to Portland, Oregon, and Montoya told everyone that he was leaving Spokane for good. Soul Hammer sent in a demo tape, hoping to be signed, but they dropped Montoya once the tape was finished. He looked for a bass position in The Rocket, a Northwest newspaper, and found an ad from Art Alexakis, the former lead singer of Colorfinger. Art hired him and Scott Cuthbert, a hired drummer, and together they became Everclear. The trio recorded many b-sides and performed many live and local shows. In 1993, they released World of Noise, which was recorded in a friend's basement studio.
In 1994, Everclear made a few major changes. Scott was replaced by former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. The group also went from Tim/Kerr Records to Capitol. The new Everclear released their U.S. debut album Sparkle and Fade with singles "Heroin Girl," "Heartspark Dollarsign," "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore," and "Santa Monica."
After a huge drop on the musical roller coaster of fame, Everclear decided it was time for yet another break. Alexakis began working on another solo album, but he later dropped the project to focus on politics. Eklund and his wife were expecting a son who was born in the summer of 2002. Montoya, on the other hand, started to do some songwriting of his own as well as record a solo album.
The project was pushed aside as late 2002 rolled around. Alexakis wanted to try and do one more album in hopes to bring back their fans. In 2003, Slow Motion Daydream, Everclear's sixth full length album, was released, and many critics were impressed; however, the sales for the record were again low because of the dying fanbase and little promotion. After their show on August 31, 2003, Everclear announced it would be the last time they would ever play as a group, however, Alexakis would reform Everclear in 2004 without Eklund & Montoya.
In 2004, with the help of Sweaty Nipples members guitarist Scotty Heard and drummer Brian Lehfeldt, a former percussionist for Everclear, Montoya formed a new band called Tri-Polar.
The band began to record in late 2004, but weeks before its self-titled release on May 27, 2005, Heard left the band due to personal reasons. Looking for a replacement, Montoya turned to Kevin Hahn of Red Sector, his bandmate from The Strain. Tri-Polar is still active and plays many cities along the West Coast, primarily the group members' hometown of Portland, Oregon.
Montoya helped formed Castella in 2006 with Hahn and frontman Ryan Andew of Sidestar. They worked with producer Joe Chicarelli to record How Did We Get Here during 2007. The record received praise from the critics for its songwriting and production, Several songs from the record found their way onto TV series and Movie soundtracks.
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External links
Category:1970 births
Category:Living people
Category:American rock bass guitarists
Category:Everclear members
Category:People from Spokane, Washington
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