On September
14th, 1970 Craig Aloysius Montoya was born in Spokane, WA.
His family consisted of his father Ed, mother Marge, and older
half-brother Dave. Craig went to Mead High School, a school
where he didn't really seem to fit in. "I was a total dork."
Craig spent his time racing BMX bikes and dealing
drugs. Craig became interested in music because his dad, brother,
and most of his friends were playing the guitar, but Craig
opted for something different. And in the summer before he
turned 16, Craig raised enough money mowing lawns to buy a
bass guitar. Craig learned to play by listening to and playing
along with Motley Crue albums. Craig along with friends later
formed a band called Soul Hammer, which mainly covered songs
by bands such as Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and KISS.
When Craig was seventeen, police raided the Montoya house;
luckily for Craig he was not home at the time. However Craig
did spend a short time in jail on a DWI arrest..In 1990 Craig
quit his job at a boat repair shop, where he washed boats,
and moved to Portland OR with his band Soul Hammer. Soul Hammer
broke up in 1992, having only recorded one demo in 1991. In
search of a new band, Craig searched through the band want
ads in the Pacific Northwest newspaper, The Rocket. Craig
was drawn to one ad in particular, the one placed by Art Alexakis
asking for a bass player and a drummer. Craig promptly called
Art who was so excited, according to Montoya, hat Craig had
to "hold the phone about a foot away from my ear.".
Everclear was formed four days later along with drummer Scott
Cuthbert (who was later replaced by Greg Eklund). In April
18th, 1996 Craig met Christel Bevins, who he would later marry
on October 24, 1998. The two met at a show in Atlanta, Georgia
where she stood in front of him the whole show. After it was
over Christel told him she really enjoyed the show, then walked
away. A few weeks later he received a letter from her in the
mail and called her the next day. The couple are now living
together in Atlanta. Craig and Christel divorced in the summer
of 2000. Craig left Everclear in the Summer of 2003 to form
Tri-Polar with
Former Sweaty Nipples members Scotty Heard and Brian Lehfeldt
(also a former touring member of Everclear).
Check out Craig in his Junior
year High School Yearbook:
Big thanks to Julia Plummer for
supplying it. Check out her Mayfield Four website
