Craig Montoya
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Craig Aloysius Montoya (born September 14, 1970)Is the current Bassist for Fear Of The Dark (Ultimate Tribute To Iron Maiden, and the lead vocalist for Souls Of Black (Tribute To Testament). And was the former bassist of Castella, Tri-Polar and former bassist of Everclear.


Early life

Montoya was born in
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, Washington, the son of Daniel and Marge Montoya. He has an older brother named Dave, and an older sister named Tami; their parents later divorced. Montoya attended
Mead Senior High School Mead High School (also Mead Senior High School, MHS) is a four-year Public school (government funded), public secondary school in Fairwood, Spokane County, Washington, Fairwood, Washington (state), Washington, United States, on the north side ...
, 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.


Career

From an early age, Montoya wanted to play music. Though he was originally interested in the drums, a lack of bass guitarists in the area led him to choose the instrument. He bought his first bass guitar and amp when he was sixteen, with money he earned mowing lawns. After graduating high school, Montoya joined a band named Soul Hammer and planned a move to
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, but was dropped from the band once their demo tape was finished. He then looked for a bass position in ''The Rocket'', a Northwest newspaper, and found an ad from Art Alexakis, the former lead singer of Colorfinger. Alexakis united with him and drummer Scott Cuthbert, and together they founded Everclear. The trio recorded many b-sides and performed live and local shows. In 1993, they released '' World of Noise'', which was recorded in a friend's basement studio. In 1994, Everclear made several changes. Cuthbert was replaced by former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. The band also moved from Tim/Kerr Records to Capitol. In 1995, 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 Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
". The album found an audience on the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
scene, as did their 1997 follow-up, '' So Much for the Afterglow''. During a 1998 Australian tour, Montoya got into a heated backstage argument with Alexakis after a fan threw a lit explosive on stage, and the tour was cut short. Montoya did not join the band for the ensuing tour of the United Kingdom, with David LoPrinzi filling in. In August 2003, after three more albums, Montoya left Everclear. In 2004, Montoya formed a new band called Tri-Polar with Sweaty Nipples members Scotty Heard on guitar and Brian Lehfeldt on drums. The band began to record in late 2004, but weeks before its self-titled release on May 27, 2005, Heard left the band for personal reasons. Looking for a replacement, Montoya turned to Kevin Hahn of Red Sector, his bandmate from
The Strain ''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire literature, vampire horror fiction, horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by ''The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel), The Fal ...
. Tri-Polar is still active and plays many cities along the West Coast, including the group members' hometown of Portland. In 2006, Montoya helped formed Castella with Hahn and
frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
Ryan Andrew of Sidestar. They worked with producer Joe Chiccarelli to record ''How Did We Get Here'' during 2007. The record received praise from the critics for its songwriting and production, and several songs from the record found their way onto TV series and movie soundtracks. Craig is also currently playing Bass for an
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
tribute band called Fear Of The Dark which has current and past members from Black N' Blue, Vicious Rumors, The Loyal Order, Black Powder County, and Violent Majority.


References


External links


Tri-Polar
on
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Craig 1970 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Everclear (band) members Guitarists from Oregon Musicians from Spokane, Washington American male guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists