Alexander Craig
Alexander Craig
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Biography

Creative Evolution of Alexander Craig

mojo spleens

Alex's journey in creating music started with his first electric guitar and amp at the age of 12. Discovering melodies and learning songs evolved into basement jams with his brother Clint. They started playing in public together and eventually formed a surf punk band called The Mojo Spleens. Performing shows within the d.i.y. punk scene, self recording, self releasing music, grassroots style networking, self booking and touring nationally during that period set the groundwork for his next chapter and alias as Crankshaft.

Crankshaft

Forming a traditional one man band with the stage name Crankshaft he combined the indie approach and in-your-face attitude of punk with traditional blues and rock 'n roll and started making a name for himself. Eventually his solo act evolved to a trio which was promoted as Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders.


Fronting a band was a natural progression and he continued gaining traction. Getting more attention led to bigger opportunities. In 2011 he ended his career as a carpenter/general contractor to focus on music and art full time.


Operating at a high level, self produced five studio albums, two live albums and seven music videos in ten years, all of this was partnered with over 1,000 performances. He also self funded, produced and released over 10,000 physical copies during this time period.


The fast paced lifestyle and the physiological demands started taking their toll. Over a five year span he was hospitalized over a dozen times for mental health and substance use issues. Obviously something had to give. He decided to depart from the Crankshaft persona to reflect and rebuild.


Educating himself surrounding his mental health diagnosis, minimizing his performance schedule along with studying old world philosophy expanded into a new body of work and now ownership of his given name.

Alexander Craig

With new perspective and clarity he gained from mental health education and training surrounding how to support peers with their mental health, he started producing, writing and arranging more music for a new full length album. Much of this music features a three piece horn section which accompanies the fundamental guitar, bass, and drums (promoted as: Alexander Craig and the Lifters) which started performing in 2022.


"The biggest difference between my new frame of mind verses the alias period is authenticity, I'm through releasing and performing songs that can't be sung with authenticity, moving forward I'm focused on writing and singing with purpose."


Alexander continues to be productive with creativity by writing and arranging songs, producing and mixing studio recordings, directing and editing video as well as making mixed media, functional and visual art. This includes hotrodding cars and chopping motorcycles.


Check the News section to see what's cookin'.

influences

Top Three Songwriters:

John Fogerty

Steve Miller

Paul Simon


Top Three Front-Men:
Howlin' Wolf
Chuck Berry
Bo Diddley 


Top Three Front-Ladies:
Tina Turner
Aretha Franklin
Sister Rosetta Tharpe


Top Three Bands (all time):

 ZZ Top

Lynyrd Skynyrd
Creedence Clearwater Revival
 

Top Three Modern Bands:
Southern Culture on the Skids
Left Lane Cruiser
Dirtbombs 


Top Three Guitar Players:
Freddy King
Albert Collins
Steve Cropper


More:
Guitars: anything goes
Amps: vintage Fender
Vocal mic (live): EV Co9
Strings: GHS Boomers
Music Listening: Vinyl
Motorcycles: 1980's Hondas
Daily Driver: '08 Suburban
Work Boots: Thorogood
Nail Guns: Hitachi

Phone: Android

© 2024 Alexander Craig

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