Craig Montoya

Craig Aloysius Montoya (born September 14, 1970) is the American bassist of Castella and Tri-Polar and former bassist of Everclear.

Early life

Montoya was born in Spokane, 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, 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 kicked his addiction to drugs and successfully remained clean.

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, 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.