Craig Finn

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Craig Finn
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Craig Finn with the Hold Steady in Cambridge, UK, in 2011
Background information
Born (1971-08-22) August 22, 1971 (age 52)
Origin Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S
Genres Post-punk revival, alternative rock, indie rock
Instrument(s) Guitar, vocals
Years active1993–present
Labels Vagrant
Full Time Hobby
Frenchkiss
Partisan
Thirty Tigers

Craig A. Finn [1] (born August 22, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Prior to forming The Hold Steady, Finn was the frontman of Lifter Puller.

Contents

Described by Pitchfork as "a born storyteller who's chosen rock as his medium," [2] Finn has released five solo albums to date: Clear Heart Full Eyes (2012), Faith in the Future (2015), We All Want the Same Things (2017), I Need a New War (2019) and A Legacy of Rentals (2022).

Finn began hosting his own podcast, That's How I Remember It, in 2022. In the podcast he examines the relationship between memory and creativity through interviews with other artists.

Personal life

Born in Boston, Finn grew up in Edina, Minnesota. [3] He was raised a Catholic and still identifies as one. [4] [5] Finn attended Valley View Middle School [6] and graduated from Breck School. In 1993 he earned a bachelor's from Boston College. [7] Before moving to New York City in 2000, Finn was a financial broker for American Express Financial Advisors in Minneapolis. [8] After moving to New York City where he currently resides, Finn got a job at a live music webcasting company called Digital Club Network. [8] At this point in time, Finn did not play music for two years before forming The Hold Steady. [8] Finn lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with his girlfriend; they began dating in 2006. [9]

Musical career

With Lifter Puller

Back in Minneapolis, Finn was a member of the band Lifter Puller from 1994 to 2000. The band included Tad Kubler, who later joined Finn in The Hold Steady. [10] The band released three albums, two compilation, an EP and a number of singles. In 2009 the material was re-issued digitally supported by a book: Lifter Puller vs. the End Of. [11] The re-releases included live material and the compilation Slip Backwards. [12]

With The Brokerdealer

Craig Finn had a short stint of work with Mr. Projectile after moving to New York City in the fall of 2001. The result of was two EP's.

Untitled EP 1
  1. If Not For Hipster Pictures
  2. Give Me My Body Back
  3. The Last Ones Up Become Lovers
Untitled EP 2
  1. Sophomore Slump
  2. Mommy Can I Go Out and Chill Tonight
  3. Do Me Nails
  4. The Dead Ones Look Like Dolls

With The Hold Steady

He moved to New York City in the fall of 2001, after Lifter Puller broke up, for a change and because he and his wife knew people there. [13] He has said that lyrically with The Hold Steady, he's been trying to produce a more positive, coherent, story-based message in a natural way that he could imagine someone saying. [13]

Work with other artists

Craig Finn provided his voice to Titus Andronicus's second album, The Monitor. He is the voice of Walt Whitman at the very end of their song "A Pot in Which to Piss" . [14]

He worked with Minneapolis rapper P.O.S on the song "Safety In Speed (Heavy Metal)" which was released on the 2006 album Audition. Always close to the Twin Cities music scene, he also contributed to Minnesota musician Mark Mallman's song "You're Never Alone in New York" on the 2009 album Invincible Criminal .

In between being in Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady, he was in a project with Mr. Projectile known as The Brokerdealer, a techno styled group. They released two unnamed EPs.

In 2010 he co-wrote, with Chris Cheney, the title track from The Living End's 2011 album, The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating, while Cheney was in New York City. After working together, Cheney called Finn "a hell of a lyricist". [15]

In 2011, Finn performs lead vocals for a Minnesota Twins tribute song "Don't Call Them Twinkies" on The Baseball Project's second album Volume 2: High and Inside .

In 2012, he sang backup on the title track for Joe Pug's album, The Great Despiser .

On April 8, 2014, Cheap Girls premiered the song "Man In Question" from their Famous Graves album. The track features Finn on guest vocals. [16]

On February 22, 2016, Craig released a split single with Titus Andronicus named "No Faith / No Future / No Problem". On this split, Titus Andronicus covers Craig's "No Future" from his debut solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes, and Craig Finn covers Titus Andronicus's "No Future" from their debut album, The Airing Of Grievances.

Solo

Finn's first solo album, recorded in Austin, Texas, entitled Clear Heart Full Eyes, was released January 24, 2012 through Vagrant Records. [17] A second solo album, Faith in the Future, was released in 2015. [18] Following Faith in the Future, Craig Finn released the Newmyer's Roof EP featuring the title track "Newmyer's Roof" and six songs that were not on Faith in the Future. The EP was originally made available in June 2015 as a pre-order download via PledgeMusic, but was given a full release on March 4, 2016 via Partisan Records. [19]

In December, 2016, Finn released "Preludes", the first single from his next album, titled We All Want the Same Things, which was released via Partisan Records on March 24, 2017.

On January 30, 2019, Partisan Records announced the April 26 release of Finn's fourth album, I Need A New War, and released the first song from the album, "Blankets". [20]

On May 20, 2022, A Legacy of Rentals was released on Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers.

Lyrical style

Finn is most notable for his third-person narrative lyrical style, wherein he frequently makes reference to literature, pop culture, adolescence, partying, religion, and drugs. Both with Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady, Finn's songs often follow a storytelling format that features recurring characters and locations with Ybor City, Florida, and the Twin Cities having special prominence.

Particularly in later Hold Steady albums, Finn's songs have explored the darker aspects of his characters' party-centric lifestyles. Finn told an interviewer in 2012: "Artistically, I have always been really interested in the hangover; not just the celebration and the confetti but also the puke in the gutter." [21] Finn has said that "irony is certainly not something I want to be accused of," instead hoping to bring "honesty and sincerity" through his songwriting. [22] Although his stories involve violence and heavy drug use, Finn states his songwriting is not very personal or "confessional". [23]

Finn's lyrics have been a frequent point of praise for The Hold Steady [24] [25] with Uncut Magazine describing his style as "narratives driven less by the wordy exposition of yore than acute observation, devastating detail, by turns exclamatory, epigrammatic and grainily authentic." [26]

In a review of A Legacy of Rentals (2022), veteran critic Robert Christgau describes Finn's albums as an "ongoing series of musical short stories" in which "not everybody loses... but for sure nobody wins", noting the preponderance of protagonists who are very likely nonvoting "all-white casualties of finance capital and the fossil fuel cartel". [27]

Influences

Finn has indicated that some of his greatest lyrical influences include Blake Schwarzenbach from Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker as well as Bruce Springsteen. [28] In a Guardian article he described The Replacements' Let It Be as his "favorite ever record." [29] He's also a big fan of Rick Danko of The Band. In an interview with GQ, Finn discussed his love for Danko: "People roll their eyes about his solo records, but I'm just happy to have more songs that I can listen to him sing; his voice is incredible... I would listen to him sing the phone book." [30]

He is also a fan of Drive-By Truckers.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hold Steady</span> American rock band

The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifter Puller</span>

Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the '80s revival fads of the early 2000s. Arguably, however, the band is most known for frontman Craig Finn's elaborate lyrics, which often relied upon an established universe of drug-addled college students, cash-strapped nightclub proprietors, murdered ravers and other nostalgic excursions in Minneapolis and Boston.

<i>Fiestas and Fiascos</i> 2000 studio album by Lifter Puller

Fiestas and Fiascos is the final Lifter Puller LP composed of new material and the only album of theirs not included on Soft Rock. The record is much tighter than previous songs, as where the band plays hook-centrically and vocalist Craig Finn sings with more vocal force than melodicism. The almost exclusively mythological focus of "Fiestas and Fiascos" in many ways foreshadows the approach Finn would take with The Hold Steady, as does the less melodic vocal approach. In addition, the record ends with the burning of the "Nice Nice", bringing the Lifter Puller folklore back to its start.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Nicolay</span> American musician and writer (born 1977)

Franz Nicolay is an American musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is also notable for founding Anti-Social Music, a composer/performer collective based in New York City, and for performing in the Balkan jazz quartet Guignol.

<i>Boys and Girls in America</i> 2006 studio album by the Hold Steady

Boys and Girls in America is the third studio album by the Hold Steady, released on October 3, 2006, by Vagrant Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus Andronicus (band)</span> American punk/indie rock band

Titus Andronicus is an American indie rock band formed in Glen Rock, New Jersey, in 2005. The band is composed of singer-lyricist-guitarist Patrick Stickles, guitarist Liam Betson, bassist R.J. Gordon, and drummer Chris Wilson. The group takes its name from the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus, and has cited musical and stylistic influences such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Pulp.

<i>Stay Positive</i> (album) 2008 studio album by the Hold Steady

Stay Positive is the fourth studio album by the Hold Steady, released on July 15, 2008, through Vagrant Records. Vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn notes that the album is about "the idea of ageing gracefully [...] keeping going, perseverance [and] how to stay true to the ideals and ideas you had when you were younger." Keyboard player Franz Nicolay notes that the album is his favorite, stating that it features an "integrated, nuanced, less hectic distillation of [their earlier] sound." Stay Positive was the last studio album to feature Nicolay until 2019's Thrashing Thru the Passion, who departed from the band in early 2010 but returned in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Estate (band)</span> American indie rock band

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<i>The Monitor</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Titus Andronicus

The Monitor is the second studio album by American indie rock band Titus Andronicus, released in March 2010 through XL Recordings. It is a concept album loosely based on themes relating to the American Civil War.

<i>Heaven Is Whenever</i> 2010 studio album by the Hold Steady

Heaven Is Whenever is the fifth studio album by the Hold Steady. It was released May 4, 2010, on Vagrant Records in the U.S. and May 3, 2010, on Rough Trade in Europe. The album's first single, "Hurricane J", premiered on Pitchfork Media on March 22, 2010. Regarding the album's lyrical content, vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn states that: "I kept saying Stay Positive was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock'n'roll."

Hallelujah the Hills is an American indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in late 2005 by Ryan H. Walsh. They have been described by The Boston Globe as "the sound of music without limits", "criminally underappreciated" by Spin (magazine), and have been praised by Pitchfork Media for their "vivid lyrics," "knack for crafting fist-pumping anthems," and “shambolic, maximalist barroom aura.” They've been hailed as an “indie rock institution in Boston" and Aquarium Drunkard has declared that “few do it with the style and imagination of Hallelujah the Hills.”

<i>Clear Heart Full Eyes</i> 2012 studio album by Craig Finn

Clear Heart Full Eyes is the debut solo album by The Hold Steady vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn, released on January 24, 2012 on Full Time Hobby. Produced by Mike McCarthy, the album was recorded during a five-month break from The Hold Steady, with Finn noting, "I wanted to do something with a little more storytelling and a lot less volume." Upon release, the album debuted at #89 in the US.

Hilly Eye are an American two-piece band formed in 2009. The band is fronted by Amy Klein, a former guitarist and violinist of the band Titus Andronicus. They signed to Don Giovanni Records in 2012.

<i>Local Business</i> 2012 studio album by Titus Andronicus

Local Business is the third album by American punk/indie rock band Titus Andronicus. It was released on October 22, 2012, via XL. The first single, "In a Big City", was posted in the band's blog on September 19, 2012.

<i>Teeth Dreams</i> 2014 studio album by the Hold Steady

Teeth Dreams is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released March 25, 2014, on Washington Square/Razor & Tie. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz, the album is the first to feature guitarist Steve Selvidge, who joined the band in 2010 to tour in support of the band's previous album, Heaven Is Whenever (2010).

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<i>Faith in the Future</i> (Craig Finn album) 2015 studio album by Craig Finn

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<i>We All Want the Same Things</i> 2017 studio album by Craig Finn

We All Want the Same Things is the third studio album by Craig Finn. It was released on Partisan Records on March 24, 2017.

<i>An Obelisk</i> 2019 studio album by Titus Andronicus

An Obelisk is the sixth studio album by Titus Andronicus, released on June 21, 2019, through Merge Records. The album was produced by Bob Mould and recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, and it is also the band’s shortest album. The album's "louder, more aggressive style" received mostly positive reviews, including Consequence of Sound calling it "easily their most digestible and contained album yet".

<i>I Need a New War</i> 2019 studio album by Craig Finn

I Need a New War is the fourth studio album by Craig Finn. It was released on Partisan Records on April 26, 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "ACE Repertory". ascap.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. "Craig Finn: Clear Heart Full Eyes | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Chat: Chat with musician Craig Finn - SportsNation - ESPN". Proxy.espn.go.com. 2011-01-02. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  4. ↑ Troy Reimink. "The Hold Steady's Craig Finn discusses the role of faith in songwriting". The Grand Rapids Press . Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  5. ↑ Marchese, David. "Lapsed Catholics and Lost Hoodrats < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. ↑ "I was no longer a loser", Craig Finn, The Guardian, May 11, 2007
  7. ↑ "Boston College Magazine » Fall 2007 » Linden Lane » Craig Finn's inventions". Bcm.bc.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  8. 1 2 3 "Can't Lose: The Hold Steady's Craig Finn Goes Solo". Grantland.com. 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  9. ↑ Leland, John (2015-12-24). "How Craig Finn, Musician, Spends His Sundays". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  10. ↑ The Hold Steady's Craig Finn Reflects on the Legacy of Lifter Puller, Pitchfork.com (retrieved 18 June 2014)
  11. ↑ Raymer, Miles (10 December 2009). "Meet Me at the Nice Nice". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  12. ↑ Breihan, Tom (November 11, 2009). "Pre-Hold Steady Band Lifter Puller Remembered With Reissue Series, Book". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  13. 1 2 "Pulse of the Twin Cities - Locally Grown Alternative Newspaper". Archived from the original on November 21, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2007. Kate Siver, 'The Hold Steady: Ex-Lifter Puller Members Return from NYC Exile as the Hold Steady', The Pulse of the Twin Cities, Wednesday 10 March @ 15:12:06
  14. ↑ "Titus Andronicus Enlist Hold Steady's Craig Finn and Vivian Girls' Cassie Ramone for Civil War-Themed LP". Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09.
  15. ↑ "The Living End Sets New CD Release Date". Gibson.com. 2008-06-24. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  16. ↑ Orr, Dacey (April 8, 2014). "Song Premiere: Cheap Girls - "Man In Question"". Paste . Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  17. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (2011-11-07). "The Hold Steady's Craig Finn Reveals Solo Album Clear Heart Full Eyes | News". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  18. ↑ "Pop and Jazz Listings and Albums for the Fall Season". New York Times, SEPT. 7, 2015
  19. ↑ Bell, Sadie (29 February 2016). "Craig Finn – "Screenwriters School" (Stereogum Premiere)". Stereogum.com.
  20. ↑ "Craig Finn to Release New Solo Album Third Album in Trilogy. First Song, "Blankets," Out Now". Music News Net. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "Craig Finn Talks New Solo Album, New Hold Steady Material". Pitchfork.com. 16 January 2012.
  22. ↑ "reax magazine :: music + culture » Articles". Reax3.dreamhosters.com. 2008-01-19. Archived from the original on 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  23. ↑ "BigYawn.net". Archived from the original on 2004-08-10. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
  24. ↑ "Stay Positive Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  25. ↑ "Boys And Girls In America Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  26. ↑ "The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America - Review". Uncut.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  27. ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 13, 2022). "Consumer Guide: July, 2022" . And It Don't Stop. Substack . Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  28. ↑ "BigYawn.net". Archive.is. 10 August 2004. Archived from the original on 10 August 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  29. ↑ Finn, Craig (2007-05-10). "I was no longer a loser". The Guardian . London.
  30. ↑ "Craig Finn and the Art of Going Solo by Jessica Hopper". GQ magazine. January 26, 2012.
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