Craig's Brother

Craig's Brother is an American punk rock band with three international albums: two on Tooth & Nail Records and one they put out themselves. The group started in 1995 when Ted Bond, Andy Snyder, Scott Hrapoff, and Heath Konkel got together, inspired by bands like Lagwagon on Fat Wreck Chords. The name came from high school classmates calling Scott "Craig's brother" because his older brother Craig was well-known.

After Adam Nigh joined in 1997, the band signed with Tooth & Nail and recorded their debut, Homecoming, at Westbeach Studios in Hollywood with producer Donnell Cameron. It came out in 1998. That summer, they toured to promote it, but afterward Andy and Adam left to form Too Bad Eugene. In December 1998, guitarist Ryan Key traveled from Florida to audition; he later wrote about the experience in the Yellowcard song "Rock Star Land."

Dan McClintock from Inspection 12 joined soon after, and the two once played Cornerstone Festival as an acoustic duo for the band. After heavy touring in 1999, the group lost their van and had no money for a new one by August. They decided to regroup at home, and Ryan returned to Jacksonville, eventually joining Yellowcard. The band then worked on their second album, Lost at Sea, recording in Vancouver, British Columbia, in January.

Dan McClintock also went back to Jacksonville and rejoined Inspection 12. That fall, Heath announced he was quitting. The band kept playing shows, trying out various drummers and guitarists like Garrett Baldwin, Justin "Juice" Cabrera, and Steven Neufeld.

Around this time, Napster gave them a sudden boost when a fan uploaded the song "Who Am I?" from the first album, labeling it "Craig's Brother (NOFX & Lagwagon)." The band supported file sharing, believing free publicity would help sales, though they noted their label disagreed. Craig's Brother had a complicated relationship with Christian music.

They initially accepted the "Christian band" label but soon felt it didn't fit, insisting they were punks who happened to be Christian, not a Christian punk band. Still, their early Christian venues, religious lyrics, and Tooth & Nail connection kept the label stuck to them. Both Tooth & Nail releases were initially banned from Family Book Stores, only picked up later due to customer demand.

These stances on Napster and the Christian industry strained ties with their label, and in fall 2000, Tooth & Nail dropped them. The label pressed Lost at Sea in February 2001 but barely promoted it, not even telling retailers about it. Stores only stocked it on request, so sales were poor. The band played on but couldn't keep a steady lineup, and in March 2002, Ted announced he was quitting.

Reformation and The Insidious Lie (2003–present)

Around Christmas 2003, the three longest-lasting members—Ted, Scott, and Heath—reunited, adding guitarist Sam Prather. In 2004, they released E.P.idemic on Takeover Records, run by former Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper, with former guitarist Steven Neufeld on second guitar. After that, Sam left. Struggling to find guitarists (Steven was busy with his band HeyMike!), Ted took over rhythm guitar. Guitarist Glade Wilson joined in late 2006.

On March 23, 2009, they started recording their third album at The Compound in Felton, CA, with producer Kyle Black, collaborating with former guitarist Andy Snyder and again bringing in Steven Neufeld and Adam Nigh. Self-financed, they worked on it for a year and a half at DK2 Studios in Santa Cruz, with Andy and Ted producing. On December 22, 2010, they announced the album The Insidious Lie via Twitter, streaming it on Christmas Day and releasing it digitally on January 24, 2011, then on CD that spring, and on vinyl from Veritas Vinyl in summer 2011.

They followed with a few California shows and a European tour. In fall 2013, they released The Early Years, a compilation of ten early recordings.

They toured The Insidious Lie through 2014, notably playing the main stage at Groezrock, which NOFX headlined. Most recently, they performed at Montebello Rockfest 2017. Craig's Brother began recording new music in October 2017.