As a child in Utah, Craig grew up listening to pop radio hits like the Beatles’ Til There Was You as well as his older brother’s guitar strumming, which later influenced his decision to make the guitar his own favorite instrument. But Craig’s first musical education came as a horn player at age 8, as part of a local bugle corp; even in such a regimented situation, Craig discovered that he could create his own sounds, his own music, as he determined to explore this opportunity to the max. Today, Craig is proficient on electric and acoustic guitars, drums, piano and keyboards.
A disciplined songwriter, Craig plays his guitar daily, but tries to remain open to spontaneous inspiration. "I sometimes hear music in my dreams," he says. "If it moves me, I’ll get up and start writing." Craig’s compositional style always begins with the melody first, followed by lyrics and vocal arranging. "I have been on a journey to find my purpose in life for a long time," Craig shares. "I always knew that my music was a big part of it. But it wasn’t until I had the courage to face my inner self that I was able to express myself in a positive way. Earthwalks, and particularly the tune The Water’s Edge, tells the story of my own personal transformation, but it is appealing to others who also walk the path."
When not making music, Craig volunteers with various non-profit groups, and is especially concerned about the growing challenges of the homeless population; in fact, Craig helped to start a newspaper for the homeless. His motto? "Make a difference in the world," enthuses Craig.
"I was asked to record this CD by a Native American shaman who I met during a medicine ceremony," says Craig Keyes. "He explained to me that he saw me doing music and asked if I were a musician. I told him that I was a singer/songwriter and played guitar. He told me he had a dream of me recording a CD that would tell the world about my personal transformation and move them musically. He also told me that the money that was needed to do the CD would become available, that I would have 100% support for the project and all the people that were to be involved would be drawn to the project. Within three weeks of him telling me this, a person came into my life that loved my music and offered to finance the CD. I was in a recording studio talking to one of the top engineers in the country two days later. The interesting thing is, I didn’t have one piece of music written for the CD; it was all written after the fact. Earthwalks took about a year to complete, and was written at home or in the studio," Keyes continues, smiling and finishing with "And the shaman was right! All the people that were to work on the CD miraculously came into my life. I only knew one of them previously."
Born and still residing in Ogden, Utah, Craig Keyes has travelled
extensively throughout Canada, Europe and Malaysia. A guitarist with a
down-to-earth style that compares with Neil Young & John Fogerty, Keyes
has the ability to compose richly textured intricate rhythms on a par
with Peter Gabriel and Vas, juxtaposing these two extremes into a
completely connected musical tapestry ripe with emotive melodies and
exotic influences.
