Craig Northey

Craig Northey
Craig Northey performing at the CBC Toque Sessions
Craig Northey performing at the CBC Toque Sessions
Background information
Born (1962-02-09) February 9, 1962 (age 62)
OriginPort Moody, British Columbia, Canada
GenresAlternative rock, post-punk, power pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, film and television composer
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Websiteoddsmusic.com

Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996.[1] They were best known for the radio singles "It Falls Apart", "Eat My Brain", "Heterosexual Man" and "Someone Who's Cool".

Career

Like many musicians, Northey praises the Tragically Hip's generosity to up-and-coming bands, specifically the Odds: "Last year, they paid for us to come down to Seattle to see them play and then play ourselves...then, they invited us to play with them on Canada Day at Molson Park in Barrie. It really paid off for us."[2] In 1996, Northey composed his first score for a feature film, The Kids in the Hall's Brain Candy.[citation needed]

In 1997, Northey wrote the entrance music for Bret Hart after he joined WCW.

After the breakup of Odds in 1999, Northey embarked on several other ventures, including working with Colin James, Rosanne Cash, Glen Phillips, Bruce McCulloch and many others. He released a solo CD entitled Giddy Up. In 2003 he collaborated on a CD with Jesse Valenzuela of Gin Blossoms, under the band name Northey Valenzuela.

In 2004 he was part of a side project, Stripper's Union, with Rob Baker, Doug Elliott, Simon Kendall and Pat Steward.[3][4] The group produced an album, Stripper's Union Local 518, which was released in 2005.[5][6]

With Valenzuela he co-wrote the theme "Not a Lot Goin' On" for the hit TV comedy series Corner Gas. The song was later included on the Northey Valenzuela album.

When the Odds reunited in early 2007 they included the end credit theme from Corner Gas "My Happy Place" on their album Cheerleader.

Currently Northey, along with Murray Atkinson, Doug Elliott and Pat Steward comprise the reunited Odds. Concurrently he has composed all the episodes for the Kids in the Hall's CBC/IFC series Death Comes to Town and CTV's Hiccups.

Northey continues to collaborate with other artists. He co-wrote songs on ex-Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page's first solo album Page One and toured with Page in 2012. His collaboration with Rob Baker in Strippers Union yielded another album The Deuce in 2012.[7][8]

In February 2014 Odds released an EP called The Most Beautiful Place on Earth.[9]

After performing a show in Niagara in July, 2016,[10] Northey toured Canada in 2017 as part of The Trans-Canada Highwaymen with Page, Moe Berg of The Pursuit of Happiness and Chris Murphy of Sloan.[11] In 2018, he composed and performed music for the web series This Blows, created by his children Cole and Aleita Northey.[12]

Associated acts

Discography

With Odds

Solo

Collaborations

Writer

Film and television composer

Personal life

Northey is the father of actress Aleita Northey, star of the CBC series This Blows.

See also

References

  1. ^ James H. Marsh (1999). The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Canadian Encyclopedia. pp. 1699–. ISBN 978-0-7710-2099-5.
  2. ^ "Canadian Rock Music Explodes, March 27, 1995". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 8, 2019., from Maclean's
  3. ^ "Stripper’s Union — Stripper’s Union Local 518"[usurped]. Chart Attack - Jun 14, 2005.
  4. ^ "Tragically Hip Bassist Shows Off New Supergroup". Soul Shine, 2005-06-13
  5. ^ Steve McLean (June 2006). Hot Canadian Bands. Lone Pine Pub. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-894864-53-4.
  6. ^ "Some nice side project albums". Belleville Intelligencer, By David Reed, March 30, 2017
  7. ^ Marc Shapiro (20 April 2017). What is Hip?: The Life and Times of The Tragically Hip. Riverdale Avenue Books LLC. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-1-62601-365-0.
  8. ^ "Ten great Canadian albums released in the first half of 2011.". North Shore News, July 8, 2011 p.19 and 22
  9. ^ "Odds — official web site". Oddsmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  10. ^ "Chris Murphy Introduces His New Supergroup the Trans-Canada Highwaymen". Exclaim!, By Gregory Adams, Jul 21, 2016
  11. ^ "Stories Behind A New Canadian Supergroup | FYIMusicNews". www.fyimusicnews.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  12. ^ "Family figures big in new CBC web series". Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Dog of Thunder Music » Music". Dogofthunder.com. 2005-06-14. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Discography". Craig Northey. 2005-06-14. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  15. ^ a b c d "Craig Northey | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  16. ^ "Colin James - Little Big Band 3 and more! - Blues and Jazz". Bellaonline.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Dog of Thunder Music » Film & TV". Dogofthunder.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  18. ^ "Odds will be "House Band" on Brent Butt Comedy Special — odds". Oddsmusic.com. 2010-04-26. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-06-06.