Craig Finn (born August 22, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

The Hold Steady 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 (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...

, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Prior to forming The Hold Steady, Finn was the frontman of

Lifter Puller Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Minneapolis-St. Paul, 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 predat ...

. Described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' as "a born storyteller who's chosen

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

as his medium," 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 A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, ''That's How I Remember It'', in 2022. In the podcast he examines the relationship between

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

and

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...

through interviews with other artists.

Personal life

Born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Finn grew up in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and still identifies as such. Finn attended Valley View Middle School and graduated from

Breck School Breck School is an independent college-preparatory preK–12 school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. It was founded in 1886 and is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school includes a ''Lower School'' consisting of g ...

. In 1993 he earned a bachelor's from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Before moving to New York City in 2000, Finn was a financial broker for American Express Financial Advisors in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he currently resides, Finn got a job at a live music webcasting company called Digital Club Network. At this point in time, Finn did not play music for two years before forming

. Finn lives in

Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn� ...

with his girlfriend; they began dating in 2006.

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 Tad Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He previously worked with Brett Johnson, bass player for Atmosphere, in the band Ten-fold Hate, in Minneapolis ...

, who later joined Finn in The Hold Steady. 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''. The re-releases included live material and the compilation ''Slip Backwards''.

With The Brokerdealer

Craig Finn had a short stint of work with Mr. Projectile after moving to

in the fall of 2001. The result of was two EP's. ;Untitled EP 1 # If Not For Hipster Pictures # Give Me My Body Back # The Last Ones Up Become Lovers ;Untitled EP 2 # Sophomore Slump # Mommy Can I Go Out and Chill Tonight # Do Me Nails # The Dead Ones Look Like Dolls

With The Hold Steady

He moved to

in the fall of 2001, after

broke up, for a change and because he and his wife knew people there. 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 He has said that lyrically with

, he's been trying to produce a more positive, coherent, story-based message in a natural way that he could imagine someone saying.

Work with other artists

Craig Finn provided his voice to

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...

's second album, ''The Monitor''. He is the voice of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

at the very end of their song "A Pot in Which to Piss" . He worked with

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 Christopher John Cheney (born 2 January 1975) is an Australian rock musician, record producer, and studio owner. He is the founding mainstay guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist of the rockabilly band The Living End, which was formed in 19 ...

, 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". In 2011, Finn performs lead vocals for a

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

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 Joe Pug (born Joseph Pugliese, April 20, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from Greenbelt, Maryland. He has released two Extended play, EPs, as well as the albums ''Messenger (Joe Pug Album), Messenger'', ''The Great Despiser'', ''Windfall ...

's album, ''

The Great Despiser ''The Great Despiser'' is Joe Pug's second studio album. The album's opening track, "Hymn #76," was selected by ''American Songwriter'' magazine as one of the Top 50 Songs of 2012. Track listing # "Hymn #76" – 3:37 # "Those Thankless Years" � ...

''. On April 8, 2014,

Cheap Girls Cheap Girls were an American rock band from Lansing, Michigan. The band consisted of brothers Ian Graham (guitar, lead vocals) and Ben Graham (drums, back-up vocals), Jason Draper (Bass) and Adam Aymor (guitar). Formed in 2007, the band quickly ...

premiered the song "Man In Question" from their '' Famous Graves'' album. The track features Finn on guest vocals. On February 22, 2016, Craig released a split single with

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 Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home ...

. A second solo album, ''Faith in the Future'', was released in 2015. 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. 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". 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 A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

lyrical style, wherein he frequently makes reference to

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, pop culture,

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

partying A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, and

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

. Both with Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady, Finn's songs often follow a

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

format that features recurring characters and locations with

Ybor City Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...

, Florida, and the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

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." Finn has said that "

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

is certainly not something I want to be accused of," instead hoping to bring "honesty and sincerity" through his songwriting. Although his stories involve violence and heavy drug use, Finn states his songwriting is not very personal or "confessional". Finn's lyrics have been a frequent point of praise for

with

Uncut Magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...

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." In a review of ''A Legacy of Rentals'' (2022), veteran critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

describes Finn's albums as an "ongoing series of musical

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

" 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 Rudolf Hilferding (10 August 1877 – 11 February 1941) was an Austrian-born Marxist economist, socialist theorist,International Institute of Social History, ''Rodolf Hilferding Papers''. http://www.iisg.nl/archives/en/files/h/10751012.php pol ...

and the fossil fuel cartel".

Influences

Finn has indicated that some of his greatest lyrical influences include

Blake Schwarzenbach Alexander Blake Schwarzenbach (born May 21, 1967) is an American musician. He is the singer and guitarist of Jawbreaker (1986–1996; 2017–present), and was also a member of Jets to Brazil (1997–2003), The Thorns of Life (2008–2009), a ...

from

Jets to Brazil Jets to Brazil was an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, USA. They formed in 1997 and were active until 2003. History Jets to Brazil was founded by Blake Schwarzenbach, the former frontman of Jawbreaker, and Jeremy Chatelain, w ...

and Jawbreaker as well as

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. In a

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

article he described The Replacements' ''

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

'' as his "favorite ever record." He's also a big fan of

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

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." He is also a fan of

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama ...

Discography

Studio albums *'' Clear Heart Full Eyes'' (2012) *'' Faith in the Future'' (2015) *'' We All Want the Same Things'' (2017) *'' I Need a New War'' (2019) *''A Legacy of Rentals'' (2022) Compilations *''All These Perfect Crosses'' (2020)

References

External links

The Hold Steady official websitelftrpllr.com official website
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Craig 1971 births Living people Musicians from Minneapolis Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio American indie rock musicians The Hold Steady members Vagrant Records artists Catholics from Ohio People from Greenpoint, Brooklyn Musicians from Brooklyn Frenchkiss Records artists Partisan Records artists Thirty Tigers artists