Numbers

It was around the age of eight, while watching the epic fight scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker fights Darth Vader, when an inspired John Craig told his parents he wanted to make music. Many years later, John Craig and his band, The Weekend, are working on an electro-pop epic of their own. Immersed in the ever-changing currents of Portland, Oregon's music scene, Craig's newest release, Numbers, arrives as a breath of fresh air - something worlds apart from anything you've heard coming out of Portland...or anywhere for that matter. Though he's careful not to call it a concept album, at it's core, Numbers is a meandering pop odyssey with endless layers of beats, eclectic love songs, and mellow dance numbers to explore. With deep roots throughout Oregon, John Craig grew up in Eugene playing alongside Blind Pilot's Ryan Dobrowski in their college band named Tympanic. Exploring state highways, back roads and small venues along the West Coast, Tympanic flourished until graduation eventually brought things to an end. In 2009, Craig released his solo debut EP, Umlaut, making waves and receiving hometown love from Portland's Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, Portland Tribune and Eugene Weekly, to name a few. Then he released a couple of singles in 2010, "Ghosts" and "Broken Branches," and began writing for his sophomore LP - Numbers - with influences spanning Bowie and Prince to Cut Copy and Ra Ra Riot. With a new band called The Weekend - comprised of Nicole Berke, Tommy Illk, Josh Lava, and Craig, the group is out to heat up the dance floor, with ambitious touring plans for 2011 and beyond. Numbers was recorded in Craig's basement studio and at a small lake house on the Oregon Coast. Final tracking was done at Cloud City in Portland, Oregon and was engineered by Justin Phelps (Mars Volta, Bob Weir and Ratdog, Dead Kennedys, Chris Isaak, Cake). Numbers will be released nationally on August 30th, 2011 on Loophole Records with a national tour to follow. Also notable, 'Ticking' from Craig's 2009 EP Umlaut will appear in the forthcoming feature film, Tucker & Dale vs Evil slated for a Sept 30th release.