Time: 9:30 p.m.
Cover:$10
Craig Moritz www.myspace.com/craigmoritz or www.craigmoritz.com is a rarity these days. He is a country boy at heart, a
what you see is what you get kind of a guy who happens to write and sing
some pretty good country music. You might think his mother had an
inkling of this since she had gave him the initials CM (country music!).
Craig is a native of Medicine Hat Alberta, but also has spent the
better part of his life in Ft. McMurray and now hails from the Edmonton
area. Moritz is Alberta through and through. After growing up and
working jobs from retail to oilfield, he knew he had yet to find his
true path. Craig got hooked on the idea of becoming a country music
artist after meeting Toby Keith and having a down to earth, "real"
conversation about the music industry with him. Since then Craig has
been inspired and motivated, working on a steady path towards his career
as a country music artist and songwriter. The adventurous and
unpredictable journey, some would say began with Craig being selected
for a prestigious new artist showcase by the Canadian Country Music
Association in 2004. Others would say its been seven years of hard work
hitting the road performing shows, writing, recording, rehearsing,
interviews, networking and whole lot of personal and financial sacrifice
to get to where he is today and is now ready for the new beginning of
taking his career to a completely different level. Following the CCMA
showcase of 2004, Craig finished recording his first album in early
2005, "The Way I Feel" produced by noted west coast producer Tom
McKillip (One More Girl, Aaron Pritchett) distributed by Royalty
Records. After cutting his teeth and gaining invaluable experience
owning the road on the honky tonk circuit from the hard scrabble town of
Fort McMurray in Canada's tough and vast northern oil sands, to racking
up the miles in every direction through western Canada and beyond,
Craig has become a bona fide regional star. He has spent a lot of time
reflecting on his life personal life experiences and also everything
that has and is constantly happening around him in order to keep true to
his own self and his music and where he wants to go with it. Whether
its heartache, family, friends, good times, bad times, funny stories or
awkward situations, he writes about it and that in turn seems to have
struck a cool new exciting chord with his fans and industry
professionals. Craig is a mainstay at major country events like the
Calgary Stampede where his no nonsense, let's get down to business and
have a good time vibe has earned him a legion of die hard fans. This
reputation was cemented by his 2008 release of "Down and dirty", his
second release on Royalty which featured the production talents of Dean
Sams of country super group Lonestar, and Dean Miller, son of legendary
country crooner Roger Miller. "Down and Dirty" features the writing
talents of Craig and several top country writers including famed
Nashville songsmith Byron Hill. "Down and Dirty" spawned several popular
and well heard radio hits for Craig on the Canadian country charts and
set the stage for his debut video release of "Blame you" in 2009
produced by Vancouver's Triton films. In addition to headlining is own
tours and promoting his music, Craig has opened shows for and shared the
stage with some of the greatest names in today's country including Sara
Evans, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, David Lee Murphy and The Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band. In conjunction with a a successful year of touring in
support of his "Down and Dirty" album, Craig has been taking time
between Canada and Nashville to work on material for his third highly
anticipated record. Several tunes have already been penned featuring a
collaboration called "Only When You're Lonely" with Platinum selling
writer Steve Fox (Daddy Won't Sell The Farm) recorded by Montgomery
Gentry. "Only When You're Lonely" was recently showcased by the
Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) at one of their
prestigious P2P (publisher to publisher) luncheons and the initial buzz
is that this may be Craig's breakout hit. With his clean sound, good
looks and his honest brand of real country music, Craig is ready to step
into the well worn boots of his influences that have blazed the trail
before him such as George Strait, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Dwight
Yoakam and Randy Travis to name a few. 2010 sees Craig Moritz well on
his way to becoming a "heavy hitting" household name in the Country
Music industry.
The place is an arcade/nightclub— 420 - 6 Street South.