Craigery "Craig" Owens (born August 26, 1984) is an American musician from … Read Full Bio ↴Craigery "Craig" Owens (born August 26, 1984) is an American musician from Flint, Michigan, best known as the lead vocalist of Chiodos and Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows. He has also had an involvement in various projects such as Cinematic Sunrise, The Sound of Animals Fighting, Bea5t, and Isles & Glaciers. He has recorded as a solo artist, performing eponymously as well as under the stage name badXchannels, is an established music producer, has written and recorded with the likes of Dr Dre, and has also acted in the 2012 film K-11.

In 2001, Owens joined Bradley Bell, Pat McManaman, Jason Hale, Matt Goddard and Derrick Frost to form a band in Davison, Michigan. Originally named "Chiodos Bros." in tribute to special effects trio the Chiodo Brothers, the band recorded its first demo in June 2002. Following several years of national touring and independent recording, they were signed by Equal Vision Records in 2004 and, under the name Chiodos, released their first full-length album, All's Well That Ends Well in 2005. They continued thereafter, recording and touring.

Even after his separation from his first band, Owens continued to have an interest in working with them and, after being asked by his management about what project he most wanted to pursue, he made overtures about a possible return to Chiodos. On April 26, 2012, Owens announced his return to Chiodos. Subsequently, on April 27, the remaining members of D.R.U.G.S. revealed their intention to disband. Chiodos' first live appearance after their reunion took place on August 9, 2012 in a sold-out performance at Flint Local 432 in Michigan. As of that date, the members had tentative plans for a new album, on which they have been working separately but not yet begun to coordinate.

On November 1, 2016 in an interview with Billboard, vocalist Craig Owens stated in regards to Chiodos that, "It's done, it just couldn't stay afloat. There were just kind of, not necessarily bad vibes, but we came to the realization that we can't do it full-time. I think it just stopped becoming a passion for most of us so we said, 'Alright, let's stop." Thus bringing an end to Chiodos' fifteen-year career.

Owens featured as vocalist in the supergroup, The Sound of Animals Fighting. Owens featured on the album Lover, the Lord Has Left Us.. released in 2006. The group consisted of project members of Circa Survive, Finch, Rx Bandits, Days Away each member of the group wore an animal mask to hide their personas to influence the groups creativeness, Owens is identified in the group as the Ram. Owens appeared in the groups live line up We Must Become the Change We Want to See in 2006 along with 11 other members.

During this work with Chiodos, Owens and Bell formed the side project Cinematic Sunrise as a place to perform music that didn't fit Chiodos' style. When the band signed with Equal Vision, in March 2008, its line-up had included Owens, Bell, Bryan Beeler, Marcus Vankirk and Dave Shapiro. Cinematic Sunrise released an EP later that Spring, A Coloring Storybook and Long Playing Record.

In September 2008, Owens revealed to fans on his journal that in addition to several guest vocalist appearances, he was working on another side project with Jonny Craig of Emarosa/Dance Gavin Dance, Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil and Nick Martin of Underminded/Cinematic Sunrise. When the Isles & Glaciers supergroup was officially announced in December, it also included Owens' bandmate Matt Goddard, Fuentes' brother and bandmate Mike Fuentes and Brian Southall from the band The Receiving End of Sirens.

The supergroup premiered their first songs during a radio interview on January 18, 2009.The band's EP, The Hearts of Lonely People, was released on March 9, 2010.

Asked in March 2012 if Isles & Glaciers would consider further collaboration, Owens indicated that the possibility had been discussed among various members of the group but not established; "we've tossed the idea around to see if we could put it back together, but that was just to see if we could do anything...there's no set plans right now."

On September 15, 2009, Owens released a solo EP, "Με την αγάπη (With Love)", through Equal Vision Records. Nine days later, on September 24, 2009, Chiodos announced that they had parted ways with Craig Owens, announcing that the decision to "let Craig Owens go as the singer of Chiodos...was a necessary one", but refusing to disclose details "[o]ut of respect for all of the hard work that we have put in together for all of these years". For the next several months, Owens maintained a low profile, taking personal time and writing songs.

In June 2010, at the time he discussed his upcoming project with Alternative Press, he had written or co-written 30 songs for a not-yet-completed supergroup signed to Decaydance featuring Nick Martin of Cinematic Sunrise and Aaron Stern of Matchbook Romance. On August 17, Owens announced via Twitter that the new band would be named D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows). On February 21, 2011, with the completed band lineup including Matt Good of From First to Last and Adam Russell of Story of the Year and production by John Feldmann, D.R.U.G.S. released their eponymous debut. The album reached No. 29 on Billboard 200 and higher on some of Billboard's specialized lists, including hitting No. 6 on Top Rock Albums, No. 5 on Modern Rock/Alternative Albums and No. 1 on Hard Rock Albums. D.R.U.G.S. coheadlined the 2011 Alternative Press Tour.

In March 2020, Owens confirmed the possibility of upcoming D.R.U.G.S. tour dates on his Twitter account the following day new single was shared dubbed "King I Am" demo was released following a Forbes Magazine Q&A. In February 2021 the band announced they have signed to Velocity Records with a planned 2021 album release. On February 2, 2022, the band released their first new song featuring Owens, Weinhofen and Patrick titled "Destiny". The song was released through Velocity Records.

In February 2016, Craig released a short grindcore EP entitled Empathy Is A Gift under the moniker of Bea5t, downloadable from his Bandcamp page.

After the end of Chiodos, Craig began releasing music under the moniker badXchannels.] An extended play was released at the end of 2016 with two more stand-alone songs released in early 2017. These songs were later grouped into an EP known as Transmissions, freely available to subscribers of his mailing list.

Anna Begins
Craig Owens Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My friend assures me it's all or nothing,
But I am not really worried, I am not overly concerned
My friend implores me, for one time only,
Make an exception, I am not worried
Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried, I am not overly concerned
This isn't love,

And if you don't want to talk about it
This isn't love,
And I'm going to have to live that
But, I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
Or something in between
And I can always change my name if that's what you mean
My friend assures me it's all or nothing'
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned
You try to tell your self the things you try tell your self to make
Yourself forget
To make your self forget
I am not worried
This isn't love
She can't stop shaking and I can't stop touching her and...
This time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away and anna begins to change her mind
These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering
For days, she says and I'm not ready for this sort of thing
But I'm not gonna break
And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
I'm not gonna bend and I'm not gonna break
I'm not gonna worry about it anymore
It seems like I should say as long as this is love...
Maybe I should just snap her up in a butterfly net
Pin her down on a photograph album
I am not worried
I've done this sort of thing before
But then I start to think about the consequences
Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...
The time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away and anna begins change my mind
And every time she sneezes I believe it's love
And oh lord... I'm not ready for this sort of thing
Talking in her sleep, its keeping me awake
And anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand it
And Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong
And anna begins to fade away
Its chasing me away.
Her kindness bangs a gong
And anna begins to fade away
Its chasing me away.

She disappears,
And oh lord I'm not ready for this sort of thing

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Anna Begins" by Craig Owens discuss a relationship that is not quite love, but is still complicated and affecting the emotions of those involved. The first verse expresses the singer's lack of concern about the situation at hand, despite the urging of a friend. The second verse touches on the idea of something existing in a "shade of gray" and the possibility of changing one's identity. The chorus repeats that this isn't really love and the singer is willing to accept that fact.

The third verse brings in the character of Anna, who is described as shaking and touching. Kindness falls like rain, but it only causes Anna to begin to change her mind. The singer is deeply affected by the situation and experiences physical reactions such as shaking and shuddering. Despite this, he declares that he will not break or worry about it anymore. The fourth verse continues on this theme, with the singer considering the idea of capturing Anna like a butterfly and reflecting on the consequences of his actions. The lyrics then return to the image of kindness falling like rain, with Anna disappearing and leaving the singer feeling unprepared for the emotional impact of the relationship.

Overall, "Anna Begins" is a complex depiction of a relationship that is not quite love, but still has a profound effect on those involved. The lyrics touch on themes of identity, the consequences of actions, and the emotional impact of complicated relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

My friend assures me it's all or nothing,
My friend is certain that this situation requires complete investment or nothing at all.

But I am not really worried, I am not overly concerned
I am not anxious or feeling any kind of intense emotion about this decision.

My friend implores me, for one time only,
My friend is begging me to make an exception this one time.

Make an exception, I am not worried
I am willing to make an exception and do not feel stressed about it.

Wrap her up in a package of lies
To deceive her completely.

Send her off to a coconut island
To send her away, perhaps to a place where she won't know the truth.

This isn't love,
This feeling is not love.

And if you don't want to talk about it
If you don't want to discuss this situation with me,

But, I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
I believe there may be an alternate solution that is not black or white.

Or something in between
Or something that lies in the middle.

And I can always change my name if that's what you mean
I am not afraid to make big changes if I have to.

You try to tell yourself the things you try tell yourself to make yourself forget
You convince yourself of things to forget what has happened.

This isn't love,
This feeling is not love.

She can't stop shaking and I can't stop touching her and...
She is nervous and I am comforting her.

This time when kindness falls like rain
In this instance of compassion, it takes over the situation.

It washes her away and anna begins to change her mind
The compassion has a lasting effect on Anna, making her reconsider her decision.

These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering
I am still affected by the recent events and am still shaking from the experience.

For days, she says and I'm not ready for this sort of thing
Anna remarks that the situation has left her feeling shaken for days and she is not ready for it.

But I'm not gonna break
I will not allow this to break me.

And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
I refuse to let this consume me any further.

It seems like I should say as long as this is love...
It would appear that love is the most appropriate response to this situation.

Maybe I should just snap her up in a butterfly net
Perhaps I could capture her like a butterfly and keep her around for myself.

Pin her down on a photograph album
Or perhaps I should keep her photo as a reminder of her.

I am not worried
I am not feeling apprehensive about these options.

I've done this sort of thing before
I have been in similar situations prior to this one.

But then I start to think about the consequences
However, I begin to consider the outcomes and possible aftermath.

Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...
I am kept up at night by my thoughts and can't seem to find peace in silence.

Talking in her sleep, its keeping me awake
Anna's talking in her sleep is causing me to lose sleep.

And anna begins to toss and turn
Anna cannot fall asleep and is agitated.

And every word is nonsense but I understand it
Anna speaks incoherently but I manage to decipher what she is saying.

And Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
I am not emotionally equipped to deal with this kind of situation yet.

Her kindness bangs a gong
Her compassion is overwhelming and has a profound effect on me.

And anna begins to fade away
Anna starts to disappear, both mentally and physically.

Its chasing me away.
This situation is driving me away from her.

She disappears,
Anna completely fades away.

And oh lord I'm not ready for this sort of thing
I am not mentally prepared for this experience.

Contributed by Noah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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i know your sticking for chiodos and im not dissing you... but saying i ll txt him right now to someone over the internet that you'll never ever meet so why does matter? ahah its very childish.. makes you kinda seem like the annoying guy after a show that would ask the band for their numbers just so you could have them and brag about it