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.
Fragile
Craig Owens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just pray to God that this will not happen again
Memories flood the floor that made this place
So please don't tell me that this may be the end
Wait for me til words spill out
And you will see that I am sorry
Again
And I cannot leave until you say you'll stay with me all my life
Please notice that I can't stay away from you
Now I'm left staring at our photograph.
The one where I got lost in your brown eyes.
I can't accept that you are just my past
And now my future will also be my demise.
Come back to me, let words spill out
And you can see that I'm still sorry
My fragile soul has lost control
Again.
And I cannot leave until you say you'll stay with me all my life
Please notice that I can't stay away from.
No, I can't stay away
I can't stay away from you
The lyrics of Craig Owens's song "Fragile" depict a person who is struggling to let go of a relationship that has ended. The first line "Trace these black lines falling down my face" suggests that the person is crying and tears are streaming down their face. They pray to God for the strength to not let this happen again. Memories flood the floor of the place where the relationship happened, and the person doesn't want to accept that this could be the end. They want the other person to wait for them until they can find the right words to say and apologize. The chorus talks about how the person's fragile soul has lost control again, and they cannot leave until the other person agrees to stay with them all their life. They cannot stay away from the other person and want them to notice that.
The second verse talks about the person staring at their photograph, lost in their brown eyes. They cannot accept that the other person is just their past, and this realization is going to be the downfall of their future. They want the other person to come back to them and see that they are still sorry. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the fragility of the person's soul and their inability to stay away from the other person.
Overall, the song is a heartfelt plea to a loved one to not give up on the relationship. The emotions are raw and the vulnerability is palpable. The use of imagery in the lyrics, such as "black lines falling down my face" and "memories flood the floor" make the emotions even more tangible.
Line by Line Meaning
Trace these black lines falling down my face
Watch as the tears run down my face
Just pray to God that this will not happen again
Hope that this pain does not recur
Memories flood the floor that made this place
Recollections of the past overwhelm this space
So please don't tell me that this may be the end
Don't suggest that our relationship may be over
Wait for me til words spill out
Be patient until I can express myself
And you will see that I am sorry
And you'll recognize my remorse
My fragile soul has lost control
My vulnerable inner self cannot cope
Again
Once more
And I cannot leave until you say you'll stay with me all my life
I won't depart until you promise to be with me always
Please notice that I can't stay away from you
Understand that I cannot resist you
Now I'm left staring at our photograph.
Currently, I'm gazing at our picture
The one where I got lost in your brown eyes.
The one where I was captivated by your dark eyes
I can't accept that you are just my past
I refuse to believe that you're only part of my history
And now my future will also be my demise.
Now my forthcoming days will lead to my downfall
Come back to me, let words spill out
Return to me, and let me speak my mind
And you can see that I'm still sorry
Then you'll realize I'm still regretful
No, I can't stay away
No, I cannot keep my distance
I can't stay away from you
I cannot stay far from you
Contributed by Colin J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.