Minnesota native Alex Larson’s first group, formed with his brother, was the surf-punk band the Mojo Spleens. Next he started performing as a one-man-band under the name Crankshaft, playing a hard-driving mix of blues, rock, and punk, later expanding the project to a trio. He released several albums under the Crankshaft name and built enough of a following to pursue music full-time, but the demands of performing combined with substance abuse issues took a toll on his mental and physical health. After a year off to regroup, Larson recorded a new album, released in 2022, under the name Alexander Craig, and is now sober and back to doing what he loves. He not only writes and performs his music, (with both 3-piece and 6-piece versions of his band), but produces his studio albums and directs and edits his own music videos. He joined us in the studio on June 5, 2023, to perform stripped-down versions of songs from his Alexander Craig debut album plus a forthcoming new song called "Longing for You." We talked with him about why he shifted from the Crankshaft persona, the difference between performing his solo, one-man-band shows and playing with the trio and 6-piece, and about how his songwriting has progressed since he started writing as a kid. Craig is currently releasing a series of singles over a period of weeks that will ultimately be part of a new album.
