Craig Martini made a name for himself playing bass for Paul Gilbert’s solo band and performing extensively with variety and show bands in Las Vegas Nevada, where he lives. In addition to the mind-melting rock he plays with Paul’s band, Craig is prominently featured as the bassist, either past or present: The Alter Boys, Unified Culture, and State Of Conviction. Craig enjoyed a stint in The Szuters and Jani Lane’s Warrant.

From humble beginnings, Craig began playing bass guitar at the age of 9. His family encouraged creativity and musicianship, and a 7th-grade music teacher strongly supported and influenced his career path. With a love of the instrument and a passion for music, plus a hard-driving work ethic, Craig was poised for success. Self-taught, Craig rose in the ranks of Northeast Ohio bands until finding his calling in Las Vegas.

While on one tour with Def Leppard’s lead guitarist Phil Collen, Craig was presented with an idea one morning over a few Starbucks. Phil wanted Craig to get to work in the studio not only as the lead bassist, but also as the lead vocalist, essentially to create a one-man bass/vocal/looper show. For the past 2 years, Craig stayed tucked inside the studio — experimenting, writing, recording and finding a way to make this idea come to life. “Thought Of Everything” is the album that was created with this exciting idea, from one of the worlds greatest guitar players, from one of the world’s most popular rock bands, Def Leppard! 

Phil says of his relationship with Craig: 

“I first met Craig at the Joe Satriani G4 guitar camp in Monterey, California, in 2017. After playing with him onstage, I realized that — apart from being an outrageously amazing bass player — Craig could actually sing as he was doing backup vocals with me when we played “Hysteria.“ We traded numbers; and the following year, when I was about to embark on the G3 tour, I gave Craig a call. On my set, which was mainly Delta Deep songs (my heavy blues band), I do a lot of singing. Since it was winter, my voice went out, so Craig took over my vocal duties. It started becoming apparent that Craig is actually a natural lead singer, but had never followed up on it. During the tour and afterwards, Craig’s ability to become a solo artist was apparent. With this new information, Craig worked his ass off for all of that year making the transformation to become a solo artist. I’m really glad I met Craig and became part of his musical present and future. He’s got incredible things on the horizon, and I’m excited to see it all come to fruition.”

Listen to the album here:

Spotify: Spotify

Apple music: Apple Music