Craig Setari

Craig Setari (sometimes known by the stage name Craig Ahead) is an American musician who is the bass player of the hardcore punk band Sick of It All.^[3][4] He has also worked with many other hardcore bands, including Youth of Today, Straight Ahead, Rest in Pieces, Agnostic Front and Cro-Mags.^[5][6][7] Alongside Dan Lilker, he recorded the Noise for Noise's Sake demo tape under the name Crab Society. This demo tape inspired Lilker's band S.O.D. to record their 1985 demo album titled Crab Society North.^[8]

Craig Setari
Setari performing with Sick of It All in 2015
Background information
Origin	New York, U.S.
Genres	Hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Musician, former boxer[1][2]
Instrument	Bass
Years active	1985–present
Member of	Sick of It All
Formerly of	Youth of Today Agnostic Front Cro-Mags Straight Ahead Rest in Pieces

Biography

Setari first began listening to rock and heavy metal music at the age of twelve, through his older brother Scott and his friend Dan Lilker. One day, Lilker gifted Scott a bass, so that he could learn the instrument and join an early iteration of Anthrax. When Scott wasn't using the instrument, Craig would begin to teach himself how to play it. Within the next two years, Craig Setari would progress to listening to hardcore punk.^[9] This inspired him to join the band Straight Ahead in 1984, with Gordon Ancis and Tommy Carroll, however the band would change its name to NYC Mayhem soon after his joining. NYC Mayhem would release their debut EP We Stand in 1985 and then break up in late-1985, leading Setari to briefly join Youth of Today as their bassist. NYC Mayhem reformed in late-1986 under the name Straight Ahead, this time with Sick of It All's Armand Majidi on drums,^[10] They released their sophomore EP, Breakaway.^[11] Setari joined Sick of It All after a brief stint in Agnostic Front, in which he played bass on their 1992 album One Voice.^[12] Setari has remained with Sick of It All, helping to write tracks such as "Built to Last," which was the first New York hardcore punk track to enter the U.S. Top 100.^[11]

Discography

With Straight Ahead

EPs

• We Stand (1985)
• Breakaway (1987)

Demos

• Mayhemic Destruction (1985)
• Violence (1985)

With Youth of Today

• Break Down the Walls (1986)

With Rest in Pieces

• Under My Skin (1990)

With Agnostic Front

• One Voice (1992)

With Sick of It All

• Scratch the Surface (1994)
• Built to Last (1997)
• Call to Arms (1999)
• Yours Truly (2000)
• Life on the Ropes (2003)
• Death to Tyrants (2006)
• Based on a True Story (2010)
• XXV Nonstop (2011)
• The Last Act of Defiance (2014)
• Wake the Sleeping Dragon! (2018)

References

1. "Clobberin' Time: Sick Of It All On The Evolution Of Mosh". Retrieved July 26, 2018.
2. Norton, Justin (November 24, 2014). "Clobberin' Time: Sick Of It All On The Evolution Of Mosh". Decibel. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
3. D, Howie (October 20, 2014). "Craig Setari of Sick Of It All". Retrieved July 26, 2018.
4. "SICK OF IT ALL's CRAIG SETARI: 'We Were Always Primarily A Live Band'". Blabbermouth. October 19, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
5. Alva, Freddy (August 15, 2014). "Rob Echeverria (Straight Ahead, Rest in Pieces, Biohazard, Helmet)". Retrieved July 27, 2018.
6. Kamiński, Karol. "STARECraig Ahead (NYHC) interviewed by Double Cross [UPDATE]". Retrieved July 26, 2018.
7. Handley, Gen (February 26, 2014). "Craig Setari (Sick of It All)". Retrieved July 26, 2018.
8. "S.O.D. "Crab Society Demos '85": an Interview with Dan Lilker". Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
9. "Craig "Ahead" Setari". NYHC Chronicles. Episode 17. May 13, 2020. 30 minutes in. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
10. "An Oral History of Sick Of It All, Part I: Early Days, New Beginnings, and Swastikas". Vice Media. March 29, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
11. Blush, Steven. New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB. p. 237.
12. "Craig Setari". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2018.