Craig Abaya is an American multi-artist who served as director of Digital Media & Entertainment Programs for San Francisco State University College of Professional and Global Education from 2000 through 2014. He was the featured artist at Macworld/iWorld Expo in San Francisco, California where his film and photography were displayed in the gallery titled: "Craig Abaya: The Art of Rock and Roll from Analog to Digital."
Early life Abaya is a native of San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. He became involved in music during childhood, taking up the piano at age six, the drums at age eleven, and the guitar at age twelve. He became involved in film and photography at the age of nine.
At seventeen, Abaya enrolled at San Francisco State University where he proposed and earned a special major in multimedia, combining studies in film, audio, video, computers and electronics.
Music and recording artist
Abaya is a singer and cites his main instruments as guitar, piano, and drums. He also took up recording at a young age, moving from 2- and 4-track analog tape to ADAT and eventually to DAWs (digital audio workstations). At 17, he formed his first professional band, the grunge/metal trio Apparition. At this time, he also wrote and performed music with the local church youth choir. After disbanding "Apparition," he founded the 4-piece group "The Basics" and later, "Abaya," in an attempt to merge his divergent musical interests. He has won songwriting awards in various genres, including 10 from Billboard Magazine.
Filmmaker Although he became involved in filmmaking at age 9, his true entree into the craft began 3 years later. After selling his rare copy of Famous Funnies #212 and financial support from his parents, Craig bought his first movie camera, which helped him earn him his first screen credit from, then, NBC affiliate, KRON-TV. His footage included the funeral procession of San Francisco Mayor, George Moscone.
Educator
Abaya served as Director of Digital Media and Entertainment Departments and instructor at San Francisco State University College of Professional and Global Education from 2000-2015.
Discography Studio albums
‘’The Fine Art of Politics” (2009) ‘’One Bus to Mercy” (2019) ‘’Fashion Statement” (2022)
Singles
“This Jail I Made” (2018) ‘’Truth” (2018) ‘’Will I Walk on Water” (2019) ‘’Behind Blue Eyes” (2020) ‘’Laze the Day Away” (2021) ‘’Q&A” DJ Qbert and Craig Abaya (2021) ‘’Topsy Turvy” (2022) ‘’Sex Sells” (2022) ‘’Living in Analogy” (2022) ‘’HATE” (2024)
Guest Appearances
DJ Qbert “Bloom (Plantoids)” from the album Extraterrestria (2014) - song composition, lead and rhythm guitars, bass guitar
Musical Scores
"Bridge School News" series (2008 -) "Retrogirl" (2016) "Retrogirl 2" (2017) “Ambush” (2017) "Cortical Visual Impairment" mini series (2020) "Communication with First Responders During Emergencies and Disasters" (2021) "Clearly Through the Mist" (2023)
Filmography +Directed features Year Title Credits 2002 ‘’Bruce Hornsby Live at Villa Montalvo" Producer/Director 2003 "Joan Armatrading: All the Way from America” Producer/Director 2006-2020 ‘’The Stern Grove Festival Videos” (series) Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Music Mixer 2008-2019 ‘’Bridge School News” (series) Producer/Director, Editor, Composer 2015-2016 ‘’Marissa Anne the Media Fan” Producer/Director, Writer, Camera Operator, Editor 2016 ‘’Retrogirl” Producer/Director, Writer, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2016 ‘’If I Had a Twin” Producer/Director, Writer, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2016 "Ambush" Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Line Producer, Editor, Visual Effects, Composer 2017 ‘’Retrogirl 2” Producer/Director, Writer, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2018 ‘’The Nutcracker” Director, Camera Operator2018"The Bammies Reunion Concert"Producer, Director, Editor 2019 ‘’Restless Soul” Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2020 ‘’Cortical Visual Impairment” (mini series) Director, Editor 2020 ‘’Stern Grove - Best of the Fest" (mini series) Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor 2020 "Behind Blue Eyes" Producer/Director/Editor 2021 "Regret" Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2021 "Will I Walk on Water" Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2021 "Q&A" Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer 2021 "Laze the Day Away" Producer/Director, Editor, Composer 2021 "Communication with First Responders During Emergencies and Disasters" Editor, Composer 2022 "Thank You" Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor 2022 "From the Ground Up" Producer/Director, Writer, Editor 2023 "Clearly Through the Mist" Producer/Director, Editor, Composer 2024 "Shout to God with Cries of Gladness" Producer/Director, Camera Operator, Editor
References
External links
Manila Times article on the album, Fashion Statement Craig Abaya listed in Positively Filipino Craig Abaya's Website MacWorld Featured Artist for 2013