Craig Nybo: Author/Musician

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Do not miss this book. The turn of the 19th to the 20th century sits in America’s history as an important time for business, technological advancement, and cultural progress. The […]

Perhaps creativity itself also thrives in clutter. For me, whether it is writing, composing, filmmaking, or building a prop for a stage show or movie, the creative process begins with an idea. That idea grows into a mess of junk, rattling, sprawl, and chaos. Just when the whole thing is about to explode, I get to work making order of the mess. This means stacking, dusting, putting things where they belong, and polishing.

About phonetic singing and converting the sense of lyrics into words during song writing.

Starting a new song feels like a new beginning. This new song will feature a saw/theremin waltz.

Talking about finishing the score to a new Rustmonster song called Clock Man, also about progress on the custom drum set for the live performance of the upcoming album.

Regarding creative doldrums where one is tempted to hang it up and move on to a new project. Only discipline can push a creator through to the end.

Talking about composing music and capturing great ideas as they come.

Talking about building a custom found percussion instrument.

Fly on the wall view of a Rustmonster recording session from mediaRif’s Studio.

Music night with the band, Wednesday night, a tradition for over a decade.

I recently read a novel by a well-known author (who shall remain nameless), a household name. It astounded me at how many rookie mistakes this author made. It has been said that one can learn just as much by reading a bad book as a good one. So, in lieu of my terrible experience wading […]

Regarding composing more steampunk music for the upcoming album.

Vittorio, The Vampire by Anne Rice My rating: 1 of 5 stars Long ago I gave up on Anne Rice. I enjoyed her work when I was a young man. But it seems I grew up. By the time I had given up on her, I had decided she wrote down to me. I found […]

Thinner by Richard Bachman My rating: 3 of 5 stars Another classic by the master. King infuses Gypsies into American culture with ease. He’s incredible at colliding opposing worlds and smashing his main characters right at the point of impact. A slight warning, however: with this book, like so many others by King, it is […]

Discussing the art of resisting the temptation of jumping ship on a current project for another project.

Talking about how the 3rd performance of the Zombie Rock Opera went at LTUE. More LTUE today. And getting down to arranging.

Talking about building the steampunk show from the ground up. Rustmonster hires a master welder to create the ultimate found percussion drum kit.

A glimpse into the raw composition of a steampunk song. Minus tracks and experimenting.

Talking about composing the 6th song for the upcoming steampunk Rustmonster album.

Craig discusses the new Rustmonster album, a steampunk opera, that he is working on. He also reveals the date at which Rustmonster will be debuting the entire album as a live performance.

Funk Toast was probably the most musically fulfilling groups I have ever played with. I finally finished editing a reunion performance. It has everything to do with my latest novel, Funk Toast and the Pan-Galactic Prom Show.

Responding to a question from a VLOG viewer about novel writing software, I talk about the pros and cons of writing with Scrivener.

I’m opening up my daily log as a forum. If you have any questions about writing, music, or film, feel free to friend me on facebook at facebook.com/craignybo. IM me any questions and I will address them on camera.

Revival by Stephen King My rating: 5 of 5 stars In his novel, Revival, Stephen King takes readers once again on a wonderful journey. King, always a master of voice and multi-dimensional characters, delivers the goods in Revival. This novel follows the entire life of a man, from boyhood to adult. From religion, to relationships, […]

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn My rating: 4 of 5 stars Flynn understands the mind of a sociopath. Her research comes through loud and clear in her book, Gone Girl. In her book, she creates a set of compelling characters then bends her reader’s perceptions of the motivations and actions of these characters. This deeply […]

The indie experimental band Fasba Fpel invited me to come play on their 32nd album. That’s right, their 32nd. So how do they do it? They record and release everything they do. They get together weekly and record a 40-minute jam session and release it to their fans. I had a blast with these guys.

The end of the year is upon us. I swear, the older I get, the more it seems like years fly by like long weekends. Time is relative and for me it strikes and is gone like lightning. With a new year, it is essential to set new goals, to write them out and put together a plan to accomplish them. I plan to do so, partially in this article. I urge you to do the same.

I was honored to have the band Fasba Fpel invite me out of the blue to come and record an album with them. This band is remarkable in one way: they record an album every week. I was featured as the bass player on their 32nd album.

Cell by Stephen King My rating: 4 of 5 stars Great book. Stephen King shows his masterful ability to create a set of believable characters and fling them straight into the fire. This book gets going on page 1 and doesn’t let up until the end. He could easily write a sequel to this book, […]

Craig talks about being a “hired gun” bass player in the Kevin Forbush band and about playing with other musicians.

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber My rating: 3 of 5 stars Being a thriller author, I am disappointed in myself for not knowing about Charles Cullen, the #1 serial killer in all of American history. As a nurse, it is estimated by some that Cullen murdered […]

I am thrilled to release my new novel, Funk Toast and the Pan-Galactic Prom Show (now available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook). I took some risks as I wrote this book and Bieber’s Finger (book 1 in the duology).

I have played music now for nearly half of my life with a group of my best friends. We have performed under the monikers of many band names and faces, including: Rustmonster, Wasasquatch, Funk Toast, The Big Sky Country Boys, and New Wave Dave. We have taken to lumping all of these bands under one umbrella that we call The Gangrene Band. One night, after recording a live track for an upcoming album in the studio, we realized that we had the whole band miced, trimmed, and ready to go. We decided to record an album, all in one romp, with no thought for what we would play. I simply pushed the record button and we started jamming. 40 minutes later, we had a new record (granted it was a record I would never sell). We called it Freestyle Gargoyles. I can’t in good conscience ever sell a jam session that is so disorganized and noisy. But I don’t mind sharing it for free. So here it is, a 40-minute jam entitled Freestyle Gargoyles.

I proudly present my 3rd and 4th novels, part 1 and part 2 in the Pan-Galactic Prom Show Duology. The novels are called Bieber’s Finger and Funk Toast and the Pan-Galactic Prom Show. Click on the video below to see me formally introduce the books and read the 1st chapter (complete with background music and sound effects).

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Great Child’s Tale, In The Spirit of the Icelandic Sagas When it comes to Neil Gaiman, I find myself drawn to his children’s stories more than his adult fiction. Odd and the Frost Giants doesn’t disappoint. This charming, short novel is […]

Everville by Clive Barker My rating: 2 of 5 stars Everville breaks the rules but it probably shouldn’t. As a young man, I read a lot of Clive Barker. I think mainly I was drawn to him due to a 1-sentence endorsement from Stephen King, which said, “I have seen the future of horror and […]

I am super excited to appear on Dungeon Crawlers Radio this coming Thursday night.

Listen in at 6pm Mountain Time. Call in and ask me anything about my 2 new books, Bieber’ s Finger and Funk Toast and the Pan-Galactic Prom Show.

As I send off the final assets of book two of my new duology, which I call the Pan-Galactic Prom Show, a feeling of loss comes over me. Writing novels is such lonely work. Each novel represents hundreds of hours of sitting by oneself with nothing but the clacking of keys and the even louder maelstrom of character voices, scenes, and action in ones head.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am a long-time Neil Gaiman fan. But I have to say, I think his children’s stories eclipse his adult fiction. Coraline is a good example. This novel is so full of imagination that it is baffling. Gaiman has a way of voicing his children’s […]

Chi landed hard on his back. The shrank cat came at him, maw open. Chi moved quickly, clasping down hard on the cat’s face with all eight of his rakes, driving his spicules into the cat’s vulnerable flesh. The cat mewled in pain and raised up. It wagged its head back and forth, trying to shake Chi free. But Chi only clamped down harder. The shrank cat would run out of energy at some point. All Chi could do was hold on.

As I wrote Bieber’s Finger, a strange thing happened to me; the characters began to speak. They got under my skin. I found myself rooting for them or hating them. I have written many other stories. Some of which, one might argue, have characters that are much stronger than those in Bieber’s Finger. But as a writer, I have never engaged with fictional characters like I did while writing Bieber’s Finger.

On September 2nd, 2011, I and some of my very best friends hit the stage at The Gangrene Film Festival, dressed as Bigfoots and armed with musical instruments, intent on playing a killer rock covers show. The show went off well.

That Wasasquatch show became a turning point for me. Believe it or not, I am a pretty inhibited person. I don’t feel comfortable dressing up even for Halloween. I’m more likely to sit in a corner by myself rather than engage in conversation at large gatherings. And when I do engage in conversations, my insides churn with uneasy nerves. In short, it takes me a long time to warm up to people and an even longer time to warm up to putting myself out there with any form of eccentricity. I’m quiet. I’m reserved. I love people, but I’m usually too nervous inside to do much about it.

Often people ask me where my ideas for stories come from. The answer is always the same: I have no idea. But all ideas come from some form of inspiration. Often something gets stuck in my head. It can be a situation, a collision of two worlds, or even a single sentence. Occasionally these nudges stick around, sometimes for years, and eventually turn into stories.

The new novel, Bieber’s Finger, tells the story of a super-fan who catches her pop idol’s finger in a car bombing. But death isn’t the end for her when it comes to her favorite teen pop singer. She sets in motion a plan to clone her idol and resurrect his career.

Jean Archer: The Diamond and the Rough by Jason A. Anderson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Excellent Start On a New Young Adult Fiction Series Jason Anderson’s novel, Jean Archer, sets up a group of characters for many future adventures. Anderson sets this new sub-series in his Soul Chaser world but introduces new players […]

All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner My rating: 2 of 5 stars I found this book a bit pretentious and over-written. It’s about a academic snob who complains about everything and hates everybody. I didn’t relate with the character. I didn’t like him. The prose was extremely descriptive, good in many ways. But […]

I’ve always loved halloween. Should be obvious judging by the music and books I write. It dawned on me that I have created everything one needs to make Halloween spooky and fun. So I decided to create a Halloween season bundle of products for a single, low price. I give you the Halloween Bundle. In […]

The Colony: Genesis by Michaelbrent Collings My rating: 5 of 5 stars An Ultra-fast Ride through a World in its Final Throes The Colony: Genesis begins MichealBrent Collings’s epic zombie tale. As beginnings go, this one kicks off at a hundred degrees and only gets hotter from there. With punch chapters and fluid writing, Collings […]

The last of Craig’s 30-day video log experiment. He talks about finishing projects.

Craig talks about the difficulty and value of deleting scenes and sequences from his novels.