Biography
Singer/songwriters Chris Ducey and Craig Smith formed the short-lived duo Chris & Craig, issuing a single obscure 45 on Capitol in 1966. Its A-side, “Isha,” stood out as an inventive folk-rock cut marked by psychedelic leanings, most notably an Eastern-tinged melody and prominent harpsichord. The B-side, “I Need You,” offered a comparatively conventional and buoyant folk-rock number. The same pair later joined forces in the Penny Arkade, whose folk-rock material carried psychedelic flourishes that echoed both Buffalo Springfield and the Monkees. Although Mike Nesmith produced the group’s sessions, none of the recordings appeared before the band dissolved in the late ’60s; roughly an album’s worth of tracks eventually surfaced on the eccentric early-’70s LPs released under the name Maitreya Kali. Craig Smith used Maitreya Kali as a pseudonym, blending selected post-Penny Arkade solo pieces with leftover Penny Arkade recordings for those albums; the full, tangled story is recounted in the entries devoted to the Penny Arkade, Maitreya Kali, and Craig Smith.