Dawn Of The Crawdad Era, Part 2 (2023)

Tracks

1. Running
2. Elly May
3. I Can See Clearly Now
4. 13 Bar Blues
5. It Just Didn't End Right
6. Send More Chuck
7. Black Underwear
8. A Ringin' In My Ear
9. Ruh-Roh
10. No Plans
11. The Ballad Of Buck-0-Five
12. Beer And Wine
13. Who's Gonna Drive Me Home? (Barstool)
14. Monkey Bars (Instrumental)
15. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?

Credits

Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford - Vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, saxophone, percussion, other noises.
Patrick A. Crawford - Lead guitar on tracks 1, 3, 5, 11, 13, 15.
Tim E. Gillespie - Trumpet on tracks 7, 12.
Margaret M. Crawford - Vocal cameos on track 3.
Steve Hensley, Bert Cummings - Vocal cameos on track 8.

Recorded & produced by Crawdad Crash.

Tracks 1-2, 4-14 written by S. D. Crawford; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).
Track 3 written by Johnny Nash; published by Nashco Music, Inc.
Track 15 written by Nick Lowe; published by BMG Gold Songs O/B/O Plangent Visions.

Album artwork by Margaret M. Crawford.

& 2023. All rights reserved.

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Crawdaddy's Notes

Running

A love song in multiple aspects — to running and to your running mate — or not? Curiously does not contain the words “run” or “running”. I inadvertently marked this song as needing a “parental advisory” due to “explicit lyrical content” and never changed it. Maybe something subconscious? My son Patrick put a nice lead on this that sort of sounds like Jimmy Eat World or other early 2000’s punk pop.

Elly May

Inspired by both the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and the band Dash Rip Rock. The Fontanels debuted this song live when we opened for Dash Rip Rock at the Georgia Theatre in Athens back in the early 90’s.

I Can See Clearly Now

The first of two covers I’ve recorded, this is the Johnny Nash reggae pop song done in a more punk style — i.e., faster and louder (which is always fun with just about any cover). Some subset of the Hodads and/or Fontanels used to jam on a revved up version of this. I wanted it to sound like some of the early punk bands — the Clash, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, etc. — who all did great covers. With my son Patrick on lead guitar, it may sound a little more like Green Day or maybe Jimmy Eat World. That’s my daughter Margaret with the “bright!” background vocals.

13 Bar Blues

Initially inspired by NRBQ’s “12 Bar Blues”, I wanted to write a song with 13 bars about bars and being unlucky. The early versions glamorized actions that I didn’t really want to condone; so, I kept editing it to get what I wanted — something more vague that could be interpreted different ways. This chugging rocker has a twangy, country-ish feel with a recurring slinky guitar fill. I also name-drop a few old Atlanta venues like 688 and the Metroplex.

It Just Didn't End Right

Who hasn’t had this experience? Originally written for the Fontanels in the early 1990’s, this version has a dominant acoustic guitar throughout the song. I like the sound of the unresolved Esus4 chord at the end. Patrick put a really nice lead on this.

Send More Chuck

My mom had a 45 of “Maybellene” that I played over and over, and I’ve always been a big fan of Chuck Berry and music derived from him ever since. This song was inspired both by him and by a 1978 SNL skit about aliens sending a message to Earth wanting to hear more Chuck Berry. I thought it was hilarious, and I hope Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd appreciate it. I added an alien voice like Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater” or David Seville’s “Witch Doctor” because I was a fan of all those kooky songs, too.

Black Underwear

This funky garage jam was inspired by a friend’s comment. Not saying anymore...

A Ringin' In My Ear

Written in the early 1990’s for the Fontanels with the Gulf War / Operation Desert Storm on my mind. Never recorded — and probably never performed live other than rehearsals. Finally recorded as Crawdad Crash.

Ruh-Roh

The soundtrack to me and a high school buddy driving around. Who knows what we got into back then? Plus, I loved Scooby-Doo.

No Plans

Originally written for and performed by the Hodads — probably around 1986-1987. It’s so much fun to play that I recorded it again as Crawdad Crash.

The Ballad Of Buck-0-Five

Inspired by the first time I saw Buckofive (with Philip and Steve from the Hodads) at Smith’s Olde Bar. I was blown away — so impressed and proud of them. The idea and structure for the song all came to me while driving home that night after the show. I could literally hear the whole thing in my head by the time I got home. The first version of lyrics sounded a little bit too much like Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died”, but I re-worked them to be more what I wanted — about perseverance and dreams and rock & roll. You’ll hear references to AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Ramones, Elvis Costello, Judas Priest, and, of course, the Hodads in there.

Beer And Wine

Another love song. As a friend used to say, “When times are good, you do the good times things. When times are bad, you don’t do those so much.” Either way, you get through with the ones you love.

Who's Gonna Drive Me Home?

The alternative title was “Barstool”, but, like Johnny Cash, I like naming songs after words in the song — even though sometimes I don’t (see “Running”).

Monkey Bars

I came up with this mesmerizing riff probably when I was in middle school, and I finally turned it into a song. Sort of sounds like R.E.M. doing an instrumental with more of a shoegazey bridge.

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?

This is the other cover on the second album — one of my all-time favorites written by Nick Lowe. I was first introduced to the song by the awesome Elvis Costello & The Attractions version, and I later found the original by Brinsley Schwarz. I wanted this to be slower and crunchier — like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Mott The Hoople playing it together. With Patrick’s incredible lead guitars, it turned out just how I imagined it. I hope Nick and Elvis hear it sometime.