The First Gig: Live At The Georgia Theatre (2023)

Raw live album with 10 originals and 1 cover.

Tracks

Seance (Live)
Vigilante Rock (Live)
Something Bad (Live)
It Just Didn't End Right (Live)
Living So Long (Live)
Beaten To A Pulp (Live)
Mirage (Live)
Elly May (Live)
Sugar, Sugar (Live)
Driving With My Blinker On (Live)
In The Gutter (Live)

Credits

Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford - Vocals, guitar.
Jeff Bradley - Bass.
Robbie Hensley - Drums.
Andy Higgins - Guitar.

Produced by the Fontanels.
Recorded live at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia.

Tracks 1-8, 10-11 written by S. D. Crawford; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).
Track 9 written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim; published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC and Steeplechase Music.

Album artwork by Steve Crawford.

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Crawdaddy's Notes

Seance

I remember Andy and me playing this in our apartment, and I tried to make up some kooky lyrics that would entertain us. Probably influenced by the Cramps, old garage rock, and whatever other loud stuff we were listening to at the time. This live recording doesn't really do justice to the extended noise freakout we usually did on this song.

Vigilante Rock

I wrote this rock anthem for the Fontanels in the early 90’s after reading about the US military using loud rock music to break down prisoners. I imagined what it would be like to be sort of a spy with a guitar. I re-recorded this for the first Crawdad Crash album, with Eric "Zipper" Wilson adding some killer lead.

Something Bad

Buzzsaw? Falling piano? Dynamite? Yes, this is a love song — inspired by cartoons. Influenced probably by the Cramps and all those garage bands from the 60’s like the the Sonics, Standells, the Chocolate Watchband, Count Five, Seeds, Lyrics, etc. Check out the Nuggets and Pebbles compilations if you’ve never listened to that stuff. This is one of the few Fontanels songs where I did the lead guitar break. I re-recorded this for the first Crawdad Crash album.

It Just Didn't End Right

Who hasn’t had this experience? I like the sound of the unresolved Esus4 chord at the end. I re-recorded this for the second Crawdad Crash album, with Patrick adding some really nice lead.

Living So Long

I don't think I had actually finished writing the words to this song, but that wasn't going to stop us from playing it! It was fun to play. Maybe I'll re-record this sometime so you can hear the lyrics instead of me just screaming gibberish.

Beaten To A Pulp

Heavily influenced by the Ramones and Social Distortion. Although not about a big national news incident, one was fresh in my mind when I wrote this.

Mirage

I wrote this in the early 90's, and it has a very heavy Neil Young & Crazy Horse feel to it. This is another Fontanels song where I did the lead break. I recently re-recorded this for the third Crawdad Crash album, with Patrick adding some tasty guitar parts.

Elly May

Inspired by both the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and the band Dash Rip Rock. It seemed fitting to debut this song live when we opened for Dash Rip Rock at the Georgia Theatre in Athens. I re-recorded this song for the second Crawdad Crash album.

Sugar, Sugar

The Archies song — played faster, louder, and with less sugar.

Driving With My Blinker On

When I used to see people driving down the highway with their blinkers on but not turning, I always wondered what they were thinking. Were they planning to turn but didn’t? Do they leave their blinkers on all the time just in case they want to turn? Didn’t they notice the blinking sound? Anyway, I imagined a scenario that seemed very plausible to me. I know it's easy to be distracted when something's going on in a relationship. This has sort of a Tom Petty classic rock sound. I re-recorded it for the first Crawdad Crash album.

In The Gutter

When you're down on your luck...