Reign Of The Crawdad (2024)

Tracks

1. You're Not Gonna Like This (The Disclaimer Overture)
2. Next Time
3. Chainsaw Gal (An Irish Pub Tale)
4. Don't You Just Know It
5. Crawdad Crawl (Instrumental)
6. Dig (Record Store Love)
7. It's All Right
8. Matters
9. Glockenspiel (The Headbanger's Lament)
10. Tell Me How You Really Feel
11. Mirage
12. If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out

Credits

Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford - Vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, banjo, violin, percussion, other noises.
Patrick A. Crawford - Lead guitar on tracks 3, 8, 9, 11, 12; background vocals on track 8.
Tim E. Gillespie - Trumpet on track 7.

Recorded & produced by Crawdad Crash.

Tracks 1-3, 5-6, 8-11 written by S. D. Crawford; published by Crawcophony Music Publishing (BMI).
Track 4 written by Huey "Piano" Smith; published by Cotillion Music Inc.
Track 7 written by Curtis L. Mayfield; published by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Track 12 written by Yusuf Islam; published by BMG Gold Songs O/B/O Cat Music Limited.

Album artwork by Margaret M. Crawford.

& 2024. All rights reserved.

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Crawdaddy's Notes

You're Not Gonna Like This (The Disclaimer Overture)

This song is about confronting someone (e.g., wife, lover, friend, boss, audience, etc.) with something they don’t necessarily want to hear — but I tried to make it fun. I added violin to give this song a different feel like an orchestra warming up in the beginning, and I "played" it without really knowing what I was doing — because I’ve never played one before! I also added some xylophone to give it a cartoonish feel in parts because I always loved cartoons and the music in them — especially the work of Carl Stallings, who used a lot of songs by Raymond Scott (e.g., “Powerhouse”) for Looney Tunes. Lastly, I added lots of random percussion throughout the song just for fun. After the intro, the song sounds more like a roots rock song (think Jason & The Scorchers) before the bridge and then after the lead until the ending. With the loose cacophonous intro, I decided to use this song as the album opener — sort of as a disclaimer or overture of things to come.

Next Time

I wrote this song for the Hodads probably around 1987, with our singer Philip specifically in mind. The song was and still is a fan favorite, and several people have told me they liked how I rhymed "liquor" and "sister"! I've done at least 1 Hodads song per Crawdad Crash album so far, and I wanted to continue that tradition. I recorded this version slightly slower and heavier, retained the twang, and added an extended outro with some vocal harmonies (even though I’ll never sing it as well as Philip). I tried to replicate Robbie’s lead from the Hodads version the best I could because I thought he nailed it.

Chainsaw Gal (An Irish Pub Tale)

I heard a story about a pub, whose owner sawed up the bar and tried to make it look like vandalism to get insurance money for the damage. I'm sure I don't have the facts exactly right, but I let my imagination run wild. What if this happened while the bar was open? What would the regulars think? Lots of tales get "embellished" when told over and over. Originally, I tried to make this an Irish folk song, but everything I do turns out as rock — even when I put a banjo on it. The lyrics also reference another bar — Pinkie Masters — a beloved dive in Savannah, Georgia.

Don't You Just Know It

New Orleans produced a lot of fantastic R&B back in the 1950's & 60's that was funky, quirky, and catchy, and I particularly like this song by Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns. I usually like any songs with goofy nonsense words in them — like "gooba gooba gooba gooba" here. (See also “Witch Doctor”, “Purple People Eater”, etc.). There’s a heavy dose of percussion from me beating on cowbells and wine bottles — like Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, who played coke bottles on “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”. I play this faster than the original, with more of a Cajun two-step beat. Put this on your Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras playlist.

Crawdad Crawl (Instrumental)

Back when I played drums for the Hodads, I wrote the music for this song but didn't have any good ideas for lyrics. Philip, our singer, would sometimes just make up lyrics on the spot to entertain us — and one time the lyrics were about me ("Crawdaddy")! More recently, I decided to record it as an instrumental (since I still didn't have any lyrics), retain at least "Crawdad" in the name, and add a bridge. After the first rhythm guitar verse, I tried to fill in the empty spaces with guitar — like what Steve Cropper (of the fantastic Booker T. & The MG's) did on "Green Onions", one my all-time favorite songs.

Dig (Record Store Love)

This was originally inspired by a conversation with friends about good beer styles that are hard to find — which then turned to good music that is hard to find. How do you support beer or music or whatever you really like if it isn't that popular (and therefore less commercially viable) and is hard to find? I've been collecting music since I was very young, and one of my favorite things to do is hang out in a record store, listen to what's playing, talk to the staff about what they like, and see what treasures I can find. It takes time and effort, but you always have to dig for the good stuff.

It's All Right

This is a revved up extended cover of the Impressions song, written by Curtis Mayfield. There's a line that says, "when you move it slow, it sounds like more", and I thought it would be fun to play it fast instead. I like the hand claps on the original, but I decided to add more syncopated claps. I also added some Slade-like stomps to accompany the "pat your feet" part. This song would not be complete without the trumpet parts, and my friend Tim Gillespie provided the background and solo trumpet.

Matters

This is a "life happens, but I'm here for you" song. I like a lot of sunny sounding reggae songs, and it’s hard to be too down or serious when listening to them — even when they're about something serious. I also really like all the cover versions of reggae songs by the original punks. This has that punk reggae feel to it like the Clash or Stiff Little Fingers, but it also sounds a little like ZZ Top to me — maybe from the repetitive outro groove or all the pinch harmonics my son Patrick played on the lead guitar parts. Patrick also added the backing vocals on this one.

Glockenspiel (The Headbanger's Lament)

A silly but seriously hard rocking tale of mistrust and (possible) betrayal. I wanted a cartoonish, over-the-top hard rock song, with lyrics that are fun to scream and with words that I find amusing — e.g., glockenspiel, codswallop, hornswoggle, etc. I like the goofy juxtaposition of loud guitars with a glockenspiel sound. My son Patrick supplied much of the lead guitar with his Les Paul, and I filled in many spots with my Strat and whammy bar — so there’s lots of guitar. This is for fans of the Upper Crust, Darkness, Spinal Tap, and other hard rock / heavy metal with a good dose of humor.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

I had Kinks-like riff, and I wanted to write a garage band song like all the fantastic songs on the Nuggets & Pebbles collections. I decided to do minimum takes and overdubs after finding a cool fuzz guitar setting. I think I did the drums in 1 take, the main rhythm guitar in 1 take, and the lead guitar in 1 take — and you can tell! Yes, it's rough, but that's how I wanted it — like a lost Chocolate Watchband song, or maybe a new Woggles or Lyres song. I added the finger snaps, bass, and vocals later, but the bulk of the song was recorded in about an hour. Originally, I was going to make this way more psychedelic, but the crazier ideas ended up being saved for a future song.

Mirage

I wrote this in the early 1990's for the Fontanels, and it has a very heavy Neil Young & Crazy Horse feel to it. Like with many of my favorite Fontanels songs, I felt like I now have the skills and technology to record a more definitive version with clearer vocals, varied instrumentation, and better sound than the live show that we released. My son Patrick provides the tasty lead guitar parts.

If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out

I enjoyed the hilarious cult film "Harold & Maude", and I remember this catchy acoustic Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) song in it. I like the positive message — especially given that it was in such a dark, funny, cartoonish film. This is a “faster and louder" cover — ala the Ramones, the Clash, or Green Day. It was fun to bang on my drums, crank up the guitars, scream, and play this with lots of energy.