Needle In The Hay + Crazy As A Loon

Needle In The Hay was recorded right before the quarantine started. It was lovely to work with my friends and be all together in the studio making this thing. I know we appreciated it while it was happening. As soon as it was finished we all went our separate ways back home. It feels like a million years ago.

This song reeks of druggy, weird old Portland in the 90’s. A stop on tour and a place I went to visit friends. I remember the smell and feel of the place very well. It feels like yesterday. There’s a spare tension and desperation baked into this song that is unavoidable. We just played it and tried not to reference the original recording outside of the melodies, words and chord progression. We tried to bring our own texture and feel to it. Singing other people’s songs can sometimes feel like acting. This is a song I never could have written but I can feel where it comes from. It felt natural to play this character.

Elliott Smith was definitely one of the best songwriters of our generation. His voice and his songs always hit me solidly in the heart from the first time I heard his music and saw him play all those years ago. Hope we did this song justice.

Tim Rutili - Guitars, Piano, Vocals
Ben Massarella - Percussion
Rachel Blumberg - Percussion, Vocals
Jeffery Underhill - Fuzz Bass

Recorded and mixed by John Askew at Bocce March 12&13, 2020

Crazy As A Loon was played and recorded by Tim Rutili at home and mixed by Brian Deck.

This song was written by John Prine. Extra special thanks to Tim Loftus and George McAuliffe for Prine-like inspiration.