Written by Joy Freeman | Photo Courtesy of Crazier

This Dog Spits is everything that the title suggest: bold, fearsome, and unflinching. The four-track EP sees Athens-based group Crazier in a new light, one led by the defiance of lead singer Eli Raps in the face of her assault by someone in the local scene. What rises is less elegy to what came before, and more reclamation, a medley of truth brought to life by band mates Winston Barbe (guitar), Alex Dillon (drums), and Kevin Cregge (bass). 

On the introductory track “Dissolving,” Raps asks, “Why would I hold it in?/ Who would that benefit?/ I’ve got this song to sing, my love,/ and you’re not gonna like it.” 

I caught up with Crazier to discuss the composition of the tracks, the intentionality of their production, and what it means for them to be sharing these songs with the world. 

TW: sexual assault, harassment, intimidation, and stalking.

There is an uneasiness in “Dissolving” sonically, a perfect reflection of the lyrical content (“this world will be over for you and for me if you get any closer”). Do you usually compose your melodies before or after you’ve written your songs narratively? 

Eli: Melodies and lyrics usually unfold hand in hand for me. I think of or overhear narrative lines and phrases that I like all the time, and I try to document them as quickly as possible. Though I think good lines or phrases are inherently musical, when I collect an idea for what could turn into lyrics, those ideas rarely have melodies attached in my brain realtime. 

I like to compile my recent ideas or line snippets when I’m working on a song. This helps me get going. I’ll find something I like while playing guitar or another instrument and just scan the line ideas until one grabs me. Once one of the lines gets kidnapped by the melodically-oriented part of my brain and the rest tumbles into place – by the time I consider a song complete, the bulk of the lyrics were written separately from the initial lines that inspired the song. 

I’m hesitant to express the following sentiment, because lyrics are so important to me, but when I’m first writing a song, words are just there for me to find melodies – the second the two meet is when I consider the songwriting process to have begun. Because the lines/phrases I collect are from a bunch of different contexts, I almost never know what a song is going to be about until it’s started, and even then I don’t know what the full narrative will look like until the song is finished. There are songs of mine that I’ve listened to five years later only to discover a hidden meaning/narrative tucked into it that I wasn’t aware of before, which is a really cool experience. 

Kevin: This is Eli’s question to answer but I do find there is an innate affinity between the lyrical narrative and the melody – they play off each other symbiotically to strengthen the overall effect on the listener. Eli is a natural at uniting discord and harmony to curate a wholly idiosyncratic sound that defies convention.

“I’ve got this song to sing, my love, and you’re gonna hate it. I’ll sing it anyway.” There is something so poignant in that – defiant, a reclamation. How have live audiences reacted to this track so far?  

Kevin: Funnily enough, we’ve played a few shows recently where folks were locked in on the performance, so we’ve seen the audience dancing to a track that is perhaps not the most danceable, but that juxtaposition of joy and movement against sonically complex & lyrically sobering material is surprising and encouraging. 

Alex: Hypnotized for sure. I’ve seen the crowd get quiet, lock in, focus on what we’re able to conjure up on stage. It’s magical.

You have a very clear lo-fi sound. It is both engaging and stripped-back enough to feel particularly intimate for the listener. How did you develop it as a group?

Eli: By hypnotizing ourselves accidentally (and then on purpose) with the songs. I think all four of us really resonate with the lyrics and emotional contexts of each song, probably in a bunch of different ways, and definitely in the main way – my 3 Crazier bandmates have all witnessed and experienced the distressing antics of the bullies who inspired these songs firsthand. It’s hard not to create something intimate when I know that the people I’m playing with know exactly who I’m talking to or about in any given line across the EP. 

Going into the world of This Dog Spits together over and over proved to be pretty healing in the end, at least for me. I remember working on the songs to prepare for the studio, and it got to a point where every time we played through any of the songs in full as a group that by the time the song was over I felt like I’d just woken up from a really perfect nap, ready to get back to my Real Life again.

Winston: The first tenet of Crazier is to make decisions that serve the song. Bunkered down in our practice space, we spent hours repeatedly playing the songs to find The Feel. This allowed us to make quick decisions in the studio which is especially important with the natural limitation of tape recording. 

I don’t want it to sound like I am against DAW, I think DAW is great in its own processes and especially in its accessibility, but working with tape, not to mention a wizard of a tape engineer, really helped us avoid the impulse towards perfectionism. Who wants that? What you hear on this EP is people playing music. 

Kevin: Crazier initially began as a three-piece which naturally limited the scope of what we could pull off in a live setting, so there was a measured approach to developing our sound. When I joined, I filled in the low end and offered some counterpoint to the songs that fleshed out the sonic landscape. Eli normally presents her songs fully formed, with clear ideas on each part that fit together like puzzle pieces to create a larger work. We all have backgrounds in music and have played in other bands, but Crazier has the most restraint in my experience, allowing the music to exist independently without flashiness so as to draw attention to the material itself. 

Alex: As a group I think specifically with Dissolving we took an atypical approach to how we would usually do things. Switching around duties (Alex on piano, Winston on drums) helped us come up with some fresh ideas. David Barbe’s production is also top-notch. 

How has working in the Athens music scene shaped your work? What is the community like?

Eli: I mostly adore the Athens music scene. I think it’s full of so many authentic and talented and hardworking people. Prior to being assaulted and subsequently harassed, I had nothing but positive things to say about the scene here. 

With that said, I’ve been so hurt by and disappointed in each person who massively failed (and continues to fail) handling what happened to me appropriately. Still today there are places within the scene that feel entirely unsafe for me to operate in – in many ways, I feel I have been effectively removed from the scene here. Someone who repeatedly stalked and berated me simply for being a sexual assault victim is involved in so many projects and holds many influential seats in the scene, and he is enabled by the people who know it for reasons that are not clear to me. I have been directly punished and threatened each and every time I or anyone else has tried to share specifics… that’s been a vicious cycle. Even answering basic questions like this is anxiety-inducing for me – I so badly want people to know the truth of what happened so I can feel safe again, but at the same time, it’s like… will these people find me in the street again and scream at me for this? Call me repeatedly in the middle of the night? Show up unannounced at my friend’s house? Storm into my place of work? All of these things are examples of what’s already happened. Seeing so many people record with, or book shows with, or play in bands with these people who have enabled or perpetuated my abuse has been really sad and scary and isolating, and has changed the way I view this or any other music scene. 

In terms of how this shaped my work… It gave me a lot to write about, but I already had a lot to write about, so I’m not really sure. I think I used to have a lot less confidence in myself and in my abilities; I now view it as a privilege to know and work with me, the same way I consider it a privilege to know and work with Winston and Alex and Kevin. I’m no longer interested in working with just anybody, you know – you have to be kind and you have to be brave if you want to stand anywhere near me or my songs. 

Winston: As a band, it’s been difficult. I’ve been a part of this music scene since I was a teenager, and it has always generated great music. But since Eli came forward about being ****d by a musician in the scene, it’s shown a different light on the scene altogether. It has shown me the weaknesses in the scene when it comes to holding people accountable. I’ve seen so many people choose the littlest amount of clout over ensuring safe spaces for people more vulnerable than themselves, and honestly it’s been really disappointing. It’s led me to become far more reserved when interacting with the scene and it feels like a lot of opportunities have been closed to us. 

Having said that, all of my closest relationships have been made through the scene in Athens and I think that there are a lot of great people and a lot of great music still coming out of Athens. For instance the two songwriters who are supporting us at our Athens EP release show, Mckendrick Bearden and Malie Kato (Valley of Giants), are both people who have shown high character and write amazing songs.

I’ve had to mourn a lot of relationships since Eli’s disclosure, but it’s also really clarified what I value in people around me.

Kevin: While we are all musicians in the scene, Crazier is also composed of four members who actually work in the Athens music scene as well. So in addition to our involvement in music, we have a vested interest in supporting the scene that goes beyond just playing. 

“Start over whenever you can/start over whenever you feel like it,” is a moment of hope at the end of the EP in “That’s a Start.” It isn’t a sense of mindless optimism, but an exploration of the oscillation of emotions that come with true healing. What do you hope the listener takes away from the journey of this project, front to back? 

Eli: Generally speaking, I hope the listener takes whatever they need to from the journey of the project. I think one of the coolest aspects of songs and music is how personally adaptive they are – 100 different people can assign meaning to a song in 100 different ways, and I find each way so valid and so interesting. I fucking love when someone shares what one of my songs reminds them of, or how they interpreted it. Ideally, whatever the listener wants to think about – for better or for worse – they’ll find in these songs. 

In a different way… it’s interesting, because these are the first songs I’ve written wherein I anticipate a few people really will not like the songs. And they should not like the songs, because they’re in them, and they’re in them honestly. Oh well. 

For everybody else: If I *have* to pick a specific takeaway: Permission to feel, and permission to take a break from feeling if/as needed

• Dissolving → What they did is real, and it was bad. Your world feels like it’s ending because it is.
• Bye Bye → They were cowards. Don’t take them with you. 
• She Needs Me → Grieve all you’ve lost. Let yourself feel now what you couldn’t feel then. 
• That’s Start → Rest. You have a lifetime (at least) to unpack all that’s happened to you. You don’t have to solve it now, which is good, because you can’t, so rest. 

Kevin: Listening to Crazier should engage and affirm, allowing you to face adversity with confidence. We cover some harder topics on this EP and while this collection does not offer a saccharine moment of digestible platitudes, it does cover a swath of emotions that sync with our lived experiences, because it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the power to be a light to ourselves and others.

Alex: I hope the listener feels like they are being seen. Like the subject matter, framing, vibe is something that they can feel deep down and maybe they didn’t even know it was there.

You’re playing a set of live shows this spring. Any cities you’re particularly excited to hit? 

Eli: This is the first tour I’ve ever gone on, so I’m equal parts nervous and excited for all the cities we’ll hit! I’m looking forward to Nashville – the last time I was in Nashville I got pretty sick and had to leave so I’m hoping this time is more fun. I’d like to find some cowboy boots on the cheap.

Winston: We are fortunate to play with some really good acts on this run. I’m excited to bring the songs to people who haven’t heard them before. I’m not sure which city I’m particularly excited about, I’m just stoked to hit the road with the band and to see what comes next.

Kevin: This will be our first real tour as a four-piece and I cannot wait to get close and personal with the others in Crazier. Honestly I’m excited for every city we’re playing: Birmingham is a personal favorite place to visit with one of the best record stores in the game, Seasick Records. I have several friends in Nashville and expect that will be a great turnout and fun play. Then Chattanooga has long been a preferred destination, just a lovely place I have many memories of as a kid. And very excited to get to play with our friends at Yellow Racket Records!

Alex: Stoked to hit Nashville! Maybe I’ll find a cowboy hat this time.
This Dog Spits is out across streaming platforms on April 10th.

You can listen to This Dog Spits out everywhere now. You can also snag a copy of the EP on 7” vinyl.