Joe Ruffatto

ThAT OLD CROOKED HOUSE OF OUR DREAMS

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JOE RUFFATTO started writing music in 2001 to help put his newborn baby daughter, Zoe, to sleep. Right after that, the World Trade Center tragedy hit, and Joe felt inspired to write protest songs against the screwed up world he now found himself a parent in. He spent the next 15 years trying to navigate fatherhood and his relationship with his wife, Jennifer, and wrote a mess of love songs. "Love songs aren't just for teenagers," Joe says, "love is a protest against hate."

Joe had the opportunity to realize this album when his father passed away and left him a small inheritance. Every time he wrote a check toward the project, Joe found himself thanking his father from the bottom of his heart. "I know he would have approved," says Joe.

He got lucky in teaming up with MATT WRIGHT, who was absolutely instrumental in making this album happen. Matt helped with song selection, tinkered with arrangements, located all of the top notch local musicians, recorded the sessions, (even played tambourine when called upon,) and mixed the entire album.

Matt and Joe tapped into a wellspring of amazing local musicians; every artist featured on the album lives in Joe's stomping grounds, Sonoma County, California. "They were each given the opportunity to bring their own unique flavor to the album, and came through beyond my wildest expectations", says Joe. "It was truly a labor of love."

JOE RUFFATTO / Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Songwriter

MATT WRIGHT / Producer, Engineer, Tambourine

EZRA LIPP / Drums

GIO BENEDETTI / Bass

MIKE EMERSON / Keys

ALISON HARRIS / Background Vocals

DAVE ZIRBEL / Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel

NICK HASTY / Horn Arrangement, Sax, Trumpet

JASON THOR / Trombone

KERI BAILEY / String Arrangement, Violin

REBECCA ROUDMAN / Cello

KALEI YAMANOHA / Accordion