Album Notes

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
--Benjamin Franklin

*****

The reaction to "Patriot Acts":

"A contribution to the good fight...a bright spark in a naughty world" (David Constantine, poet)

"Great US singer-songwriter with a fine line in protest song" (Time Out, London)

"An important record, and should be experienced by everyone" (Thomas Florek, TV-30 Princeton, NJ)

"Keep the songs coming; there's no shortage of outrageous material...We'll be waiting for Patriot Acts II." (Wayne Sandholtz, former director, Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies)

"'What Our Children Is Learning' is a bloody masterpiece." (Darren Beech, folking.com)

"I'm enamored of this CD." (Bill Realman Stella, WRSU-FM)

*****

Geoff wrote and recorded these songs in the summer of 2004, but they continue to resonate with an amazingly wide range of audiences, thanks to international radio play and the fact that, 2 years down the road, these tracks have proven to be distressingly prophetic and, unfortunately, still relevant.

The catchy tunes and provocative lyrics of "Patriot Acts" are grounded in an old-school patriotism like that of Woody Guthrie: the kind that tough-loves America enough to get furious at its mis-steps. All types of Americans have bought and enjoyed "Patriot Acts"--Republicans, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, soldiers home from Iraq, soldiers en route to Iraq, protesters at the GOP convention in NYC, etc--but listeners abroad have been equally enthusiastic, especially in Canada, Ireland, the U.K., and Holland.

Produced by Eric Kvortek and Geoff Baker at The Gasworks (E. Brunswick, NJ) and Geoff's basement (Highland Park, NJ). Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (Tenafly, NJ). Geoff wrote all the songs; played acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards, drums and a cardboard box; programmed loops; and sang. Eric Kvortek sang on "Khashoggi." Chris Wargo played bass on "What Our Children Is Learning."

* WARNING: "What Our Children Is Learning" contains words that may offend some listeners; it's not my fault Bush and Cheney have potty mouth. If I had told a US Senator to go eff himself, or called a reporter an a-hole in front of a live microphone, my mom would have washed my mouth out with soap.