Album Notes

“Hell’s bubbling Over” is our folk song for Hurricane Katrina. One of my favorite old folk songs is “Erie Canal” and I wanted that kind of sound. I think we got close. The best line is “Man of means well he got out of town – What about the poor? Let the poor drown.”

“Sloppy Joes and Cheese” is a comedy tune. A friend of mine described his bar band as “sloppy joes with cheese”, and I thought that was hilarious. This tune is a comparison between fine and casual dining.

“Sounds of my Old Hometown” is an ode to my parents. There was all ways a comfort in knowing my folks were in the next room and I describe the sounds that help me sleep. There also used to be an atrium at my Grandparents house where I would open up the windows in the summertime for a breeze, and the sounds of leaves rustling and train whistles in the distance would lull me to sleep.

“Ya Ya It’s a Beer Run” is a German drinking song where the singer’s nemesis has drank all of his beer. So it’s time to go to the store.

“Satan and Jesus” is a kind of rock song – singing about where Satan tempted Jesus three different times. One of my favorites.

“Voices in your Head” is an existential gospel song. I wrote this after reading Jon Krakauer’s Banner of Heaven. Chances are it is not God speaking to you but just voices in your head.

$10,000 dollar party – I was shooting for a Duane Eddy guitar on this one. A song about getting arrested for driving while intoxicated. After tallying up all the expenses of lost work, court costs etc.. the arrest is often over $10,000.00.

“Hard Times Come Again No More” one of my favorite Stephen Foster songs.

“Bottom of the Ninth in the Hydrocarbon Age” was inspired by a speech from Jeff Rubin. He was promoting his book “Your World is about to get smaller”. The end of cheap oil and the changes it will bring.

We recorded this live in our practice room without any overdubs. I did not want to spend a lot of time on each individual track working it to perfection and spending days on each song. What came out is more representational of who we are and what we sound like, and a spontaneity that cannot be captured in overdubbing.