Album Notes

A stellar set of high-octane music fueled by songwriter Mike Starling's wry lyrics about pop culture and post-modern life and the Jimmy Page-inspired grooves of the Sons of Distortion band.

A SIX-PACK OF FACTS ABOUT THIS CD...

1. For its first few gigs, the band performed as Mike Starling and the Hyperventilators.

2. Funky blues-rocker "Fits Right In" originally performed by Buzz Butler, another absolutely smokin' band you've never heard of before.

3. Four other songs were originally released (in radically different acoustic versions) on Bean Hoy's "Boys Can't Be Trusted" CD.

3 1/2. Sorry, we\'re not telling you which ones.

4. Totally groovy "Aliens in America" cover art is by Chris Gall, named one of the top illustrators in America by Communication Arts magazine.

5. The album premiered at the weekly Album Encounters laser light show at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Planetarium in May 2002.

6. We are the last generation of rock & roll.


THE LONG WINDING ROAD TO MAKING THIS ALBUM...

1. Journalist-musician Mike Starling interviews producer Michael von Muchow for his "From The Middle Border" show on Wisconsin Public Radio.

2. Von Muchow invites Starling to his Actual Sound Studio in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to record a demo of his song "Insomnia".

3. Starling moves to Colorado and doesn't come back for two years.

4. When he does, the two Mikes put together a band to perform live in preparation for recording more of Starling's songs.

5. Basic tracks down, Starling again leaves town... and all the overdubbing to von Muchow and band members Casey Virock and Kevin Skrenes.

6. The result is one of the hardest rockin' of Starling's career. "This truly was a group effort," he says. "Like all my favorite bands, the sum is much greater than the individual parts." And, since it's unlikely these four musicians will ever perform again as a unit, this is probably the only chance you'll ever get to hear them.


INSIDER MUSICIAN INFO...

• Chicago-born Michael von Muchow played in a number of bands in the Windy City and Minneapolis-St. Paul before starting a career as a producer (credits include the 2005 Grammy Award-winning CD, "Cedar Dream Songs" by Bill Miller). Besides producing the Sons of Distortion sessions, he also contributed bass, guitar and background vocals.

• Guitarist Casey Virock first played with Starling in the band Buzz Butler, and has added his tastefully twisted guitar work to several of Starling's subsequent recording projects (including Bean Hoy's "Boys Can\'t Be Trusted"). Last we heard, Casey was leading a band called Porcupine.

• Kevin Skrenes' creative drum kit and percussion style lays a solid foundation on the Sons of Distortion sessions. He also sang harmony vocals and played some piano. Kevin\'s latest gig was playing bass with the band Chemicals In Action.

• Journalist/musician Mike Starling is a two-time winner of the Milwaukee Press Club Award and his original music has been featured on movie soundtracks, radio and TV shows, and a number of band recordings and solo releases. Other CD Baby releases include "Guitar Moods," "Didjeriblue, Vol. 1," and the Bean Hoy band's "Get Lost," "Boys Can\'t Be Trusted," and "Cool Music For A Big Dumb World" CDs.