Album Notes

Why can't boys be trusted? Do cows really make holes in the ozone? Were the '70s cool or just dumb? And are we the last generation of rock and roll? Bean Hoy ponders dilemmas big and small on a 15-song collection that Amazon.com rated five stars.


FIVE-AND-A-HALF FUN FACTS...

1. A Plymouth Horizon horn is one of the "instruments" used on "Road Construction."

2. "Heileman's" was first written in 1984 as a tribute (of sorts) to a La Crosse, Wis. brewery by Mike and his first band, Your Missing Socks. The song has now outlasted both that band (broke up in 1985) and the brewery (closed in 1999).

3. Number of guitar solos on this album: 0.

3.5. Number of kazoo solos: 1 ("Last Generation of Rock & Roll").

4. "Faux Life" was selected for the soundtrack of the indie feature film "Coffee Refills Are Free" (the heartfelt, driving-at-night, what-the-f*ck-am-I gonna-do-with-my-life scene).

5. Named Best Local Recording of the Year in the La Crosse Area Music Awards.


BY THE WAY, WHICH ONE'S BEAN?

Formed by journalist-musician Mike Starling as an outlet for his wry, topical songs, Bean Hoy has taken the stage in everything from an acoustic duo on up to an eight-piece rock band with a brass section called the Horns of Vengeance. Three albums so far: "Boys Can't Be Trusted," "Get Lost: The Studio J Sessions" and "Cool Music For A Big Dumb World."


INSIDER MUSICIAN INFO...

• Mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Brett Huus.

• Recorded with two different versions of the Bean Hoy band live in the studio.

• First band features Casey Virock on acoustic guitar and Jim Vogt (now gigging with a jazz band in Fairbanks, Alaska) on drums. Both add backing vocal too.

• The second features Seattle recording artist Hans Mayer on guitar and bass and New York session player David Purcell on drums.

• Mike Starling sang and played acoustic guitar, bass and harmonica on both sessions.

• OK, we lied. The recordings are not TOTALLY live. There are also some very cool overdubs, like...

• Mark Lakmann's cool trombone work on the title track and "Rain In My Heart," Lonnie Oines' drivin' bass on "Broken Things," and Jason Knox's jammin' piano on "Heileman's" and "My 19-Inch Teacher."

• Gretchen Henchen's outrageous tuba parts on "Road Construction" and Pete Vogt's veering-out-of-control clarinet solo on "Milky Way."

• Jeff Halko's lap steel and Hans Mayer's slide bass (really!) on "Rain In My Heart."

• All of which makes for an amazing and must-have CD. Really... trust me...