This page contains a brief overview on the album BEAN HOY: Cool Music For A Big Dumb World. Learn more about the artist and explore the track lists and website. If you find any information that needs to be corrected, please let us know.

 
Sixteen brand new tunes from a world-class lyric writer with an amusingly sharp eye on the post-modern world. This long-awaited follow-up to Bean Hoy's award-winning debut album clocks in at just under one hour and features odes to beater cars, farmer tans, insidious insects and hopelessly hip college towns...plus wry observations on everything from baby boomer angst to mindless consumerism to the joys of Wisconsin winters.

ABOUT THE BAND:
Bean Hoy got its start at a songwriter showcase in La Crosse, Wisconsin in the 1990s, and over the years has taken on several permutations from acoustic duo to seven-piece electric band with a brass section called The Horns of Vengeance.

Created to showcase the wry, topical songs of journalist/musician Mike Starling, the band released a debut album that was named Best Local Recording in the La Crosse Area Music Awards in 1994. Two Bean Hoy cuts were also featured on the "La Muse: La Crosse Musicians United For Safe Energy" compilation album in 1995. A newly reformed four-piece Bean Hoy live band started gigging from its home base in Milwaukee in 2005.

ABOUT THIS RECORDING:
Starling recorded and mixed the album over the past three years in his Milwaukee-based studio, and the CD was mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Brett Huus. Unlike the first Bean Hoy CD, "Cool Music For A Big Dumb World" is a mostly solo effort with Starling handling all vocals and instruments except for the following guest musicians:

Bob Mueller plays the drum kit on "Winter!" A current member of the Bean Hoy live band, Bob met Mike in college, where they formed the acoustic punk trio, Your Missing Socks, with Todd Haefer. Mike and Bob recorded the original tracks for "Winter!" in their Oshkosh, Wisconsin studio in 1987. Bob now makes his home in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Check out his songwriting on the Dime Novel CD, "Dimentia," available at CD Baby.

Kevin Skrenes, who played with Mike in the La Crosse-based Sons of Distortion band, adds drums to "Rocket." Hear more of Kevin's playing on the Sons of Distortion CD, "Livin' In The Milky Way," available at CD Baby.

Jared Drake adds harmony vocals to "Go Beater Car Go." The Milwaukee native plays bass in the current Bean Hoy live band lineup.

ALSO BY BEAN HOY:
"Boys Can't Be Trusted," a collection of 15 early career Bean Hoy recordings, including such would-be hits as "Road Construction", "Short Term Memory (I Lost My)", "My 19-Inch Teacher", "A Little Bit Confused (The Politically Correct Blues)" and "Sorry, Forgot My Tie-Dyed T-Shirt". Rated 5 stars at Amazon.com, this CD includes the best songs from Bean Hoy's award-winning, long-out-of-print debut cassette, plus seven never-before-heard tracks. Available at CD Baby, iTunes and other cool Internet outlets.

“Topical, folky, extremely tasty, with flourishes of jazz, new wave and blues... kinda like Dave Barry backed by the Violent Femmes," said LAX Magazine. "The songs are a laundry list of local and national maladies, often depicted with a dark sense of humor. And, as often as not, the music is as playful as the words. Starling talk-sings clever lyrics about everything from fake lives to Heileman's (brewery) to road construction. All in all, the album is a reflection of inane pop culture, where one no longer condemns the plastic world around us but instead videotapes it for later when there's nothing else on.”

"Boyish charm dusted with sarcasm," said Toronto critic Janet Costello. "Songs, sung with a smile, about hating road construction, dragging yourself to work, and the highlights of TV from the '70s. You can hear Mike smiling; you can hear the wryness in his grin. If you loved the 'O Brother Where Art Thou' soundtrack, the music will delight you. Be sure to check out the pictures of the artist as a wee lad. They're worth the price of the CD alone!"

Check out the artist's website:
http://www.beanhoy.com

Track List:
1. It's a Big Dumb World
2. Groovy Town
3. Oh! Sandfly!
4. Junk
5. Rocket
6. Baby Boomer Blues
7. Cementhead
8. Versatile Girl
9. Lightning Bugs
10. Eagles Fly
11. Monkey Bizness
12. Go Beater Car Go
13. Winter!
14. Big Wave
15. Farmer Tan
16. Drive It to the Moon

Suggested CDs:

• Sons of Distortion
• Mike Starling

Other Genres:

• FOLK: Folk Blues
• BLUES: Funky Blues
• MOOD: FUN