Live From the Loo by Cliff McGoon

Why Loo? Good acoustics.

Here’s some background on the original tunes in the album:

“I Quit Country Music” was inspired by a joke motorcycle buddy Dave Segal told on a ride through Joshua Tree Park. This guy quits listening to country music, and suddenly all the bad stuff that had been happening to him stops. He quits drinkin’, gets his farm back, gets Mom out of jail--you get the idea.

“Belvedere Blues” (actual title: “ I Got the Low Down Belvedere, Marin County, Tiburon Peninsula Blues“). This tune pokes fun at the affluent town of Belvedere, just across the Golden Gate from San Francisco. It resides in the often-spoofed county of Marin, where seeing a Bentley with a bike rack isn’t uncommon.

“Just Use Your Finger”--I really don’t know where this came from. I first tried it in waltz time. It was slow and boring, hardly fitting the spirit of the tune. So, I put it into  4/4 and added a kazoo solo to pep things up.

“Two Little Words,” is a song written by Mary Ewing, a friend and very talented performer from the Palm Springs area. I put her words to music and added a third verse. In the studio, John Alevizakis and I yukked it up to introduce the proper amount of levity.

The cover treatment of “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” features Joan Raymont of Louisville, KY, on dobra guitar and vocals. I t was originally recorded in Palm Desert, CA, then re-mixed in San Rafael at Little Buddah Studios by John Alevizakis. He also added his masterful touch on bass guitar.

“That Big Blond Girl and Me,” harks back to 1961 and a trip to the southernmost state in Mexico (Chiappas), where rebels supporting Fidel Castro’s revolution were training in the jungle. Two deserters from the Mexican Marine Corps had put together a sort of budget seaside resort, consisting of two lean-to huts and a cooler full of beer.

The albums are available on Amazon.com and CD Baby.com.

#	Song Title	Time	Play
01	I Quit Country Music	2:18
02	Belvedere Blues	4:25
03	Just Use Your Finger	2:23
04	That Big Blond Girl and Me	3:34
05	Two Little Words	2:14
06	Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms	2:39
07	Waiting for a Train	2:06
08	Hobo's Lullaby	2:15