Nearly 7 years to the date after Dempsey’s passing I got an amazing invitation from an old high school friend.  Her husband, a seasoned racecar driver with the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), was touched by her charity and wanted to help create awareness.  They decided to help her get her wings by placing her as a sponsor on their racecar. 

Now Dempsey will be flying across the race track at hundreds of miles an hour all over the United States as part of the KMB Motorsports Team.  I couldn’t be more proud of that national impact my little girl is making and more grateful to KMB Motorsports, Tracey and Kevin Bovay, for their kind donation and unique way that they’ve helped Dempsey and her message truly fly. 

To find out more about Dempsey’s Fund and how she is helping provide financially struggling families with a headstone for their lost babies, go to:  www.babyheadstones.org

Concerned fans have been asking me recently why my performing schedule has slowed significantly over the last 12 months.  One of the main reasons for that is I have been having problems with my voice.  After years of struggling with inflamed tonsils, strep throat, and issues with chronic laryngitis I am finally taking the proper steps next Wednesday.  I’m letting a man stick his hand down my throat and rip our my poor swollen tonsils. 

December 2009 meetings with renowned physician Mark Kerner ENT in Northridge California showed slight damage to the right vocal cord from years of performing and living hard.  Plain and simple, I wasn’t taking great care of myself.  Additionally, he spotted tonsil inflammation and recommended a course of treatment involving medication and a change in diet.  A second opinion in June 2010 with Jerry Josen, ENT in Scottsdale Arizona revealed that the tonsils have become larger and more inflamed in recent months and that the vocal chords are still red and irritated. Surgery seems to be the best course of action at this point, so we scheduled to have them removed on Wednesday, June 23^rd 2010. 

What will this mean for the music?  Plans to release the new album (Working Title:  The Ivory Coast) are still on point for early fall.  It will be a 12-song full length album featuring and exploring love in all of its splendor.  Fans can expect the music to still be based on real and inspired stories.  We’ve taken up a new producer on the album in wunderkid Chris Doucet and the tracks are still being recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Voice-wise, it’s hard to know how I might be affected.  When I sing the final tracks in August it will be interesting to note if not-having-a-stone-in-the-back-of-my-throat affects my range, timbre, or sound – regardless, I am confident that whatever changes may occur, I have the inner make-up to roll with them and make them work for me and the fans of my music. 

Wish me luck and thanks so much for your concern and continued support!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear people resenting others for choices they made.  “Blaming others” is a contageous sickness where one is unable to take responsibility for their own life, because the individual feels helpless, miserable, and trapped.  The biggest lie, I think, that the devil would have us believe is that we have no choice.

One of my favorite stories is that of “Spartacus.”  Born a Thracean Nomad near ancient Rome, Spartacus was eventually captured and sold into slavery to become a gladiator.  Tortured and brutalized, he was forced to fight and kill other men for sport.  Spartacus, however, realized that he still had a choice in his life – he could die as a slave or live as a free man.  Upon following his free heart, Spartacus organized a successful slave rebellion against his Roman captors.  For the next two years, Spartacus would command a growing army of freed slaves and peasants against the Roman Empire winning a number of important battles.  When Spartacus finally died, he died a free man.

If Spartacus, the slave, had a choice in his life, then we also have a choice in our lives.  Of course, not all choices are easy, but whether we are in a difficult relationship or have some tough decisions to make about our children or employment or friends, those choices fall directly on us as an individual.  It might seem like a lot of pressure to assume full responsibility for our destinies, but the way I do it is stress-free and simple: In sorting through difficult decisions, I always find it best to follow my free heart.  When I do, it always seems to work out, even when it’s not in the way I expected.

After making a choice with your heart, you have no reason to ever look back and second-guess.  Your heart is what will lead you on your life’s adventures, grant you fulfillment, and help you reach your wildest dreams.  And when, at times, it seems like a heartfelt choice has led you somewhere dark – look up and realized that “hindsight is 20/20″ and your heart is teaching something you needed to know.  Never put chains of fear or ropes of disappointment around your free heart – let it be liberated to guide and lead you to your amazing future.  And always realize that when you follow your heart, you have nothing to regret!

Today would be Dempsey’s 7th Birthday if she were still here with me physically.  Those who know me, know that she is very much still here with me spiritually; From the memorial tattoos that dot my arms and shoulders to the foundation that continues to help grieving families in her name.

This week I took some time and honored Dempsey at a concert for her foundation.  We raised over $600 for headstones for low-income families who have also lost babies.  It was a great day of performances and activities (I’ll post photos tomorrow).  A lot of people at the event expressed a desire to help the additional families on our waiting list who are patiently waiting for headstones for their babies.  Here are some ways you can help:

Donations.  With very little overhead, we are able to send virtually every penny of your donations directly to local headstone manufacturers to make each family’s heartfelt wish happen.  If you wish to donate, please go to:  http://www.dempseyburdick.com/donations.html

Awareness.  We simply need more people to know and understand the good work that we’re doing at the foundation.  You can help people discover and become “fans” of the foundation through your Facebook page.  To explore our Facebook presence go to:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dempsey-Burdick-Memorial-Foundation/98710166216

Simple Things.  The Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation is now partnering with GoodSearch.com to raise money for the cause.  If you start using GoodSearch.com as your search engine of choice, they will donate a penny to the foundation every time you search for something on-line.  Try it!  For details, go to:  http://www.goodsearch.com/

To read the heartbreaking stories of the families we’ve helped, or to find out more about Dempsey, the Charity, and the Headstone Fund, please go to:  http://www.babyheadstones.org/

I’m not sure which mattered more to Johnson & Johnson – that I was a musician with a pretty substantial national following or that I was a broke-a** musician without health insurance, but a huge thanks to them.  However, let me rewind a bit.

For those of you who may not know, I have been a chronic psoriasis sufferer since I was 15 years old.  It has been a huge source of frustration to me as I work through physical pain, social stigmas, and in general just feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.  When the new ground-breaking medication ‘Stelara’ was introduced late last year, I was sure it would be a long time until I would ever be able to try it.  At $5000 per shot and several shots per year, the annual medication can be well over $20,000 – not to mention it must be administered and monitored by a licensed dermatologist.

So this week I was thrilled to discover that Johnson & Johnson would be providing me with the medication at no charge throughout 2010.  I’ll blog about my progress with the medication, on occasion, and post updates and possibly before-n-after photos (if I can find some that I don’t feel are gross). 

Stelara works on a brand new principle, utilizing the latest in psoriasis research; each injection blocks a specific set of proteins that (and this is my non-doctor explanation) somehow confuse my immune system and result in psoriasis.  Friday, April 2nd, will be my first injection.

If you suffer from psoriasis and want to find out more about Stelara, go to:  http://www.stelarainfo.com/

As you start seeing the on-line advertisements for Heroes of Kung Fu, the next big web game from http://www.webmmo.com/, you’ll hear a familiar voice behind the beautiful visuals.  Yep, it’s yours truly.  I’m flattered to be the music behind their most anticipated on-line game.  I hope that individuals among their 30 Million Players who aren’t familiar with me, will soon discover my unique sound.

Last tuesday’s Kevin Burdick Musician Party for local L.A. musicians was a great night of networking.  Club Trip in Santa Monica let us have our run of the place as we had musicians big and small from all over Los Angeles come in and spend some time with me and my team.  From these events we will drill down to three or four guys who have the talent, chemistry, and commitment to tour with me next year.  I’m sure I’ll also have the opportunity to work with others via the studio or on bigger shows - below are some of the photos from the event.

Big thanks to the “Burdick Girls” who helped bring sexy back to the event and all of the musicians who attended.  I sincerely hope that everyone that came had a good time and I’m certainly looking forward to spending more time with you.

This week I was able to pick the tourbus up from Salt Lake City where Jared Rice repaired the several thousand dollars of damage we did to the back last year, and Schmidt Signs upgraded the exterior with a slightly improved wrap.   The new wrap is simpler with the tagline “North American Tour” and featuring the easier-to-remember website – www.pianorockstar.com (which simply leads people to my main website).

The thrill of picking up the tour bus was quickly forgotten as a couple hours outside of Salt Lake City one of the four back tires blew.  Luckily, the three other backtires continued to carry me all the way to Las Vegas.  A couple days and several new tires later, I was on the road again.  In the meantime, I made a couple hundred bucks in Vegas and had a lot of fun.  Check out the photos and big thanks to Discount Tire.

As I sat with my chicken dinner tonight next to a couple of college students, I couldn’t help overhear the conversation they were having.  They were reading a text message that the boy had received from an apparent ex-girlfriend.  The text went on to tell the boy how completely, “shallow and insecure” he was.  There was a number of expletives in describing the boy’s mental state and his prowess in the bedroom, all of which were not flattering.

It’s always interesting to me, with all of the means of modern communication available, how often I myself resort to text messages.  My busy schedule involving strange hours, sometimes text messages are just the easiest and simplest way to get a message to it’s hopeful destination.  Still, in this modern age, it seems that we have traded actual connections with people for the “McDonald’s Happy Meal Form” of talking – we like our dinners fast and our conversations even faster.  160 characters rarely sum up anyone’s feelings and are a poor substitute for, what our ancestors used to do, and that’s actually talk face-to-face.  Wow, remember those days?

According to Nokia, nearly 70% of people send at least 1 text message per day.  I’m not saying that text messaging doesn’t have it’s value – it does.  As the quick form of getting a short important message to a friend or colleague, there’s nothing better.  The problem is when people begin substituting “texting” for actually “connecting” – and we wonder why we sometimes feel so isolated. 

It’s even worse when you think of how cowardly a text message is for “negative” communication.  Remember when Britney Spears informed Kevin Federline she was divorcing him via text.  A commitment they made face-to-face was easily dissolved by a simple 160-character message to his cell phone.  I believe a face-to-face commitment deserves a face-to-face resolution – we’ve got to get back to the days of looking someone in the eye and really letting them have it: the good, the bad, and the virtually ugly.  It’s too easy to hide behind our cell phones and our computers and pretend like we are truly connecting with someone – we aren’t.  Case-in-point, my mother discovered text messaging a couple years ago (God Bless Her) and now our preferred method of communication seems to be the text message.  The good news is we text way more than we ever called each other - the bad news is, now we have little reason to call.  Well, little reason except for the simple process of “connecting.”

I’m writing this rant because I am part of the problem.  I’m guilty as hell of wasting my own precious connections on a series of text messages and twitter updates, e-mails and emoticons.  That’s why, as I type this, I’m also making a list of things I need to pack.  Tomorrow night I load up my car and drive the 8 hours to my parent’s house where I will spend a couple days, for no other reason than just to hang out, visit, and talk face-to-face, just like our ancestors did. 

Oh, s#%t – I just remembered I need to text my mom and tell her I’m coming.

• Face to Face.  Talking, touching, intimate.
• Phones.  Voice to voice contact.
• Mailed Letters – the intimate, thoughtful, written word.
• E-mails, Chat Services, Facebook, Myspace – the sterile written word, in real-time.
• Text Messages, Twitter Updates – 160 characters of modern connection

One final thought – I’ve started scheduling Sunday nights as my ‘call-people’ night.  It was nice.  I had my first one on Sunday at caught up with a couple old friends.  It felt good.

Well, if you missed the short performance LIVE from my bedroom, I recorded for you.  In it, I uncover my top-secret songwriting processes and give some tips to young songwriters (hope they help), plus I performed Basket Case, Never Let Go / Jump, and Camelot.  It’s about 17 minutes long, I’m fully clothed, and you can fast forward any of the boring parts… Hope to see you at the next one.