Last month’s photo shoot with super-photographer Jared Platt stretched over 4 locations in the greater Phoenix-area and was one of the funnest times I’ve had all year.  Having friends like him does a lot to remind me everyday what a wonderful world this is.  Enjoy the photos.  (Note:  To see more of Jared Platt’s incredible work, go to www.plattphotography.com)

I recently had an old friend contact me who was wondering about how I’ve managed to stay so upbeat after being divorced twice and losing my baby Dempsey 7-years-ago to a heart defect.  After expressing to her some of my feelings, I realized that there might be others who could benefit from my life philosophy on happiness.

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You can be happy right now, today, wherever you are in your life, inspite of problems with your marriage, your job, or your personal life. Now, that doesnt mean you won’t have challenges and tough decisions, but the point is that happiness doesn’t come from finding the “right type of guy” or a “better job.”  It comes from looking at all of the great things you have in your life right now. Your family, your friends, your experiences and good memories, your life, and possibly your health, and most importantly, all of the little things – the moments you enjoy with the sun warming your face and the grass under your feet. It comes from embracing where you are, right now, in this moment. It comes from finding the beauty in the small, simple details of your daily life.

So before you end your current relationship or quit your day job, do it knowing that none of this has anything to do with your happiness. This has to do with your future family, finding a partner you can trust, pursuing a dream, or making ends meet - but happiness is ready for you to embrace it right now. It’s sitting there in front of you and will be waiting for you, with or without your marriage, your job, your next achievement, or anything else you might be waiting on. 

Please be happy!! 

XOXO  Kevin

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the crib,
My ipod was playing some ‘Bel-Boe-Deviv.’
I got up to switch it and put on something new,
As I quickly scrolled down to my favorite band Muse.

“Hysteria” thumped as I turned up the speakers,
The bass filled my body – my head to my sneakers.
It rattled my Christmas tree, and rumbled my walls,
Like visions of Stevie Ray Vaughan at Carnegie Hall.

As I rocked like a reindeer, I heard something crumble,
It was Santa who had slipped on the rooftop, he’d stumbled?!?!?
I grabbed me a ladder, and climbed up the side,
I yelled to Kris Kringle, “Are you all right?!?”

“I’ve broken me arm and I’ve injured me head.
I can’t pilot my sleigh!  Oh, Christmas is dead.”
I replied, “Do not worry, you are now in good hands.”
As I backed up my tour bus and called out to my band.

I dropped gift after present to my drummer below
As my guitar player, Joseph, had Santa in tow.
We loaded the tour bus, and filled it with gas.
I put on some music to help us relax.

Go Ben Folds, Go Bee Gees, Go Jay-Z and U2,
On Weezer, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and The Who.
We turned up the tunes as we checked on the cargo,
We’d have to save Christmas from L.A. to Key Largo.

We drove off in a flash as we went door to door,
And delivered the presents to the rich and the poor.
As we squeeled all the tires, I screamed out to the block,
“Merry Christmas to all – May your holiday rock!!”

For my friends and fans.  Thanks so much for all of your support over 2009.  Here’s to an amazing 2010!!
                        Love and Best Wishes,
                                           Kevin Burdick
                                           www.PianoRockstar.com

“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth? Screw that – I want two new sponsors!” Luckily, I must have been on Santa’s nice list this year.  So, this Christmas I want to welcome Fashion Revolution and AcaiSoda for joining the Kevin Burdick family and being part of my music sponsors for 2010.

Fashion Revolution:  Working with Shane, Ari, and Veronica of Fashion Revolution these last couple months has been an amazing look into the world of commercial and retail fashion.  I was able to go with them to the fashion district in L.A. and was treated like rockstar royalty as we toured many of the lines of clothing that they carry.  In fact, I was so excited with the whole experience, I hope to have my own line of clothing someday.  I’m proud to have Fashion Revolution’s sponsorship logos on the tour bus and am pleased to wear their awesome clothes at night and on-stage.  You can see some of the samples of pants and shirts I got from them from our photo shoot at Runyon Canyon at the bottom of the post.  To find out more about Fashion Revolution or to order clothes off of their website (coming soon) go to:  www.fashionrevolutiononline.com

AcaiSoda:  I have been drinking AcaiSoda regularly for the last two months.  It’s a lightly sweetened energy drink which has helped me control my appetite without crashes.  You simply tear open a pack and add it to a bottle of water.  I am excited to be able to call them part of my music family.  Dr. Anthony Kleinsmith, the creator of AcaiSoda and also a fan of my music, had this to say about the new relationship, “AcaiSoda is excited to be sponsoring Kevin Burdick’s music. I formulate while listening!”   Thanks Dr. K, for the support.  To try a 15-day Risk Free Trial of AcaiSoda, go to:  http://www.acaisoda.com/?aid=kb

I have heard of L.A. referred to as “The City of Broken Dreams” as thousands of dreamers make their way to the harsh landscape of Hollywood each year.  For every Brad Pitt, there are hundreds upon hundreds of Bradley’s you never heard of living somewhere in Southern California.  It’s no surprise that Los Angeles is the homeless capital of America with nearly 300,000 homeless taking refuge on her streets.  The dreamers come out here with nothing and often leave here with nothing.  In reality, the City of Angels is not paved with gold, but with bones.

Truth be told, the weather in L.A. is often spectacular, but it can get a little chilly in the winter months especially at night.  For many of the homeless it can be a challenge to stay warm while huddling up under their favorite overpass during Christmas-time.  Tonight the temperature would get into the low 40’s.

For the last few years, my parents have forgone the neckties, the chocolate covered cherries, the tool sets, and the Shamwows and, instead, have requested that their 5 children partake in a random act of kindness on their behalf.  A “charitable act” is all that they want for Christmas.

And so it was with my parents request in mind that I placed one of my favorite sweat shirts in the backseat of my car.  It’s a black Hurley sweatshirt, thick and warm, with a zipper that goes all the way up the hoodie.  It’s still stylish, but with 4 other cool sweatshirts in my closet, it will soon be forgotten.  I told my close friend, Tim Nichols, that we were going on a drive tonight.  I explained that we’d get some dinner, and then, by a miracle of the universe, stumble upon the right homeless person who would most benefit from this jacket. 

Later in the evening, as I emerged from a convenience store lobby with drinks in hand, I noticed a man shivering near the front door.  “Would you have some change that I can borrow so that I can get me some smokes?” the man asked politely.  His pants were dirty and his t-shirt was old and worn.  “Sure,” I said taking $5 out of my pocket and handing it to the man. “It’s kind of cold out.  Could you use a coat too?” “Yes sir,” he replied, “That would be nice.”  Walking to the back of my car, I pulled out the Hurley jacket I had set aside just for this very purpose.  “Here you go, man.”  I quickly pointed out the finer details of the jacket to him, how the zipper could go up to the top of the hoodie for “total face warmness” and how he would probably be the hippest guy out here.  He laughed.   As he walked away I said, “Merry Christmas man – hope this year’s a warm one for ya.”  He nodded and waved as he slipped away into the night to join the army of other homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles County.

So tonight, somewhere out there in the darkness, you may encounter a hip homeless man wearing a Hurley jacket.  Hopefully, he’ll remind you that it’s never too late to do something nice for someone else this Christmas season. 

In thinking of tonight, I remember that Jesus Christ himself was born homeless in a stable near Bethlehem.  One of my favorite Bible quotes that I learned as a kid reads:  “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40).”   This, my friends, is the spirit of Christmas:  The act of giving for the sake of giving – The spirit of Jesus Christ. 

Thanks so much for reading my story, and may you and your loved ones have a very merry Season of Giving!!

One of the biggest questions I get at shows and around town is, “What do your tattoos mean?”  I am definitely proud of my tattoos that I’ve had designed by three different tattoo artists.  My first bit of ink was a memorial for my daughter Dempsey (www.dempseyburdick.com) and will be the only tattoo I get on my right arm.  It’s a very simple piece designed by John McAffee and colored by Nate McMillan in Salt Lake City of a pair of angel wings down my shoulder, a halo with a sunset, and her name.  It is a constant reminder of the angel that sits on my shoulder.

Nate McMillan went on to design my second piece which is a Salvador Dali inspired idea of heaven, with my life being recorded as a great Piano Symphony in the sky as the hands of God reach to play the keys.  This piece stretches around my left shoulder and comes underneath my arm – it is complete with bullet holes for my divorces, an emerging butterfly symbolizing my daughter, and the two hands of God (see partial photos below).

And finally, Adam Moorhead of Los Angeles has been working on my colorful 3/4 sleeve that is ripe with symbolism.  Attaching to the Piano in the Sky on my shoulder, it is a collection of images and ideas that represent my life and who I am.  A giant winged lion stretches up the arm as a rememberence of who I’m becoming, while 3 women (symbolizing the women that I have truly loved) are bathing in a pool in a grotto nearby.  The lion is ready to pounce on a gazelle to provide food and support for his subjects as his rusted iron crown with red jewels lays fallen on a rock near where he perches.  A better understanding of the detailed symbolism includes the knowledge that I’m a Leo, my birthstone is ruby, and my Native-American totems include iron and salmon.  I won’t get into the rest, including the death of the old me and rebirth of a new me, the roses and my family, and how this piece intersects with the hand of God and heaven.  Instead, I’ll let you click on the photos and analyze for yourself the 22 hours I’ve spent in the chair on this 3/4 sleeve.  And to think, I’ve still have another 10 hours of work still to go on my arm – it’s a good thing I have a high tolerance for pain.

Recently I stumbed onto a website where LeAnn Rimes bravely discussed her lifelong battle with psoriasis.  It was truly inspiring.  As you probably know, psoriasis awareness has been one of my passion projects over the last few years and I hope to inspire others living with the disease to come forward and pursue their dreams – I’m excited about LeAnn coming out and hope they’ll be others.  Psoriasis is not a contageous (nor sexy) disease, but is connected to so many other problems – including alcoholism, depression, heart disease, and other system-wide problems.  As a sufferer, I am almost always uncomfortable in my own skin; skin which cracks, burns, itches, and bleeds frequently as my immune system stupidly attacks my it as if it was some kind of dermal virus.  Sometimes I want to send a memo to my own immune system, which would read something like this:

Dear White Blood Cells,
Yo, it’s your boss Kevin (You know, owner of the body you live in and are hired to protect).  Yeah, what’s up?  Hey,  here’s a naked photo of me - you see that semi-tanned layer of soft flesh with cool tattoos and a bit of hair in all of the right places?  Yeah, that’s called “skin” you idiots!!  So when you get done playing X-box, or whatever it is you do everyday, maybe you could stop screwing around inside my body and instead focus on the flu that’s going around or making sure I don’t get some kind of STD.  I’m definitely keeping your damage deposit and may have to evict you if you guys don’t get your act together.  You are officially on f*#$ing notice – my skin is off-limits!  Hugs and Kisses.
Love, Kevin

Each October, which includes World Psoriasis Day on October 29th, I try and create some additional awareness for the disease and this year I’ve decided to do something a little radical.  For the last 2 weeks I have pulled myself off of all my psoriasis medication, medication which was managing the disease moderately well - yep, right now I’m allowing the psoriasis to ravage my body.  Don’t worry, I’ve not gone completely crazy and there is a method to this madness.  Later this week I’m participating in a drug trial for an experimental new medication called AIN457 by Novartis, some cutting edge stuff which probably won’t be FDA approved for at least a couple years.  Hey, someone’s gotta test it and if it kills me at least I die for a good cause.  Regardless of the results, I’ll be tracking my progress including photos, ideas, funny anecdotes, and whatever else comes to mind.  Hopefully you won’t mind the break from the usual music posts for a few weeks as I work through this process. 

Thanks for sticking with me and supporting me.  If want to learn more about psoriasis, it’s research, treatments, or anything else, check out:  http://www.psoriasis.org/

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Check out the Memorial Edition of The Bedroom Sessions by clicking on this link:  The Bedroom Sessions LIVE

A huge thank you to Internationally Renowned photographer Jared Platt (www.plattphotography.com) for assembing this incredible photo montage from our various photo shoots over the years.  Jared has always been a friend and a supporter, as I am of his work also.  Big luck and big thanks to him for everything he does to support me in my efforts.

As Depeche Mode once sang, “Your own personal photographer, someone to take your pics, someone who’s quick…”  Or at least, I think that’s how it went.  At any rate, my best friend and personal photographer Mr. Jared Platt paid me a surprise visit a couple weeks ago here in LA.  The end result was a fun photo shoot and a tasty lunch with my buddies that I figured I would share with you.  Big thanks to Jared Platt (www.plattphotography.com), Dale Spollett*, and Tim Nichols** – all good friends and great guys that I’m sure you’ll be seeing everywhere in the not too distant future.

* Dale Spollett is a Stand-Up Comedian here in LA and is also the new ‘John Belushi’ in the Blue’s Brothers Show for Universal Studios.  Dale and I occasionally perform together in our comedy stage show, “A Double Dose of Dale.”
** Tim Nichols is a comedy writer and actor, featured in the sitcom ‘American Body Shop; on Comedy Central.

The final version of the Wake Me Alive Music Video has finally been released.  It is beginning to make its rounds around the web starting today.  Hope you enjoy it!  Feel free to share it with your friends.