“Happy Birthday America!! How are ya doing DC?!?!” So the national parade was even better than I imagined. Early estimates were that over 1/2 a million people attended – looking forward to hearing what the actual numbers were. Intentionally, I wore an outfit that would give homage to the King himself, Elvis Presley, which I knew would get me noticed. What I didn’t realized is just HOW MUCH it would get me noticed. I had screaming fans, people who I’m sure had no idea who I was, putting their lives in harms way to try to get a photo with me on a moving float. Security, several times, had to get people to move back from the float. It was a surreal experience to be driving between all of the historic buildings in downtown DC, with Ben Franklin by my side, singing almost the entire way.
My personal highlights include moving the microphone to Ben Franklin who sang the “Never Let Go” hook with me – by the end, I’m sure, he had all of the words memorized. Also, at the judges station, they handed me a wireless microphone which enabled me to get off of the float for a minute and go give a number of kids high fives. One little girl with down-syndrome I particularly remember; She was so cute and seemed genuinely excited to be high-fiving a quasi-celebrity. Throughout the afternoon, I also had some fun, lyrically – I guess I got a little bored, but I ended up changing a verse or two, once to honor a cop I saw on a Segway (replace “Never Let Go” with “Cop on a Segway” – it works and it’s funny) and I often inserted Ben Franklin’s name in parts of the song. This often got some good laughs from the crowd.
Many said Obama was in attendance today, but I never saw him or knew if he was. I did see a number of high ranking military people and so forth. All and all, it was an honor to be involved and hopefully I created a little more awareness on who I am and what my music is about. Big thanks to my driver (whom I’ve forgotten his name – hope he’ll forgive me), Amy Walp for putting up with me and making all of the arrangements, also John Best and Kimberly Johnson for their involvement and support on this one… Now, off to nurse my sunburn and get something to eat. I’m exhausted.
If you were one of the many people packed into the downstairs of the Viper Room, you witnessed what I like to call, “Music History.” I was so happy to see a great turn out and hopefully my energy and appreciation came across from the tiny corner that Aaron and I crammed into for the performance.
Those who attended witnessed the improv (and tribute) songs “Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett at the Lake House” and “A Great White from the Land Down Under.” Extremely silly, but fun songs guest performer Dale Spollett and I made up on the spot based on audience suggestions. I also played many of the usual suspects – Robbie’s Song, Firefly, She Does Her Crying Alone. You could have a heard a pin drop when I performed “Too Good For this World” (I added a portion of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” to the ending) which finished to absolute cheers – definitely caught a few moist eyes in the crowd and I appreciate the support for my late daughter.
After the show, I was so wasted that I absolutely crashed – one of my friends took this hilarious picture. Woke up this morning still wearing my boots and clothes. Big thanks to everyone who attended and supported, Donovan Lyman and Hollow Body for booking the show, Dale Spollett for his comedy and voice, Kevin and Sal for getting me home safely, Aaron Chavez for his incredible percussion, Hep for flying in for the show from Salt Lake City, and the Viper Room for the hospitality and love!! Seacrest out!
If you missed the Bedroom Sessions this week, you weren’t alone. At least a billion people missed it, maybe more – LOL. Luckily there were a good number of fans and friends who saw it LIVE and seemed to really enjoy it. A big thanks to everyone who attended and for all the real-time shoutouts I got in the chatroom and on my cell phone. You guys are the best!!
For those who missed it, here’s a little peek at what you missed:
Last week’s Bedroom Sessions was a wild success as we had people from all over the world logging in during and after (on playback) to watch the short 3 song performance from my bedroom. Personally, I enjoyed it so much that I’ve scheduled another one. Hopefully you can make it. This time, I’m even going to brave an improv song based on audience suggestions.
Register For: The Bedroom Sessions with Kevin Burdick
Next Show: Episode 2, Tuesday, June 16th @ 6 PM PST
As Kevin’s touring schedule has slowed and his writing schedule increased, he still wanted a way to reach out to fans and give them an opportunity to see him play. Luckily, with new internet technologies now available that becomes a relatively simple thing. Enter, “The Bedroom Sessions” – a new internet performance series by Kevin Burdick. At various times throughout the summer, Kevin will open up his bedroom LIVE via internet to fans who want to watch him perform from his rehearsal area right next to his bed in his Los Angeles home. It’s brave, it’s intimate, and it’s raw. Kevin will be featuring new tracks from the 2010 album he’s writing, plus perform songs from his other 4 albums on iTunes. Click the link below to register for the web series featured on uStream.tv:
Sneak Preview: The Bedroom Sessions with Kevin Burdick
Next Show: Tuesday, June 9th @ 4 PM PST
Going to be near Washington DC this Independence Day? If so, come out to the National Parade and meet Kevin Burdick. He’ll be one of the celebrities for the event as he rides along the parade route singing several of your favorite Kevin Burdick songs including: Never Let Go, Camelot, At the Fisher House, and New Job. “I am very proud to be a part of one of the most incredible celebrations of America – the National Independence Day Parade. It’s a huge honor to have been asked to perform for the thousands of spectators along the parade route and share with them my voice.”
America’s National Independence Day Parade takes place annually on July 4th at 11:45 am in Washington, D.C., on Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Street before a street audience of hundreds of thousands of spectators. The Parade consists of invited bands, fife and drum corps, floats, military and specialty units, giant balloons, equestrian, drill teams, VIP’s, national dignitaries, and celebrity participants. The Parade is a major national event which seeks to draw the attention of Americans to the real meaning for the holiday. It is a patriotic, flag-waving, red white and blue celebration of America’s birthday!
To see more about the National Independence Day Parade Event, go to: www.july4thparade.com
Today would have been my daughter’s 6th birthday. It’s always a meloncholy time for me, this time of year, and I generally struggle to get out of bed. Luckily I have good friends and family who force me to get up and do something with myself. Today I awoke at 2 PM to my friends telling me it was time to get up.
Tonight I’ll probably treat myself to a nice jog somewhere and then head off to a secluded dinner, party of one, where I can just relax and think a bit. After which I’ll surround myself with great friends, people that I love, and spend the night laughing and valuing the moments that I have with each of them. I guess you never really know how many moments that you’ll spend with the people you care about, so each one is potentially precious.
If you wanted to celebrate Dempsey’s birthday with me, perhaps you could give a moment of silence today for someone that you’ve lost in your life. Or, if you have the means, perhaps you could go to her website and donate something to her charity as a small gift to her, and more importantly, as a small gift to struggling families who have also lost a child. To donate or to find more information about the Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation, please go to: www.dempseyburdick.com
Last night’s show at Club TRiP was another great night relaxing with John, the owner of the club. We didn’t have a particularly good turn out, but it was a Monday and with the economy coming down hard on everyone, I wasn’t surprised. Still, the small group that was there to hear me seemed to really have a great time.
I sang the usual suspects. Songs from of all 4 of my albums, including fan favorites Firefly and Camelot. I also broke into my usual 80s TV theme song medley as well as invited special guest singer Dale Spollett and special guest guitarist Dan O’Sullivan to come on stage and improvise with me. Dan is an amazing guitarist and I mostly just let him riff and marvelled at his bluesy soloing, with a sort of slide guitar sexiness to it. The silly audience suggested improv songs (no people, I do not come up with this stuff on my own) of the night included the song ”1940s Hookers and Blow” which had its finest moment during a funny disco remix part, and a song sure not to be a hit ”A 500 lbs Girl and her 6 Guy Roomates.” Mildly entertaining.
Anyway, big thanks to John the club owner for the relaxing monday and also for upgrading the sound system there – the new improvements sound great. Dan and Dale for jumping on-stage, Aaron for rocking the percussion, Ken for taking photos with his camera phone when the digital camera battery died, and the small pocket of friends I had out. It was great to see all of you!!
Last week’s trip to Disneyland with my family was one of those reaffirming trips that reminded me, “All will be fine – everything is right with the world.” It was a much needed break from the daily grind of my music career and the fast paced California lifestyle to which I am growing more used to. More importantly, it was my nephew Haydn’s first time seeing the ocean and his first time experiencing Disneyland – he’s 6 years old and one of the greatest enjoyments of my life. His enthusiasm was contagious and soon I found myself feeling like a kid again, sprinting with my friend Dale to try and catch a 2nd trip down Splash Mountain and laughing uncontrollably.
Probably the greatest moment from the vacation was taking Haydn to the beach with my Mom and sister. Watching him pick up sea shells, play with seaweed, and dance at the edge of the ocean – it was an amazing reminder that, most times, the simple things in life are the best things in life. Living so close to the beach I sometimes take for granted that it is there, but not last week. For a moment, I was six-years-old again and seeing the ocean through young, optimistic eyes, full of life, innocent and excited about the possibilities of what might happen next.
If you were one of the 30 or so people present last night in the small venue known as O’Briens in Santa Monica, you witnessed what many are calling the “second coming of awesome!!” That’s because we rocked the place for an hour and a half with originals, emotional ballads, and devious comedy – it was my 2nd time performing there and it was great! The back room at O’Briens was virtually full and there were a lot of familiar faces in the audience who came out.
Special guest Dale Spollett joined me on-stage for several songs as our grand finale included such improv tales as “Octagon Wedding (about a UFC wedding, including punches to the naughty bits)” and “The Passed-Out Stranger (named Meredith).” We finished the night with our legendary version of “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” including the incredibly difficult whistle solo at the end.
It was a hilarious night, and it was also a sad night. I had a few people in tears when I sang the song “Too Good For This World” that I wrote for my daughter. She would have turned 6 years old next month. It makes me increasingly melancholy when I think about it – luckily I have an outlet in my music. I also broke out my new song for the 2010 album I’m writing entitled, “Slowly Dying in LA” which was also a crowd favorite.
Big thanks to everyone who came out and supported, Ken for selling stuff, Dale for running sound and doing what he does best, Aaron for making sweet noises on the percussion, and the entire O’Briens staff for treating me great every time I play there.
Part of an Improv Song from O’Briens in Santa Monica.
Passed Out Stranger with Dale Spollett
(Warning some adult language):
“Happy Birthday America!! How are ya doing DC?!?!” So the national parade was even better than I imagined. Early estimates were that over 1/2 a million people attended – looking forward to hearing what the actual numbers were. Intentionally, I wore an outfit that would give homage to the King himself, Elvis Presley, which I knew would get me noticed. What I didn’t realized is just HOW MUCH it would get me noticed. I had screaming fans, people who I’m sure had no idea who I was, putting their lives in harms way to try to get a photo with me on a moving float. Security, several times, had to get people to move back from the float. It was a surreal experience to be driving between all of the historic buildings in downtown DC, with Ben Franklin by my side, singing almost the entire way.
My personal highlights include moving the microphone to Ben Franklin who sang the “Never Let Go” hook with me – by the end, I’m sure, he had all of the words memorized. Also, at the judges station, they handed me a wireless microphone which enabled me to get off of the float for a minute and go give a number of kids high fives. One little girl with down-syndrome I particularly remember; She was so cute and seemed genuinely excited to be high-fiving a quasi-celebrity. Throughout the afternoon, I also had some fun, lyrically – I guess I got a little bored, but I ended up changing a verse or two, once to honor a cop I saw on a Segway (replace “Never Let Go” with “Cop on a Segway” – it works and it’s funny) and I often inserted Ben Franklin’s name in parts of the song. This often got some good laughs from the crowd.
Many said Obama was in attendance today, but I never saw him or knew if he was. I did see a number of high ranking military people and so forth. All and all, it was an honor to be involved and hopefully I created a little more awareness on who I am and what my music is about. Big thanks to my driver (whom I’ve forgotten his name – hope he’ll forgive me), Amy Walp for putting up with me and making all of the arrangements, also John Best and Kimberly Johnson for their involvement and support on this one… Now, off to nurse my sunburn and get something to eat. I’m exhausted.
Last night’s show at Club TRiP was another great night relaxing with John, the owner of the club. We didn’t have a particularly good turn out, but it was a Monday and with the economy coming down hard on everyone, I wasn’t surprised. Still, the small group that was there to hear me seemed to really have a great time. 
