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

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!!

This Christmas, my parents challenged all their children with one simple request – “All we want for Christmas is an act of service given to someone in need.”  Instead of buying them a gift (and really, what do you get an attorney and his beautiful wife, my mom, who honestly have pretty much everything they need already - an iPod?  A wafflemaker?) , we were told to record the act of kindness and share it with them for Christmas.  So, this month I’ve been working diligently to complete that request – which brings me to this weekend’s shows.

To begin with, Saturday night I performed at Club TRiP in Santa Monica, with a number of young comedians, at a Toys-4-Tots Benefit Concert and Comedy Show.  It was a lot of fun – the stand-up comedians were genuinely funny and the evening was filled with a ton of random goodness.  The wildest moment was at right around midnight when a drunk and (who I can only guess) homeless woman, somehow found an unplugged microphone and jumped up on-stage in an attempt to give a very passionate, and uninvited, set of backup vocals.  It sounded much like you would expect the speaking in tongues to be at some Pentecostal revival and so, in true Kevin Burdick form, I just rolled with it.  The end result was an improvised song about Whitney’s Houston crack addiction and a number of “Where’s Bobby” references.  The audience howled with laughter and at the end of the improv song, the staff escorted the crazy woman out of the bar.  By the end of the night we had an entire stack of toys donated for the kids, which I felt really great about, and the people who attended exclaimed it was “one of the funniest shows they’d seen in a while.”

Sunday night, specifically, I was able to complete the “Christmas service” task that my parents had requested.  Earlier in the month I had Ken track down a list of retirement homes in the area and we found one near us, the Sherman Oaks Retirement Center, that said they would love to have us come perform for their guests and their families.  We arrived to find a grand piano surrounded by a group of mostly beautiful, older women waiting for their music man.  I kept to a 45-minute low-key set (didn’t sing “We are the Walking Wounded” for example) and then spent a good 45 minutes visiting with my new friends at the home.  The staff informed Ken that I was the ”most talented performer that they’d ever had out…”  Though, Ken did say he overheard one elderly woman with hearing aids complaining that I was “the worst musician she’d ever seen – terrible, just terrible.”  I got a good laugh out of that – I guess you can’t win them all.  After the show I grabbed some dinner and then drove home where I quickly drifted off to sleep, content with that Christmas feeling that I’d done something mostly selfless, and totally rewarding.

A big Happy Holidays to friends, fans, and family!!  I love you all and want you to have a very merry and very safe rest of 2008!!

Because of repeated requests, I have finally put together a songbook of 4 of my most popular downloads just in time for Christmas.  Each songbook includes the melody lines and the piano lines (with chord cheats) for “Firefly,” “Mercy,” “Too Good For This World,” and “Release Me.”  This book is perfect for anyone who plays a musical instrument and loves my music.

Also, if you want any copies of autographed CDs or books this Christmas, we have now included that as a free option to the order form for this month.  In case you didn’t know, signed CDs make killer Christmas gifts.  Go here to place your order now:  http://www.kevinburdick.com/buy.html