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!!

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.

First off, let me begin by saying that living in Southern California is kind of like living in an episode of the twilight zone.  Weird things happen and life can be pretty unpredictable out here.  Over the last 2 days I’ve bumped into the guy who played Dozier from the Matrix at an Olive Garden and I stumbled onto Willis (Todd Bridges) from The Different Strokes in a tattoo shop – “What you talking about, Willis?”  It’s always interesting what you might see in LA.

Friday night’s show at The Witches Brew was just another one of those epic Southern California nights.  Great music, hilarious comedy, and fun times for everyone.  Dale Spollett, my good friend who also assists me with social networking website management, opened up for me.  He sang some covers and originals and, specifically, got the crowd nice and toasty warm.  Then I got on-stage.  By the end of the night, Dale and I were both on-stage improvising such potential hits as “Robots on the Moon,” “Frogs Tap Dancing With You,” “Tom Cunninglingus Has Jungle Fever and Loves Orange Soda.”  Yes, weird suggestions from a wild audience, but somehow Dale and I ran with those and even had tight harmonies on the choruses.  It was a fun night.  The grand moment was a duet between Dale and I of “You Lost that Loving Feeling” which included an epic whistle solo.

I want to thank everyone who came out to the show to support and also The Witches Brew for taking great care of us.  Big thanks to Aaron Chavez for handing percussion duties, Dale for opening, and Ken for setting up the gig.  I look forward to playing back there in North Hills again sometime soon.

More photos from the show:

If you are in Utah or Southern California, I have two incredible shows scheduled for your viewing pleasures next week.  Hope to see you at one of them!!

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Salt Lake City, February 24th:

The Art of Music

Musicians are inspired by art and art is inspired my music.  So with that, Keys on Main, the premier piano bar destination is bringing the two art forms together.  The evening of FEBRUARY 24 will a blend of art and music from 7:00 PM – midnight.

Keeping with the theme of union, new artist, J James, combines his passion for abstract and surreal art with his first 2009 exhibition. Local bands Mike Gross & The Statuettes, Atilast and Kevin Burdick will close the night, leaving stirring melodies in art exposed minds.  Keys on Main hopes to use this entertainment format as a springboard for future artists and musicians.  Join the Art of Music.

When:  
February 24, 2009
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM J James Art Exhibition
9:30 PM – 10:15 PM Mike Gross & The Statuettes
10:30 PM – 11:15 PM Atilast
11:30 PM – 1:00 AM Kevin Burdick

Where:
242 South Main Street
Keys On Main
Salt Lake City, UT

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Santa Monica, March 1st:
Sunday, March 1st, I’ll be performing at “TRIP” in Santa Monica. It’s a new series of concerts being put on by “Hollowbody LA”. The folks who brought you “Acoustic Cordiale” in the valley. These Sunday shows start and end early & are getting some great reviews!

Here’s the whole super star, fancy pants line up in order

Colin Wright 8:00
Lori Steele 8:45
Kevin Burdick 9:30
Beaudette 10:15

This is the best night to come see a show. No traffic, FREE parking. The show starts at 8:00 sharp and wraps around 11pm. Print the poster and make admission a friendly $5. Would love to see everyone there!

Also, I hope you’ll take a moment and click the poster below. Have a look and a listen to the lineup. The week before the show, we’re all on the poster and player. Send them a friend request too.

Thanks again!

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!!

As I sat across from my friend Shelly at the Bayou in Salt Lake City, I began explaining to her how easy it is to reject some or give someone some bad news about themselves.  She was having the most difficult time breaking up with a guy that was so clearly not right for her, because she “didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”  Maybe it’s because I’m jaded or maybe it’s just because I’ve had to explain to too many women in my life ”why they aren’t the one” that this method just developed naturally for me, but after talking with Shelly, I figured I’d share it with all my friends in hopes that it might help others out there needing some help delivering bad news.

The Sandwich Method (a Kevin Burdick original) – This is my method of delivering bad news, breaking up with a girl, or genuinely being an ass without actually being an ass.  It is the perfect delivery for news that is hard to deliver to a boyfriend, co-worker, or family member.  The Sandwich Method includes two nice fluffy pieced of white bread (metaphorically speaking) and a big slab of greasy meat in the middle.  When delivering criticism using the sandwich method, your employer might try this: 

Bread Piece 1 (Positive):  You are a great person Steve.  Well liked by all your co-workers and a really hard worker.

Meat Hunk (Negative):  But to be honest with you, some of your co-workers have started complaining that you smell a little weird, kind of like a dirty baby’s diaper or a monkey’s armpit – I am going to have to ask you to get some cologne and work a little harder on that in these close quarters we’re in.
Bread Piece 2 (Positive):  Don’t take this personally, like I said, everyone here likes you a lot.  You’re the hardest worker on the team, an enormous asset to the company, and the guy here with the biggest heart.  No one will even remember this in a few weeks.

So by starting with positive statements and finishing with positive statements, the meat of the discussion (i.e. criticism) is a lot easier for the employee to swallow.  Now let’s look at this example from a boyfriend/girlfriend situation.  Let’s say you are trying to break up with your girlfriend using the sandwich method: 

Bread Piece 1 (Positive):  Look Jane.  You are a beautiful girl, sexy, intelligent, and funny.  Everyone knows that.
Meat Hunk (Negative):  I have to be honest with you though, you aren’t the girl I’m looking for and I don’t want to sit here and try to change you into someone else.  You deserve to have someone looking for your qualities – I need someone who is less controlling, somewhat mentally and emotionally stable, and someone who allows me more independence.
Bread Piece 2 (Positive):  I know there is someone out there who is going to fit better with you and who will gel with you.  I’m sorry it’s not me, but knowing all of your incredible qualities I am confident that your dream guy is still out there – you just need to go out and find him. 

The Sandwich method of delivering tough news is good for almost anything.  Feel free to adapt it to your own tastes – maybe you like mustard on your sandwich or maybe you like your sandwich with smaller pieces of bread.  Regardless, a sandwich just isn’t a sandwich without a little bread – so soften the blow with a little bit of positive before and after your bad news.  Hope this helps!!

Lunch at the world famous Chateau Marmont yesterday may have included salmon sandwiches, spaghetti bolognese, and a little bit of Kevin Burdick for the hundred or so people eating lunch prior to attending an AIDS awareness event called “FilmAid.”  As I filled the room with delicious background piano music, I gazed around the luncheon area of the world famous hotel located just off of the Sunset Strip.  It didn’t make me nervous that 2 of the members of the band Maroon 5 sat some 15 feet away on a couch listening, or when Christoper “Doc from Back to the Future” Lloyd walked by the piano barefoot.  I also was not intimidated when Winona Ryder stopped to listen before crossing to her table on the other side of the room – I was probably more concerned that she’d steal my sun glasses that lay on piano in front of me (just a joke, Winona).  It was a little ’dream-like’ as I looked over the piano and made eye contact briefly with Leonardo DiCaprio as he talked to a couple friends in the lobby.  But what made the afternoon for me (and also made me a little nervous) was when I noticed Bono and the Edge finish their meal and walk out.  As a musician, performing anything for Bono is nearly like showing your kid’s high school paintings to Picasso.  It is intimidating.

Mostly it was just one of those magical and surreal Hollywood Sunday afternoon’s where a musician from Salt Lake City got to bring his original music and charm and spread it across the ears of the rich and famous like musical peanut butter.  Perhaps they didn’t give a second thought to the piano man bringing them their afternoon dinner music before their charity event, but just for a moment they all stopped and heard me – even if just for a moment.

The five shows that I performed over the last 10 days here in the greater Los Angeles area were some of the most entertaining shows I’ve had to date.  From the packed house at the Cat Club, to the rediculous drunken heckler at Club TRiP, to the small group at Palladino’s who were treated to the epic improv song lovingly entitled “Boats and Ho’s and a Game called Trouble” – this was a great 10 day stretch!

Big thanks to all the guys who helped with these shows musically – we had a great team down here:  Keith Hubbard (Bass), Joe Mott (Guitars), Dylan Halacy (Drums), and Aaron Chavez (Percussion, Backup Vocals).  Ken Gray who did a great job getting these shows in a good pocket and handling all the arrangements.  Virtually all of the shows had good little crowds that came out to support and so a big ‘thanks a bunch’ to old fans and new fans who came to support.

For friends/fans who don’t live in Southern California, luckily my lifelong friend and world photographer Jared Platt happened to be in town lecturing at a photo conference, so you get to see some of the coolest photos from the Santa Monica O’Brien’s show.  Enjoy.

The 30 or so people who came to watch us rock The Joint in L.A. were treated to one of the “greatest 25-minute piano rock performances this world has ever seen” – at least so says the drunk guy at table six.  In some ways the night was a complete disaster – they had booked something like 52 bands for the evening (a slight exaggeration, but just barely).  So my hour set quickly became a 45-minute set, which then soon evolved into a 25-minute set.  According to Ken, the sound guy used the “random-level-method” of mixing us where my vocals were set at near ear-piercing levels and the rest of the band was a shade above mute.  This accapella performance was made worse by the fact that the lighting guy decided to put a single spot on me the entire show (flattering I know – made me feel sexy) so that my L.A. band could barely see their own cheat sheets.  We weren’t particularly tight, but the crowd was still responsive and appreciative of the effort.  To top the night off, the stage was set at a sweltering 246 degrees – I was so covered in sweat after my 5th song that I felt I’d just completed the 13th mile of the Boston Marathon.  That was my night in a nutshell.

In other ways, the evening was a success.  We broke into the L.A. market and we had a good crowd response in a city where the spectators believe you suck until you can prove to them you don’t.  These fickle L.A. fans are the same ones that show up to Dodger games in the 3rd inning and leave the game in the 6th inning.  The band was adequate, in spite of short notice – Marcello was steady and consistent on bass, the drummer Jeff and I played well off each other, and I assume Joe was on with guitars (though I really couldn’t hear him at all thanks to the ’stellar’ sound).

After we got off stage, the night took a turn for the weird when some guy (who later turned out to be a Venice street performer – you know, that guy that paints himself gold and dances like a robot when you give him money) went up and did one and half bizaare songs, the last of which was a half-sung, half-yelled vocal solo of “We Will Rock You!”  About 1/2 way through the song I guess he decided he was out of his element because he simply stopped and walked off stage.

The night ended with Ken and I taking a trip to Wendy’s, only to find that they wouldn’t allow us to walk up to the window and order – “safety hazard” they said.  They ’sort of’ compromised (see video) when I informed them I was a big star and I HAD to have my Wendy’s, AND that the “31-foot tour bus doesn’t fit next to their drive-up window.”  The manager demanded to see the tour bus first so that they would know I wasn’t lying.  I guess I was kind of cranky, but in the end we got us some Wendy’s at 2 AM so the night ended exactly how I hoped.

Watch the after show video of our Wendy’s adventure: