Todd Burge
  • Don't Water My Whiskey Down
  • Your Reflection Will Kill You
  • Back To The Races (Burlap)
  • That Sorry Guy From West Virginia
  • Comic Book Sleeve
  • Down at the Mill
  • Droppin' Meat
  • I'll Never Make It Out of Here Alive
  • Born Again
  • Lotus Flower (Lakshmi)
Biography
Todd Burge
Two New Albums - Recorded 32 Years Apart
If it’s been discovered by man, West Virginian Todd Burge has written about it. Born to ponder and observe life, each of his songs tells a story. Whether drawn from personal experience or a tale of poetically woven fiction, you’ll live every second of it through his songs.

Now, Todd Burge is releasing two original albums – one from 2018 and one for 1986 – as double CD package. Todd Burge (1986 The First Album) is his never-released debut record, and the second, Your Reflection Will Kill You, is his latest work (AN ACOUSTIC ALBUM) recorded by Don Dixon (James McMurtry, REM). They are a pair of now-and-then sonic bookends, both opposite and yet intertwined as a collection of stories that brought Burge to where he is today.

Describing it as a victim of record industry red tape, Burge says that “the 1986 album was probably the second or third time I was ever in a studio. It’s a rock and roll record with bits of punk. I’m not surprised at how it sounds when I listen to it now, because I know I was filled with angst back then. Maybe that’s what I needed it to be when I was recording that music. Now I listen to it as if someone else created it, and it really helped me decide which songs would go on the new record.”

THE ACOUSTIC ALBUM
A few years and a few experiences later, Your Reflection Will Kill You, shows that, like good whiskey, Burge is refined with time. On the making of the new record, Burge tells us, “I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so I asked Don Dixon (James McMurtry, REM) to come to my home. Don is a master at capturing a live recording session and making everyone feel comfortable. He has a great set of ears and great taste. You can trust his opinion, and that is important as, after a while, when I record, I don’t trust my own.

“The only rule I brought to the table was that we would not use anything but our acoustic instruments. Steel string guitar for me, nylon for Ryan (Kennedy), upright acoustic for John (Inghram). See, I have this emotional attachment to that sound that dates back to when I was five or six years old, back when I was still taking naps, I think. I would ask my mother to play Roger Miller’s greatest hits. You know Roger Miller’s “King of the Road”? Miller played a nylon string guitar. It’s a sound you don’t hear often in country music, but Roger Miller was not typical. I’ve been a huge fan of Willie Nelson’s since I was in grade school as well. Another nylon string guitar player. That guitar sound is just embedded in me. It moves me more than most sounds do.”

“With wit and pathos in equal measure, Todd Burge takes on subjects in his songs that never occur to most folks. Subjects too quirky, too controversial, too obtuse for most writers to get a handle on. His compelling vocal style and unique perspective keep me interested long after the last note rings out.”-
Don Dixon

2
  • Members:
  • Sounds Like:
    Greg Brown, Roger Miller, Loudon Wainwright
  • Influences:
    Tim O'Brien, Roger Miller, Bob Dylan
  • AirPlay Direct Member Since:
    02/15/19
  • Profile Last Updated:
    08/15/23 09:47:29

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