Doug Burr- "Pokerface

by Rockzilla

	In a dark, noisy, East Dallas honky tonk, a kid carrying a guitar case slips in unnoticed, and takes a seat at a corner table in the rear of the room. Kind of a skinny kid with a '50's haircut and Buddy Holly glasses. It was an "open mike" night, and he had come to play. He sits, looking around nervously, until finally the announcer introduces him. He walks to the stage, sits on a stool, and adjusts his harmonica. He adjusts the microphone and mumbles the title of a song. As he started playing, I got up to leave and remember thinking that the kid sounded pretty good. That was the first time I saw Doug Burr. Some time later, I received an email from Doug, inviting me to come and hear him play at that same club. I didn't connect the name, but when I finally made it out to hear him perform, I remembered that look.As I sat and listened to Doug sing his songs, I regretted walking out that first night I saw him. Doug has put together a CD containing six of his songs which is called "Pokerface". It doesn't have a cover, and five of the tracks are just Doug with his guitar and harmonica, but it is a fine disc, and one of the tracks, "Big Star", is getting a good deal of local air play. Doug, who looks much younger than his age of twenty seven, was born in Dallas and now lives in Denton. He has been writing and singing his songs since he was seventeen. I asked Doug the standard "Who were your main musical influences" question, and he named several. First was the late Rich Mullins, a man many call the greatest of the contemporary Christian songwriters, and a fascinating man. Next was Bill Mallonee (of Vigilantes of Love) whose Christianity comes through in many of his songs. Then came Steve Earle, Neil Young, and Tom Petty. If a songwriter is going to be influenced by anybody, it would be hard to pick a better group than this one, and after listening to Doug's songs and looking at this list, I can see some of that influence in his music. There are religious references as in Mullins and Mallonee, and biting satire and wry wit as with Earle, Young and Petty. But make no mistake, this is Doug Burr's music. The lyrics are fascinating and some of the songs can be interpreted in various ways, which makes them all the more interesting to some of us. I love this verse from 'Pieces': Alert the downtrodden, the stupid, and the lame Prepare yourselves for the conversation-piece hall-of-fame Crawl to the cutting floor to be carved into pieces Watch your pile of ruins emerge an elegant thesis And Lord, I'm so slow to appraise these works of art But I'm convinced and comin' to ya, as I grapple with a coward heart Doug's voice is very pleasing and he is a fine musician. I've asked several people who they think Doug sounds like and every one had a different answer, which I interpret to mean that Doug has his own sound. "Pokerface" is a great "sit and listen" disc. If you like music where the words might really mean something, this might be for you. None of the six tunes makes mention of "Shiner Bock" or "honkytonk bars". He has plans to record a full length CD in the near future. Doug performs every Thursday night at the Lone Star Cafe & Club, and many times at the Wednesday night "Pickin' Party" at Lone Star. I highly recommend that you catch on of Doug's performances. The CD's are available at Bill's Records and Tapes at the intersection of Spring Valley & Coit or at the concerts. For booking or other information, you can contact Doug Burr at: dougburr-at-juno.com   You can email Rockzilla at: rockzilla-at-rockzilla.net
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