One of Utah's Most Eligible Bachelors Goes National Be one of the first to interview, Kevin Burdick (www.kevinburdick.com) -- who Cingular Wireless Mobile Music Studio calls “one of the hottest emerging artists on MySpace!” (PRWEB) July 7, 2006 -- Kevin Burdick, the 33-Year-Old Rock Pianist from Salt Lake City, Utah, may be the very definition of a Renaissance Man. A Brigham Young University Graduate with a major in geography and minors in both music and psychology, Kevin's 3rd CD released earlier this year entitled “In Your Cocoon” is getting rave reviews from both local and national sources. In fact, Cingular Wireless has chosen track 3 from the CD entitled, She Does Her Crying Alone, to be a downloadable ring tone off of their MySpace page. “I’m now getting on average around 10 fan requests an hour off of MySpace.com from all over the world. I have nearly 20,000 MySpace fans and it is growing exponentially.” Kevin says, “It’s one of those things where 1 person falls in love with my music who then shares it with 5 other people who then share it with 5 other people and so on. It’s getting pretty overwhelming to manage. We’re now selling between 5 and 10 CDs a week just off of the website.” Kevin Burdick’s first album, Deep Blue America, was recording in Arizona in 2002, however, for his last two albums Kevin continues to work with some of the finest Utah talent. Joel Pack, who is affiliated with both Maverick Records and Warner Brothers Records and plays in the popular Utah band Broke, produced Kevin’s 2005 Release “True Stories and other fairy tales” as well as his 2006 Release “In Your Cocoon.” Other Utah Talent that have recorded with Burdick include local drummer Rob Moffitt (courtesy of Warner Brothers), Utah’s trumpet phenom Eric Vorkink, local rock violinist Kim Pack, and one of Utah’s best saxophonists David Todoroff. How Kevin Burdick ended up becoming one of Cingular Wireless “hottest emerging artists on MySpace” is a story almost as unbelievable as it is true. Burdick was raised in the small town of St. Johns Arizona, population 3500. His grandmother, who lived just one house over, had been in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a young woman. It is from these roots where Kevin inherited his love of music. Starting piano lessons at age 6, Kevin would eventually begin his love of rock music when his teacher finally let him learn a Lionel Richie song -- “Hello!” By 7th Grade, Kevin was already writing his own music. At age 15 Kevin would suffer a bout with chronic psoriasis that would grow to cover over 90% of his body. As you might expect, for months during his sophomore year the gym class teasings and school dance moments were nearly unbearable for him. In Kevin's autobiography posted on MySpace.com he says, “My life’s goal was to be a rock star, but very rarely do you see rock stars with hundreds of red lesions all over their body especially lesions that would peel and bleed and itch and burn every minute of everyday.” Only through a miracle drug, Tegison (which has since been pulled off of the market because of the potential risks of permanent liver damage), would Kevin be given relief from his condition – unfortunately, as Kevin will candidly admit, there wasn’t a miracle drug to cure the “lingering affects of the emotional damage.” Burdick has said that, “This sort of pain that I carry is the fuel that creates my songs.” Though Kevin’s music isn’t particularly religious and deals with themes such as drug abuse, divorce, and abandonment, many fans who listen to and love the music have described the sound as ‘spiritual rock.’ One fan even posted on Burdick’s MySpace page that ‘Kevin Burdick rocks my soul!’ Kevin’s closest friends understand all to well of the pain that fires his creativity. Jared Platt, a long time friend from high school and the personal photographer for Burdick, said during the making of Kevin’s recent video bio, “Kevin is deeply wounded, genuinely concerned, and stubbornly optimistic.” Another source of Burdick’s wounds and inspiration is that of his late daughter, Dempsey. Dempsey Sue Burdick was born on April 2nd, 2003 when Kevin was still married to his wife Debbie. She was born with a congenital heart defect that would require surgery to correct. 31 days later she would pass away from complications with the surgery. Kevin would watch helplessly as she would draw her last breath in her mother’s arms in Phoenix Children’s Hospital -- her passing and their subsequent divorce a little over a year later completely devastated Kevin. “When she died, the hospital staff said that 80% of families that went through this ended up divorced -- I guess we were just one of those statistics. It’s still something that keeps me awake at night -- the pain can be unbearable at times.” Soon after the burial, Kevin directed his grief towards founding a charity in the name of his daughter. In his journal, posted on the charity’s website, Kevin wrote, “I have been taking a little more time this weekend to go to the cemetery where my daughter is buried. She is buried in a section of the cemetery called ‘Baby Land.’ It is filled with children who died too early. The saddest thing is that there are at least 15 babies there whose parents haven't provided them with headstones.” The Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation helps families with some of the financial costs associated with losing a child by providing needy families with a headstone. Since its inception in 2004, the Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation has helped 4 grieving families with their funeral costs and continues to take applications for other families, both locally and nationally, who are in need. The death of his daughter has also inspired one of Kevin’s most popular songs -- his Tears in Heaven’esque ballad entitled “Too Good For This World” is a moving tribute, with deep spiritual undertones, that will affect even the most hardened of listeners. Kevin’s only tattoo is that of a pair of angel wings and a halo on his right shoulder that serves as a daily reminder of the angel that is out there watching over him -- his daughter. During the day, Kevin helps improve the lives of others in the community. Not only is he HOA President at one of the condos he owns, but he is also National Sales Director for one of the fastest growing companies in the state, AdvancedMD. He is also the President and Founder of InvestMed, a local medical software company with 4 employees that makes kiosk software for medical offices. When asked where he finds time to manage all of these various projects and companies, Burdick responded, “I don’t sleep at all and my social life sucks -- that’s pretty much it.” He then added, “Everything I do, all of the business ventures I do during the day are just so that I can do what I really love at night -- play music! That’s it.” On any given night around town, Burdick may be seen at venues like The Cabana Club and the Tavernacle, however, lately Kevin has taken up another approach to performing. Recently he founded the Salt Lake City Acoustic Underground Series. During these small exclusive performances, often times held at local residences, Kevin Burdick invites other local musicians to perform with him and allows between 12 and 20 fans to interact with him and the music. “It is an amazing opportunity for fans to really understand and connect with the songs and the stories that inspired them.” Kevin said, “For example, before I perform She Does Her Crying Alone, fans are able to hear the story of the girl that song was written about and understand why she cries alone.” These small intimate gatherings have been very popular and have been promoted only by word of mouth and private invitation. Currently Kevin is casting for his music video for the dark ballad, “In Your Cocoon” which metaphorically deals with his divorce at the end of 2004. This video will also showcase some of Utah’s best talent and will be distributed nationally via MySpace.com and KevinBurdick.com. Kevin is hoping to be able to add Comcast On-Demand, VH1, and MTV to that list as they work through the process of presenting it to all three media outlets. UPCOMING SHOWS: When running this article, please contact Kevin Burdick to post any information on upcoming shows. Additional Supporting Sites: Kevin Burdick Video Bio - http://www.kevinburdick.com/bio.htm Kevin Burdick’s MySpace Page - http://www.myspace.com/kevinburdick Cingular Studio Page w/ Kevin Burdick Ring Tone - http://www.myspace.com/cingularstudio The Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation - http://www.dempseyburdick.com/ Too Good For This World MP3 (Free Download) - http://www.dempseyburdick.com/mp3/Too_Good_for_this_World_Acoustic.mp3 Kevin Burdick 1968 E Mill Corner Circle Salt Lake City, UT 84106 801.244.0415 Kevin Burdick www.kevinburdick.com # # #