 Courtesy of the Artist A born ponderer and observer of life, each of Todd Burge's songs tells a story. Whether drawn from personal experience or a tale of poetically woven fiction, you’ll live through every second of his story songs. On November 16th, Burge will release two original albums - recorded thirty two years apart. The first, Todd Burge (1986 The First Album), is his never-released first record, and the second, Your Reflection Will Kill You, is his latest work recorded by Don Dixon (James McMurtry, REM), both being released as a duo of now-and-then sonic bookends, both opposite and yet intertwined, as a collection of stories that brought Burge to where he is today. Burgess kindly took the time to answer his Essential 8 and where he spoke about "a-ha" moments, the story behind "Don't Water My Whiskey Down," Mountain Stage, and more. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? I don’t know if there’s ever a moment that I know a song is perfect. They are documents of where my head was at the time of writing. Nothing is perfect but everything is perfect. I believe there are no wrong notes or melodies. There are certain songs that I hear differently after time passes and I think to myself that I wish I could create something that would resemble that particular song’s appeal, but I don’t lose sleep over it. I just write. Please choose one song and tell the story behind it. “Don’t Water My Whiskey Down”, the fourth track on the new album… “Irish whiskey being my adult beverage of choice, this phrase just popped in my head one day, and I wrote a bunch of verses. As our kids get older, more and more I find myself talking to them like they are my friend, and I will sometimes think to myself, did I say too much? Did I just change their life for the worse by telling them that family story? It also talks about West Virginia, and how it has been oppressed for years. Our land has been raped and our people ripped off. Our water poisoned and our beauty diminished. In the song, I use whiskey as a metaphor for both strength and weakness.” Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? Since I got my hands (finally) on the tapes from my very first album entitled 1986 The First Album and decided to put it out this year along with my new, the songs for the new, fell into place. They all deal with looking back and how that can influence your present and future. The new album Your Reflection Will Kill You has bits of fact and fiction, but the focus and songs selection became clear when I decided to put this old album in as a bonus.  What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician?
“Work hard, because nobody else does”. It wasn’t exactly accurate, but I believed it and it served me for a long while. How do you kill the long hours in the van/bus/etc? I never kill hours, but they are killing me. Hopefully slowly. What’s your favorite venue and why? I could name many, but if I have to pick one it would be Mountain Stage in Charleston WV. Why? Come on, it’s Mountain Stage. What’s your dream venue and why? See previous question. It is “gig nirvana” and it is listened to around the world. If you weren’t a musician/songwriter where would we find you? You’d find me frustrated and dreaming about being a musician/songwriter. www.toddburge.com www.facebook.com/toddburge www.twitter.com/toddburge www.instagram.com/todd.burge
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