Todd Burge has a reoccurring dream. He is performing at an important gig with an untuned guitar, producing cacophonous, discordant music, sweating bullets.

Fortunately, this hasn't happened yet to Burge, a folk guitarist from Vienna, WV. His reoccurring fear hasn't kept him from touring all over the East Coast (from New York City to Philadelphia to the Carolinas and all over VA) with different acts. He's certainly no stranger to Athens.

"Since I went solo, I guess it's my second show (in Athens)," Burge says. "So I've got a lot to prove."

In truth, Burge has already proved himself, starting at a young age at the piano.

"I hated it," Burge recalls. "I was forced to take piano lessons."

He even tried to bribe his mom to get out of them. She refused, and by 1984, Burge's piano skills landed him in the Larries, a punk-synthesizer group. His second band, 63 Eyes, was a rock band doubling as a roots-country trio called Triple Shot.

Despite his band experiences, Burge is best known for his 10-year-old solo career. He has produced four albums and regional respect, while performing with the likes of Rusted Root, Lisa Germano and Jorma Kaukonen, just to name a few. He also has performed on PRI's Mountain Stage, a live music forum broadcast on National Public Radio.

The all-important question: How would Burge define his music?

"I guess the best description would be contemporary folk," he says. "It's funny, because there's a big folk/country mix, and maybe a slight alternative mix."

Burge says he would never get airtime on a country station, as his music is too verbose. Furthermore, "folk people think it's too twangy," he admits.

Perhaps Folk-a-Twang provides a more concise description. Burge ends up describing his music as inbred between the two.

He's always written music that way; the change from a punk band (the Larries) to a rock 'n' roll band (63 Eyes) to a solo folk career was not drastic for Burge.

"I guess I've always been in this genre," he says. "I've played with other people and they'll direct the music. I've always been kind of writing songs, and whichever band I was in took it to the place they needed it to go."

As for influences, Burge describes an influence as someone you know - not just a famous artist.

"It's a combination of who you're close to, your friends," he says. "You're more influenced by the party you were at than by Bob Dylan."

Burge's main influence is his friend, colleague and fellow musician Jim Clinton, who taught Burge to be more spontaneous in his music.

"I'm more analytical about things." Burge says.

His strong analysis shows in his music, from the humor of "Road Song" (a song about road kill) to the introspective "Daughter Ask Father" to the strongly nostalgic "The Kids Are Out of Hand."

Burge's true desire in music is to write strong, individual songs.

"I want to write a song and have it stand on its own," he says. "I've always felt a need to do this."

Todd Burge performs tonight at 10:00 at the Casa Cantina. To hear MP3s, visit his site at [Front Page] [Top Story] [Today's Edition] [The Post Archives] [About The Post] [Post Phone Numbers] [Staff Resumes] [Advertising Information] [Contact Us] [Useful Links] [Entertainment]