Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Burley
Hi Dustin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was a child of the 90s and was like most kids turned onto the grunge music movement. Prior to that i grew up listening to artists like pink floyd willie nelson to name a few. My family on both side were pretty musical as well my mom was a pianist dad a bass player. Uncles were drummers grandfather would play piano. Probabaly a bigger influence would be i was a mischievous teenager so althought not serious trouble i found myself getting suspended from school here and there and my mom decided to send me to my great grandmothers house where id acrually play all kinds of instruments. I was still a beginner on the guitar and shed sit with me and say dont bang on the guitar pick the notes. So i accredit those words to my unique approach to how i strum or pick notes on the guitar. When i was 15 i started a band in my friends basement in Pennsylvania and after writing a few songs we started having house parties and finally started getting booked at all age events around town. My senior year of highschool i moved to houston, tx and had no friends but ive always been good at entertaining myself. I didnt have a guitar in texas my grades were really bad and to have one i had to focus on school first so i did get my grades up but i also smuggled a guitar from a guy in my class who said i could use his as long as id wish. I hid that guitar but it were i recognized incoukd write songs. My boredome turned more into an obsession to be isolated so i could write songs. Sure i wanted friends but writimg songs was more plesant than the ins and outs of friend clicks for me. Id literally write 10-15 songs a day working until i saw they start to take shape. I could write a song sometimes in 5-10 minuets with very little correction. After my senior year we moved back to Pennsylvania.
My solo career actually started on a bet at a bar called Aldos from a bunch of my college friends i had to go ask the person performing if i could play a song on his break and he agreed that was the first step. Then the next came about a year later when another life long friend asked me to come open up for him he held a weekly gig at the bar in town called City Limits in Altoona, PA. I agreed. I almost backed out cause i only ever wrote my own songs never covered anyone elses music and my sound was honestky unlike anything youve heard and for a top 40 cover band town i was way off in left field the odds were against me and i knew it. But i ended up going was almost late. And it was show time. I was so nervous but prevailed. From that point on i played every tueday night before i decided to move to a town outside of Asheville, NC for a year. I was determined to get gigs the second i got there but it was another we prefer top 40 cover material and i still at that point never learned any one elses music so i knew i had to get creative and experienced in other ways so i stumbled onto open mic nights. Id travel 2-4 hours just to play 15 min sets all over wester northcarolina and finally i got my first booking in Charlotte, NC at the Hart Witzen Gallery. This show really was a turning point. I had pleanty of songs i was confident in playing in public and i had a two show run friday and saturday as the headliner. Ive always been focused on never performing the same setlist twice so i had two shows with about 3 hours of music to play. It went off without a hitch and was well received. In time i had to move back to pennsylvania i went back to City Limits and asked to play tuesdays again and I was the headliner. The owner of this bar allowed me to play original music and was a huge reason i am here today still. But i Really quickly Knowing my style and desire to build my name musically i had to spread my wings cause no other bar withing 2 hours of his wanted original music My path to where i am took off when I took a job in the mall at a store that had little to no business so you just sat there and this is when myspace was going so while working i buikd a myspace page and i want to tour to be known you have to get on the road. I lived 5 hours from New york city and was like. Im goinh to see if i can get booked in manhatten the epic center of music on the east coast. With in 2 days of trying i had my first gig booked at a place called MoPitkins. The show went over really well and thats when i knew i had something i just went to the biggest city in the country played a great show with great response i have to now try more. Id go on to book cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, etc i started learning how to get my name out there and get booked. I did the east coast quite a bit until in 2009 i had the wild idea of doing a few weeks across the country. I booked shows in Omaha Moab Denver. powellpalooza at lake powell. las Vegas wyoming it was a fun tour but a lot of lessons were learned the best show of the run was in Moab at Eddie mcstiffs that set the stage for my love of moab and the love of performing there. Over the next few years I had a few good breaks by knowing the right people so I got to open up for bands like .38 Special John Cafferty and experience performing professionally infront of 10000 people for the first time and once you experience that you cannot stop wanting that to be your show if at all possible. So i spent the next few years touring the east coast southeast midwest plains rocky mountains desert southwest I found i enjoyed performing more in beautiful settings that both i and the audience can enjoy and get inspired by. The venue is critical it has to have that special feel or vibe to it for me atleast. So i eventually moved out to Durango Colorado is where im based i picked there so i could be really close to utah and ever since then in time ive build a network of venues around the four corners and Moab and Utah in general is where youll find me Red Cliffs in Castle Valley. The Blu Pig in Moab. Bluff Dwellings Resort in Bluff is probably the absolute perfect setting to see my show. Working for Park City Resort or gigs in Salt Lake. i perform the roughly 50 shows a year in Utah so its home. Ive written several albums worth of material form the inspirational nature that surround the state so utah is my heart and favorite place on earth. But thats pretty much how i got to where i am The never ending drive and will to succeed and put the best performance i can night after night
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No. Unless youre extremly lucky i dont think youll find a musician whos tried to be discovered or touring doing it for a living on the road who hasnt had struggles being on the road as a musician is hard. Its not easy at all. You spend weeks away from loved ones friends and family sometimes months. Talking to yourself driving hours everyday The constant struggle of being a year ahead of yourself booking and managing yourself. Theres been dozens of times i said ill just get a job but then i thiught about looseing the aboslute freedom of being myself and doing something i love thats always what keeps me going and believing in myself and my music But the fans can be a blessing and tough as well. You go from having more shows than you can handle to scraping by on nothing in weeks its really up and down and you have to stay committed Ive slept in my car on tour many times it becomes a lifestyle. But i can honestly say the most free and some of the happiest times of my life were having 2$ to my name not knowing how im getting to the next town You have to trust the cards will fall into place even when it seems impossible. So many people will tell you why are you not at a job with a 401k benefits etc. ive been there and done that. Famiky and friends a like have not understood what i was doing all the years buildinb to where i am. But i had to tune them out constantly to keep moving forward. Also eventhough its not mtv if the 80s theres is lots of temptations being a musician and the lifestyle that goes with it. So you have to keep your head on your shoulders and smart about everything. Be humble about everything
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Im a singer songwriter and performer. Ive written hundreds of songs. I think im known for a really unique sound that doesnt fit into any genre of music. I was told once my music really cant be defined its more like water that flows. Id say my guitar work is completly apart from most artists who specialist in being a soloist. I really pay attention to the small details inside the song and patterns to make my sound unique to me. Like David Gilmlour has a distinct i feel i do as well you wont hear anywhere but listening to me. Lyrically my songs are mostky based in the ups and downs etc of life. I can write a song that will bring lots of joy or could pull a tear from anyones eye who listens. I honestky dont think youll hear an acoustic performance anywhere in the world when it comes to original music like mine. In proud of the fact that i have kept doing this all these years and managed to make a living doing it and beat all the adversity and advice to just get a job. Im proud of myself really. It the one thing in life that i dont tire of and havnt stopped trying to build and got myself where i am today.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Just dont stop. You dont have to fit into a genre just be yourselg and pmay what feels good to you. Dont take no for answer when you feel stuck you will push thru if you keep playing. Alot of time the next step starts with a mistake not even knowning the mistake that was made was the end of that chapter and a new one starting weather its in performing or just playing the guitar or singing songwriting. Dont be scared of failure cause you will fail 100 times and be told your not good enough before you have any success. Dont pay any attention to critics. Just recently i was told at a bar in the middle of a set i was un-American Becuase i didnt know certain artists they wanted me to play.
Pricing:
- Priceing is negotiable to the event and travel involved
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dustinburley.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustin_burley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15MXYVC8HG/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/dustinburley
