Peter Burg & Bluesuburban open for Sonny Landreth at Blue Bird Theather in Denver 2006

Clown Town A Play by Peter Burg

Clown Town
by
Peter Burg
Water Color Painting by Melissa Adkison

Performances on
July 11,12, & 13 2008
At the Playhouse
2099 Main St,
Rye, CO. 81069

Where Clowns go after the show? The year is 1958 and just southeast of Pueblo there is a haven. It is late summer and on a few acres of windblown chamisa infested high desert the magic of friendship electrifies the wind. The place is Clown Town. A place of the past and present and the possibilities of the future for six clowns living the lives of men. Men doing double duty in the circus of life singing the melody of laughter, but time is fading fast and on the horizon the specter of change is imminent.
Share the whimsical ramblings and comical camaraderie of Rusty, Bobo, Suds, Zappy, Nod and Scamper, the inhabitants of Clown Town, before the wind carries them off into a distance memory.

The Pueblo Chieftain

Lonely end of circus era

explored in ‘Clown Town’

Posted: Friday, July 4, 2008 12:00 am

It's 1958 and life is about to change for Rusty, Suds, Nod, Bobo, Zappy and Scamper.

They're circus clowns in an era when their various talents are no longer in demand, living in a place called Clown Town in Southeastern Colorado. They're also the subject of a new play, "Clown Town," written by well-known area musician Peter Burg. "Clown Town" will be presented by the Greenhorn Valley Players July 11-13 at The Playhouse in Rye.

"I got the idea when I was playing at the Saddle Saloon (in Pueblo) in the early 1990s," said Burg. "We were talking to some people and someone mentioned ‘up by Clown Town.’ That immediately caught my imagination. The seed had settled."

Clown Town apparently was a real thing, an area inhabited by former circus and carnival performers. Burg started jotting down ideas and took about two years to complete the play once he began writing.

"The (real) story is mixed with my imagination in the play," Burg said.

Rusty, a World War II veteran, is the owner and honorary mayor of the failing Clown Town. The play takes place on the group's final night together, before everyone scatters to new lives.

Dick Greet, Jeff Garman, Lange Simmons, Brian Weisz, Justin Jaynes and Cliff Pattison portray the clowns. Burg is co-director with Pattison and helped with costumes, props and set design. He also wrote original music to go with the play.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. July 11 and 12 and 2:30 p.m. July 13. Ticket prices range from $6 to $8; call 489-2099 for information.

- Amy Matthew

IF YOU GO

WHAT: "Clown Town," presented by the Greenhorn Valley Players

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. July 11 and 12, 2:30 p.m. July 13

WHERE: The Playhouse, 2090 Main St., Rye

TICKETS: $8 adults, $7 seniors (62 and older), $6 kids (17 and younger). Call 489-2099.

454 Pop Rock Group from 1980 DVD

454
Peter Burg - vocals , guitar
Chris Judge - vocals, bass
Larry Goldberg - vocals, drums
1978-1981
Pacific Palisades, Califonia
Released a single on Rave Records 1980 "OK Lets Rock & Can't Keep Away"
DVD produced by DigiVintage Records 2008
454 -”Name on the Marquee”

I fell into amazing friendship with Chris Judge and Larry Goldberg while working at the Music Bag on Antioch Street in the Pacific Palisades, owned by Pat Hildebrand and Ray Sullivan. At that time I gave guitar lessons and worked the front in sales part time. Larry was also working there part time while attending Palisades High School. Chris too attended Pali and was just getting started on bass. It was serendipitous that he came to me for a few bass lessons. With his voracious appetite he soon absorbed all I could share with him and moved on to a more competent teacher.
After a baptism by fire as the guitarist with The Razz (original pop rock quartet, headed by Billy Bang circa. 1978) and The Actionaires (original rock band, headed by Terry Keller circa.1979) it seemed the natural progression for me to start my own band. Larry, whom I knew played drums and had an inexhaustible amount of energy and Chris who’s abilities I was familiar with, were both interested and so we started jamming.
The songs during that period were cover songs so we could hone our chops as a trio. They included; Jailhouse Rock, Pipe Line, Rave On, I Fought The Law, Money, All Day and All Night, I Think were Alone Now, and Hang On To Yourself. The early originals were, Downtown Girls, My Heart Skips A Beat (Love Me Now), O.K. Lets Rock, and Walking Home At Night.
The band rehearse in my bedroom at 887 Muskingum Pacific Palisades. There was just enough space for the drums, amps, P.A. and a bed.
Our first performance took place at the Music Bag on October 10, 1979. Larry was 15, Chris was 17 and I was 25. We called ourselves The Look because I had a song by that name. We soon had to abandon the name because another other band had it already. At that time there were a rash of bands with numbers for names, so we chose 454 because it was the Palisades telephone prefix, which stood for Gladstone-4. We first used that name on December 13, 1979 at a Gazzarri’s gig.

December 23, 1979 454 recorded two songs at Harlequin Studio in Northridge, California Double Ticket and Someday Somewhere Else. (No recordings found)

From the end of 1979 to May of 1981 454 played; private house parties in Malibu, Palisades, Brentwood, and Westwood, (Several were broken up by the police because they would get so crowded), Gazzarri’s (Hollywood), The Londoner (Santa Monica), Blackies (Santa Monica), Hong Cong Café (China Town), The Troubadour (West Hollywood), Palisades High School, Palisades Park, Paul Revere Jr. High School, Wood Crest Grammer School (Northridge), Bay City Jewish Community Center (Santa Monica), a total of 35 performances and most were paid gigs.

March 20, 1980 Palisadian Post runs article, “Local boys make new waves in quest for rock stardom”. By Rob Mandell.

April 3, 1980 Palisadian Post runs article, ”Dancers respond to call of 454”. Staff writer unknown.

On April 23 of 1980, 454 recorded two songs, O.K. Lets Rock and Can’t Keep Away at Cat Tracks Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. The session was engineered by Frank Sparks.

May 23, 454’s has differences with manager regarding finances and direction. The manager was also owner of The Music Bag where Peter was employed. The managerial agreement was terminated as was Peter’s employment.

On August 4, O.K. Lets Rock was broadcast on K-WEST Radio, “Seeds”, Monday night at 12:45.

September 6, 1980 454 hired Richard Titelman to shoot home beta video of the band, live at Peter’s parent’s home at 887 Muskingum Ave. in Pacific Palisades.

On October 9, 1980 an altercation occur on the sidewalk in front of Gazzarri’s night club along the Sunset strip after 454 finished there last set. Two street punks were harassing friends of the band and Peter stepped in and then a short fight took place. Peter was kicked in the chest and suffered a broken rib, as a result he was laid up for over a month, unable to perform.

On Sunday, February 1, 1981 The Calendar section of the L.A. Times ran an article, “Washed out for a decade, surf’s up again”, by Stuart Goldman. In it, 454 was mentioned as a surf band.

In May of 1981, 454 played it’s last gig together at Sandburg Junior High School in Glendora, California.
The band was paid $225.00.

March 3, 1994, Palisadian Post ran article written by Patrick Hildebrand Jr. where 454 was mentioned as being at the top of the Palisades music scene in 1978 and 1979.


One of the funniest mishaps occurred at a party on Haverford Street in the Palisades. Chris’s half brother, Jeff McBrien, our roadie that night, walked into a plate-glass sliding door. He hit it dead center, bounced off and we watched the huge mass of glass wobble, then explode, and shatter. Fortunately he was not injured. This was one of the many party’s that ended with the police showing up.

Peter Burg at Boats Blues & BBQ 2008

Peter Burg
& Blue Suburban


Originally from the coast of California, Peter Burg lives in the mountains of Colorado. Influenced by the beach sound and pop megalopolis culture of LA and juxtaposed with the pure simplicity and uncomplicated life style of a rather isolated mountain town, he has been bending and twisting country and blues of Southern Colorado into his own brand of original songs.
Peter is known regionally as a singer and songwriter and performs regularly with his original blues band Peter Burg & Blue Suburban. They have been heard on radio and have performed at many festivals and venues throughout Colorado including the Trinidadio Blues Fest ’00 and ‘05, the Belvedere Blues Fest ’03, Blues Boats and Barbecue Festival in Pueblo every year. Peter is a member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community playing Paint the Town Blues Series and Blues in the Park Series, and a life time member of Pueblo Songwriters & Musicians Association (President in ’04 &’05).
His blues…a Colorado blues, (Roots Music), a blues that encompasses elements of traditional blues forms, rock-a-billy, country swing, and rock’n roll, with the occasional surf twang, and folk elements.
Peter has released four CD, Open Wound ‘02, Corvette Irene ‘02, Hit & Miss ‘03, and Way out West ‘04. Currently, Peter has embarked on a solo venture with his latest release from Digivintage Records, Dizzy Light. Performance at Boats, Blues, & BBQ on June 6-7 at the Digivintage Stage, Riverwalk. Pueblo CO. Peter will be joined by Rick Terlep, on slide Guitar and Sam Giannetto, on bass and Bruce Paulman on harp.
More information can be found at: www.digivintage.com

Torro Pequeño

I wanted to let all of Torro Pequeño friends know of his passing. He was out late Friday night and was hit by a car. Torro was a caricature to say the least. His subtle charm and good looks made him a favorite with the ladies. His presence will be missed in the town of Rye and elsewhere. Torro lived for twelve years and led an interesting life as a father, blues band mascot, hiker, and a companion on travels through out the West. He was versatile in adapting to many situations and could perform several tricks such as speaking, shaking hands, sitting, lying down, rolling over and fetching objects. Of course as any professional he expected payment of a treat or two. He was well behaved but had his own distinct personality as anyone who knew him could attest. Above all he was a great friend with unconditional love. I will miss him profoundly. His passing occurred May 30, 2007 and he was buried in the backyard, underneath the apple tree just outside my bedroom window.

Peter

DigiVintage Records is pleased to announce the release of its second CD “Dizzy Light” by Peter Burg.

Peter Burg has been known regionally as a singer and songwriter and performs regularly with his original blues band Peter Burg & Blue Suburban. They have been heard on radio and have performed at many festivals and venues throughout Colorado. This time Peter has embarked on a solo venture with his latest release, Dizzy Light.

Using the blues as a stepping stone, Peter deals with his particular frailties in the search concerning spiritual awakening, faith, and moral consequence. Blues is not exclusive here. From his musical history he has drawn snippets from jug and string bands, rural country flavors, simple gospel, and primitive beats and brought them together into what is undoubtedly Peter’s best recorded work to date. Dizzy Light initially began as a purely acoustic project but rapidly grew in complexity with the addition of further instrumentation as period or cultural ambiance was needed. As Peter drew on several friends to add their own talents, he remarked “The studio is a canvass on which an idea can be worked out using a store house of colors to indulge one’s imagination. The trick is not to get too carried away and lose the edge, focus and direction.” The goal here was to capture a feeling often missed by large commercial studios and labels with their high production quotas.

Dizzy Light features Peter Burg on acoustic and electric guitar, bass, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer, recorder, tenor banjo, and percussion with the sounds of Rick Terlep on slide guitar, Bruce Paulman on harmonica, David Gouge on accordion, James Schafer on violin, and Danny Weston on drums. Dizzy Light was produced by Richard M. Holmes and Peter Burg and was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Richard M. Holmes at Amplimedia Production Studios, Pueblo, CO

Peter will be performing at the Blues Boats and Barbecue festival in Pueblo at 1PM on Sat June 9th and will have CDs available for purchase. CDs will soon be available online from CDBaby.com or from Amazon.com and will also be available for download through most online music services such as Apple iTunes and Rhapsody. CDs will be in several Pueblo record stores or can also be ordered by most record stores through Super D/Phantom Distribution.

More information can be found at:
www.digivintage.com

Press Photo Information
R. Holmes Photo
Hi-res digital version available for download along with cover art

Singer Peter Burg hits

the mark with 'Light'

Posted: Friday, June 8, 2007 12:00 am, The Pueblo Chieftain

By Jon Michael Pompia

One of the well-known names in the local music scene has released a collection of original music called \"Dizzy Light.\"

Peter Burg is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter who leads the group Blue Suburban, an original blues band.

While using the blues style of music as a template, Burg branches out on \"Dizzy Light,\" throwing country, gospel and Southern styles into a 15-song mix.

Burg keeps the songs simple and uncluttered, relying on his distinctive voice and tight acoustic guitar playing to anchor the tunes.

By adding mandolin, bass, harmonica, accordion, dulcimer and other instruments, Burg fleshes out the skillful arrangements and gives each song a distinctive touch. \"The songs deal with my own particular frailties in the search concerning spiritual awakening, faith and moral consequence,\" he said.

Accordingly, a listen to the album may well put listeners into an introspective and reflective mood.

Although \"Dizzy Light\" began as a straight acoustic album, the project expanded with the inclusion of guest musicians, each of whom brought his or her respective talents to the table.

Said Burg, \"The studio is a canvas on which an idea can be worked out using a storehouse of colors to indulge one's imagination.\"

Rick Terlep (slide guitar), David Gouge (accordion and washboard), Bruce Paulman (harmonica), James Schafer (violin), Danny Weston (drums) and Richard Holmes (organ) provide musical accompaniment on the album.

Highlights of \"Dizzy Light\" include \"You Never Know,\" the disc's leadoff track; \"Dizzy Light,\" the title song; and \"Movin’ Man,\" an upbeat, zippy tune detailing the life of a truck driver.

Released by DigiVintage records, a Pueblo-based company, the disc was produced by Holmes and Burg and recorded locally at Amplimedia Production Studios.

Burg will perform Saturday at the Blues, Boats and Bar-B-Cue festival at the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo, where copies of \"Dizzy Light\" will be available for purchase. The CD also may be purchased fromCDBaby.com, Amazon.com and local record stores.

For more information, visit http://www.digivintage.com/";">www.digivintage.com .

reason for living

i feel the razz the tingle
the water bumping
a silent cotton mouth
gliding in s motion
on the surface
working its way
up my spine in soft
pulsation wake up
the light glance
and reason for living
smells of chopped sage
and road kill the poison
now or never
is so sweet
that miss o’keeffe
blindly paints flowers
feint a pirouette
in the dessert sun
we copulate
in the gore of
creativity and mass
of sacred hues
plucking inspiration
and fireflies
from the wind
from the sharp stars
perplexities and
vicissitudes of
the running wolf
riding magic carpets
of geronimos’ cries
chiseling marks
on the stones
petroglyphs for
children’s fingers
singing everyday
for the turning world

bands come and go

the song was rough
a mule with a broken leg
chugging alone over boulders
a sync of a blind man
and a mute
walking through the sand
with oversized shoes
a slow go
and no traction
we are all trying
are damnest to groove
it feels like red blues
something sticky
with every beat
even the 64 par lights
are dimming and shorting
and candles flicker
in a spastic rhyme
the audience is shifting
one leg over the other
as the rain
begins out of the blue
the bartender is mixing
wrong drinks
a drop of perspiration
trickles off my chick bone
dropping to the persian rug
we’ve played this song
now it is a horrid accident
on a wet street careening
over a cliff
we all know why
we all are too lazy to admit it
why it’s old
and we don’t care
and the stench of finished
unsettles our yellow bellies
we are pros
rolling our eyes
rolling over in the grave
our spirits sneaking
out the window
for a quick one

there are tests

there is a hairline
fracture in the forehead
of my porcelain
mountain mermaid
there are compromises
there are tests
she wags her tail
and a mountain lion
gargles in
the rainy night
and prances in
the yarrow fields
the grainy crackle
of road sand
and musical flowers
under the paws
under the water
of blue eyes
my warm breath
on the nape
of her neck
the tattoo just
above her coccyx bone
i shuffle the cards
and she does a reading
there is trouble
in the house of father
there is solitude
to be recognized
calamity jane
has been beating
at my door
this camper
has been rained on
a river through the tent
water dripping
off the brim
off the straw hat
her nails on my back
taking DNA samples
everything that breaks
everything that screams
everything that is lost
is reflected on
the porcelain skin
and is graded
wakes on the water
her fin slips
under the surface
and a waning gibbous
moon slowly oscillates
passing the test

dark puppet

from each window in the camper
came a light
onto the paneled walls
angled and in corners
light bleeding in from
high low country street lamps
in a dying night
from this corner and that
annoying because we aren’t asleep
and there aren’t any curtains
so the light roams freely
above the bed
i hardly have to reach
for a respectable shadow
shockingly crisp silhouette
hand birds and dragons
talking dog horned creature
mimicking a grim dialogue
you say stop too real
you say they scare you
you move my hands into
a different shadow
you say it’s perfect now
laying beside each other
i said it could be more perfect
then i retract my statement
no it could not
nothing could be more perfect
than right now
there will never be a more perfect now
in your kiss of a thousand woman
and lioness teeth passionate
taste capricious licks
i move your face into
a different shadow
in the secondary moon
of my stoned paranoid fears
that lash out in hurtful words
that begin to cloud your mother smile
and pull the shade on your caring beam
my fingers are knotting
and shapeless
if you had just let me
work the shadows
we wouldn’t be broken
and you would be blaming
the dark puppet
not me

in the darkness of good bye

scarf skirted woman
i gaze at your cleavage
through a shawl of sheer aqua green
the pliers and hatchets
that pick at my propensity
to devour your flesh
this dead fly that i feed to the fish
this servitude that binds me to your kiss
this stumbling through chalice forest
drinking in the touch of your thigh
painted toes and rings
we meet in the ripples
of the waking pond
the denim veil clouds
when we stand erect embracing
meditating on each breath
memorizing perfume and freckles
in the fire mountain
in the grass meadow dream
elusive diamond valley
dirty and ragged
in the fresh battle of awakening
the weight of and inch that separates
our coupling
the instinct to bite
to take
and ravage in the juice
surreal lips that flash
from tongue to delirium
from the interruption that floats
like sailboats and breeze
and blood pumping in the ear
and the essences that lays just before
you leave
in the darkness of good bye
i am not that strong
to endure the dying bird
to forget the rose fragrance
to walk among the petrified heroes of war
on marble columns
i am in the instant
in the ethiopian waters bathing
washing your hair
scrubbing the monster
collecting the beautiful dust
that gathers on our embrace
that is the cricket in the night
in the walls
in the silence
smoke

summer vireos

the ethereal peeps and airy whistles
almost inaudible if you pay no attention
but they are there like sea waves
nagging the shore line
the female vireo flitters
from the aspen to the cedar
to the water spigot
to the nest with grasshopper
or fly in a fluttering feathery
flapping wing sound hovering
spying for safety
making a rapid deposit
in the young chicks beak
then back to a branch
in a routine as old as life
the four immature fledglings
are bunched together
on an inner ledge of my front porch
balancing and stretching their wings
roaring to get on with the air
shaking mites and excrement dust
down on porch chairs
a month ago I pulled the nest down
trying to discourage their activity
but the next morning the nest returned
more completed and determined
so I succumbed to that greenish-gray bird
so ensconced in maternal instinct
becoming a proxy parent vicariously
and now this morning the nest
is off the ledge and divided
part on chair part on floor
pieces left by chance
no trace of off spring
only stick debris and chick poop
my wish is that no cat got them
I wouldn’t have heard over
the thunder storm the wind
they are gone
they are peeps and airy whistles
they are on their way back
next year