Valley musician, artist, and record shop proprietor Joshua Burkett believes in parallel universes, aliens, other dimensions and ghosts. He also believes that dreams are more important than reality. And he fervently believes in the power of Western Mass.
“I live in a magical area where there is an amazing history of music—Marion Brown, Supreme Dicks, and Feathers,” he says. “And there are all sorts of cool folks doing great stuff all around at this very moment.”
Burkett teams up with another area resident, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, for a performance Thursday, Dec. 16 at The Elevens in Northampton.
Burkett, a stalwart in the local free-folk and experimental music scene, has managed to produce half a dozen releases while simultaneously running his beloved Amherst music shop, Mystery Train.
“I have been involved in music forever,” says Burkett. “All through middle school [and] high school I was in bands—punk, metal, pop.”
He also DJed at local radio stations, played in school bands, and worked in record shops in his native Connecticut before moving to Boston. In Beantown he continued to join and form bands—including a few projects with Kate Biggar and Wayne Rogers from the legendary Twisted Village—while working in music retail and performing periodically on the streets.
Asked to recount a few early influences or important experiences in his musical progression, Burkett rattles off some favorite moments.
“Joining Bimbo Shrineheads when I was 16 and playing tons of shows with them, including opening for The Ex on their first tour and touring across country,” he recalls. “Plus T Records—I don’t know where to start with that. Live shows too: PIL Generic Tour, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, David Bowie, Sonic Youth Daydream tour; but records were really the most important thing.”
Burkett discusses the creation process for what are dubbed his “internal psychedelic meanderings.”
“My solo stuff has always been more painting/drawing/assembling sounds than playing live,” he says. “I love spending tons of time alone with home recording. It’s weird and frightening. I play live, too, but I don’t like to play solo.”
Burkett has released six solo works—three CDs, two LPs, and one cassette. Several are on his own label, Feather One’s Nest. In the process, he’s worked with a slew of great collaborators like Chris Corsano, Dredd Foole, Matt Valentine, and Six Organs of Admittance.
One ongoing partnership is Tarp, a long-term project with friend and musical talisman Conrad Capistran. The two recently played overseas for the first time and are now working on a double LP. He’s also keeping busy painting, and is in the beginning throes of a film project with assistance from Fat Worm of Error’s Neel Young.”
You can catch Burkett live with Thurston Moore at The Elevens in Northampton on Thursday, Dec. 16, with special guests Bill Nace, Samara Lubelski, and the Mary Lattimore Quartet. For more info, visit www.myspace.com/joshuaburkett.
