Eddie Burch
February's Songwriter of the month is Eddie Burch. A member of the LASC since 1986, Eddie has played on our monthly showcases five times, both as a solo act and with a small band.
Unlike some of our members who start learning to play at an early age, Eddie did not start playing the guitar until his freshman year of college. Like many young men of his age, he was strongly influenced by Bob Dylan.
Later, he and some friends formed the now defunct group, Garuda, which is a Hindu word for God. The band went through several changes in personnel and style and finally settled on a Poco-style of music. During this period Eddie wrote quite a few tunes that the band performed.
When Eddie entered graduate school, he quit both his writing and the band. After completing his graduate studies, he returned to writing poetry, which was his real first love.
On a 1986 Jamaican trip, he was influenced by some "real" reggae. Upon his return, he heard about the LASC. He attended one of our meetings and said to himself "Hey, I can write music!"
He's been on a roll ever since. Eddie style is country/rock, but he is especially adept at the "blues." His "It Ain't Love" was one of the finalists in our recent songwriting contest, a contest with nearly 600 entries. In addition, Londa Crenshaw performed one of Eddie's songs at the November Showcase.
Ed has written many tunes but when pressed to name a couple of favorites, he named "Cortez" and "Georgia," both of which are in the "blues ballad" style.
When he's not writing, you can find him recording at Doc Dockery's.