Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Singer-songwriter Byron Burt performs his one-man show “Songs of the Dark Lord,” Sunday, June 22 at 7 p.m. at the Barking Dog on Highway 12.
A darkly clad fixture of the Sonoma music scene, Byron Burt is likely the most congenial, friendly and unassuming musician one will ever meet…wearing an upside-down pentagram.
“If you want to get the right people interested, you have to ‘genre-tize’ yourself. I don’t like genres, but if someone wants to go to your show and asks what you play, you can’t just say ‘music,’” deadpans Burt. “That’s why I say ‘acoustic rock’ with influences of this and that to give people a feel.”
In the case of his upcoming show at Barking Dog Roasters next Sunday, the singer-songwriter bills the sound as “acoustic rock with influences from the Industrial and Metal genres.” Though, the show’s title, “Songs of the Dark Lord,” is probably an equally apt descriptor.
When pressed, Burt explained the sound of this new endeavor (a prior solo outing a few months ago was the project’s first public performance) using videos from his employee “favorites” shelf at Movie Merchants. “For this project I’m doing a mix between ‘Dark City,’ funny enough, and ‘The Game’ with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn,” he said with a smile. Burt’s other sideline, as a barista across the street from the video store at the downtown iteration of Barking Dog Roasters, provides another wry description – “mocha java.”
Even behind the respective counters of his day jobs, Burt’s identity as a musician is quite apparent, as when he began a shift and a customer unknown to him attempted to rib him about his look.
“I had just gotten to work, so my eyeliner looked good and I was wearing a Sigil of Baphomet shirt. Someone said ‘So, where’s your show?’ I said it was going to be at Barking Dog.” The guy asked, ‘So you’re really a musician?’ Uh, yeah.”
During the “Songs of the Dark Lord” set, Byron accompanies his vocals on guitar as well as with an MP3 player that bolsters the live element with prerecorded instrumentation. The result is a rather impressive sound from a single performer – a sound seldom heard live in Sonoma. Burt attributes this to the underground nature of his music and the relatively few live venues.
“It’s pretty underground. There are few places to play for anybody, but there is a scene – just mainly at house parties for most of the styles that I’m into,” said Burt, who is quick to point to the support Barking Dog offers local musicians, particularly those with eclectic interests.
In the meantime, Burt is readying his professional infrastructure to market his music for use in commercials, film and video games as well as voiceover work.” To do so, he’s embraced the promotional tools now available in the Digital Age, including MySpace, where his work can be accessed at www.myspace.com/darklordbyron.
As Burt remarked, “Anywhere I can make money by recording something – I’m down with.”
Byron Burt performs “Songs of the Dark Lord” at 7 p.m., Sunday, June 22 at Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy. 12, Boyes Hot Springs. Admission is free. Listen to Mr. Frailty here , an original Byron Burt MP3.
