B. JOHN BURNS, Songwriter (Des Moines music)
from deep in the heart of Johnston, Iowa...
In the fall of 1972, during my junior year of high school, I sat down at the Cable-Nelson piano in the basement of my parents' house and laboriously penned my first song, "Last Airport Home." A few days later, I wrote another, and then another -- and then another. . .
I never stopped.
Then, in January, 1976 I played a borrowed Wurlitzer electric piano at the Wakonda Country Club on Des Moines' South Side with a band called Now and Then. That was my first professional gig. On Halloween Night of that year, I got a call from the legendary Baby Lester in Omaha, beckoning me to join him on the road as a member of Baby Lester and the Buggybumpers. I followed him to Odebolt, Iowa, Independence, Missouri (twice), Fayetteville, Arkansas, Worthington, Minnesota, Albuquerque, Abilene, Atchison, Kansas, Buffalo, Wyoming, Tiffin, Ohio, Pierre, South Dakota, Indianapolis, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Green Lake, Wisconsin, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Humboldt, Iowa and, yes, Kokomo. I'd like to say I never stopped playing.
Okay, there were a few stops and starts from time to time -- but I'm playing NOW!!
And, yes, I am the brother of marathon champion Mary Burns-Prine, owner of the Women Runners Website and author of The 2008 Women Runners' DAILY JOURNAL & CALENDAR. But I'm determined to make it on the quality of my songwriting, rather than my sister's celebrity, so I pretty much try to keep it a secret. How's that, Mary?
BUY MY CD!!
To order a copy of my CD, "High Adventure on the Road," send a check or money order for $12.50 ($9.43 plus .57 tax, plus $2.50 for shipping and packaging) to
B. John Burns
P.O. Box 30035
Johnston, IA 50131
Check this site often for exciting news about upcoming shows!!
Click here to find out a little more about John Burns, songwriter.
Visit my photo galleries to see some of the people I've worked with over the past thirty-some years. Find posters of my upcoming performances. Read my nostalgic accounts of some of my great music business adventures, including the stories about the infamous bad review, some of the more positive publicity I've received, strangers on a train, a little night music, and performing at the 2006 and 2007 IMT Des Moines Marathons.
Check out the list of songs played at my performance, and listen to my home-grown demos of about a dozen or so of them.
SOME OF THE PLACES I'VE PERFORMED MY SOLO ACT
Amici Espresso
The Village Bean Coffee Co.
Cafe Milo
Being There Coffee House (Altoona)
Crave Italian American
Ritual Cafe
Grounds for Celebration (Beaverdale)
CoffeeCat (Mason City)
The Game Sports Bar
Okobji Grill (Johnston)
Flanagan's Bar and Grill
The Royal Mile
Woody's Smoke Shack
ArtsCentral (Waukee)
Ruby's Pub (Stuart)
The Vaudeville Mews
Neutral Ground Coffee House (New Orleans)Smokey Row Coffee House and Ice Cream (Des Moines)
Smokey Row Coffee House and Ice Cream (Pella)
Java Monkey (Decatur, Georgia)
Kirkwood Hotel Lobby/Art Show
C & D's Welcome Cafe (Redondo Beach, CA)
Illegal Grounds (Denver)
Savvy Coffee and WIne Bar (Solon)
Java G's (Clive)
Mars Cafe
Starry Night Coffee House (Johnston)
Java Joe's
Linda Vista Multicultural Fair (San Diego)
Cafe Diem (Ankeny)
Cafe Diem (Ames)
The Iowa State Fair
Black Sheep Coffee Cafe (South St. Paul, MN)
Harvest Moon (Dallas Center)
Grounds for Celebration (Urbandale)
Aura (private party)
Capital Square Atrium
Gateway West/Art Show
Marshalltown Coliseum (Unity Unplugged)
Memories Hall, Marshalltown (Unity Unplugged II)
The Des Moines Playhouse
The Foxboro Grill
Sylvan Amphitheater, Greenwood Park (Dickstock)
The Beaverdale Fall Festival
Hoyt Sherman Auditorium
Crystal Tree Restaurant (private reception)
Embassy Club (private reception)
Des Moines Marathon
Drake Half-Marathon
Friedrich's World Coffees (Urbandale)
The Regatta Inn (Clear Lake)
