Al Burgasser / Cripple Creek

 

Al Burgasser has been writing songs and performing for more than 40 years. He minored in music in college and has been active as a composer, arranger, performer, and teacher since he was a teenager.

 

At one point he was concurrently performing in a bands, solo (on the coffee house circuit), and in three local symphony orchestras, all on different instruments, including guitar and bass, and the range of orchestral brass instruments, keyboards and more.

 

After a long hiatus, Al was encouraged about 10 years ago by Bill Petkanas and Missy Alexander, to again begin performing in public at local folk circles (though he was still writing and performing for limited audiences), and in 2002 he began performing with Beth Obstgarten, marking the beginnings of a strong musical relationship that became Cripple Creek. Beth and Al began performing in local venues and quickly realized the need for a more full and diverse sound. So, they asked Bill Petkanas and Dan Mustin to join them on guitar and drums respectively, and the band Cripple Creek came together in its current form, and have been performing as a working band for more than 6 years.  The group performs at least twice per month in local venues, combining a mixture of acoustic and classic rock, rock and roll and some country from the 60’s to the 90’s, to form a blend of sound that has earned them a solid reputation as one of the top “bar bands” in western Connecticut.

Additionally, Bill, Missy and Al host the Sherman Song Swap, a local acoustic music venue, organized around the folk circle model, but emphasizing diversity in style and skill level to encourage local musicians to participate in public performance of their music.

 

Al (and friends) also run Open Mic nights at the River Bistro in New Milford, CT and at JD Tuckers in Washington Depot, CT., and he performs regularly at local folk circles and open mic nights as well as occasionally teaching courses in music and songwriting in local adult education programs. He is an active songwriter and arranger in the folk/country, children’s music and creative orchestral sound categories. One recent work included the direct conversion of spectral data from brown dwarf stars to audio to create series of pieces called music of the cosmos, followed by a raucous Irish style song to celebrate a close friend’s birthday.