Editor’s note: This op-ed by Don Keelan of Arlington first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
Soon winter will be upon us, and my reliable snow shoveler for my Arlington office will not be around. Alex Burnham tells me he has other things to do.
Alex, who is 18 years old, along with his brothers, Andre, 17 and Forrest, 14, won’t need to shovel snow anymore. According to one national music magazine, “The Burnham Brothers Band is Burning Down the House.”
Magazines such as Seventeen, Entertainment, J-14, Teen Dream, M and Tiger Beat, to name just a few, all contain stories on this Arlington trio, which is creating a sensation in the music world. You have to be someone to have your photo portrait up on a New York City Times Square marquee. The Burnham boys are on two, on each side of the world famous intersection.
So who are the Burnham brothers and how and when did they “hit the big time,” having been raised in a small town in Southwestern Vermont?
Their grandfather was a well known fixture in Bennington, where for 30 years William Burnham practiced his dentistry skills. One of Dr. Burnham’s children, Phil, the boys’ dad, is a self-taught gemologist, who took up the trade of being a jeweler at 12 years old while summering on Cape Cod, where his mom, Phylis, still resides.
I could hear their music from across the street. And hearing the sounds, I would ask, who needs a disc player when you have neighbors like this?
At 19, he opened his own store in Bennington, near the Paradise motel, Burnham Jewelers. After a 6-year stay in California, he and his family returned to Bennington, and in 1998 Phil opened his jewelry manufacturing and retail business in Arlington named — “Who’s Phil?”
The boys’ mom, Marianne, herself an accomplished classical and pop musician, a UCLA grad, 25 years ago came to Bennington, via Laguna Niguel, Calif., and married Phil. Together they home schooled the boys, along with their 11- and 7-year-old sisters, Lily and Molly. And according to Marianne, Lily is an accomplished coloratura soprano.
With Alex on the guitar, Andre on his keyboard and young Forrest the voice, the trio would practice constantly when not creating their own lyrics and music. I should know: I could hear their music from across the street. And hearing the sounds, I would ask, who needs a disc player when you have neighbors like this?
About three years ago the boys were invited to play at an Orvis Company tent sale in Manchester. According to Don Benasich of the Orvis Company, who had arranged for their appearance, the tent sale customers were delighted with the boys. That night the Burnham brothers played at the Manchester Town Green, and a national phenomenon was under way.
The music industry got word and invited them to NYC, where in late 2009, the boys auditioned for several national labels. And then came the breakthrough. A contract signing with Island Def Jam label. The boys were off and running, and what a run it has been.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, the Burnham (their band’s name) touring bus pulled into Arlington. It was the culmination of a road trip that had the boys perform the opening act for the international singing sensation and teenage idol, 16-year-old Justin Bieber. The tour had shows in Vancouver, B.C., Sacramento, L.A., San Diego and San Jose as well as other places wrapping up in Toronto, Canada.
The boys have their own business manager, attorney, tour manager, voice coach and management company. The boys also had with them while on tour, no matter where their music travels had taken them, their Dad. And at times their mom and sisters would accompany them.
The accelerated stardom that has swept over the boys can be intoxicating, and harmful. It is nowhere to be found with this trio — thanks in large part to their faith-based, tight-knit and loving family upbringing that I’ve witnessed.
The boys will hit the tour road again this spring. Alex is free from his studies now that he has graduated from school. Marianne and Phil carry on with their tutorial work each day with Andre and Forrest (and Lily and Molly). And if Mom’s not present, she is in contact with them on Skype.
And if any of you wish to learn more about this local success story, you can do so by going to www.burnhammusic.com. And see (and hear) for yourself what the boys are about — bringing joy to others.
I gather it would be out of the question to offer Alex a slight raise to shovel my walk and steps. Oh, the price of fame!
