SouthFlorida.com | City Link Magazine

Kevin Burns waxes eloquent about the networking wonders of MySpace. Posters of up-and-coming bands adorn his office walls. He orders pizzas by the half-dozen and keeps Throat Coat tea on hand for screamo singers.

Burns, 50, owns The Talent Farm. Nestled between The Lovely Lunchbox and Mickey Rivers Baseball in an industrial warehouse complex east of Highway 27 in Pembroke Pines, this recording, rehearsal and performance space is quickly becoming a second home to local bands.

After 25 years in the burglar-alarm business, Burns, a former musician and sound technician from Queens, N.Y., was starting to hate his work. Inspired by a friend who made three CDs after turning 50, Burns decided to sell his company, along with some investment property, and return to the music business -- but not as a musician. This time, he'd help others launch their bands.

Matt Burns, his 17-year-old son and singer for the screamo band Unwanted Superheroes, is his right-hand man. "He's worked here literally hundreds of hours, sometimes for free when the money wasn't there that week," Burns says. "He helps run the place -- or is it me who helps run the place?"

The Talent Farm has been a pricier venture than Burns expected. He thought building rehearsal and recording studios from scratch in a rented warehouse would take $65,000 and three months. After he spent $220,000 in nine months, The Talent Farm opened last September with performances by Unwanted Superheroes, Ject and Hagus Magagus.

Despite the opening hoopla, Burns wasn't initially planning on hosting shows. He figured that with the number of up-and-coming South Florida bands, at least one of his four rooms would be fully booked every day, but it didn't happen. "It's not like Field of Dreams," he says. "Just because you build it doesn't mean they're going to come, especially if you build it out in the Everglades."

By the holidays, he was worried. "My son Matt says, 'You know? We gotta do some shows here.' " The elder Burns realized that many bands need a place to play, especially after the August closing of Pompano Indoor Skatepark, another of Broward County's few all-ages, alcohol-free local-music spots.

So the shows began, but Burns can't pay local bands a fortune. They get $3 a head after the first 20 people they draw. If they open for touring bands, they may not get paid at all. But most groups jump at the chance anyway. "The touring bands are like big brothers; they tell them what it's like to tour," Burns says. "It's good for everybody."

To break the ice, Burns resorts to an old New York secret: pizza. "I'll order, like, five or six pizzas from Dominos -- the three-for-$15 specials -- and give them all something to eat," he says. "Now, we're not strangers. We're breaking bread. It needs to be like that, because when you're touring, you go to a place and it's only a place. You don't know the people or what to expect, and your guard is up."

After its March show, North Carolina screamo band Secret Lives of the Freemasons spent the night at The Talent Farm, as did Canadian band The Fully Down, Texas group The Panic Division and South Florida acts Unwanted Superheroes and Carter Beat the Devil. It was a band slumber party of sorts.

Secret Lives is now helping Unwanted Superheroes book shows for the latter's East Coast tour this summer. Meanwhile, Burns and his son continue to book local and touring bands they find using MySpace. "I'm booking bands that have 100,000 hits on PureVolume for $150 to $200 for a one-hour set," Burns says. "That's incredible. … I don't get it, but they're happy to do it. And I look outside, and they're eating cling peaches out of a can, and I'm thinking, 'These guys must be really into what they're doing. They must be very devoted.' "

Burns, who mortgaged his house to finish putting The Talent Farm together, is equally devoted and nearly as broke. But he expects to make it in this business, even if it takes time. In the meantime, he and Matt keep plugging away. The Farm has a 24/7 Internet radio station featuring Talent Farm bands and broadcasts live shows that can later be ordered on CD for $20. Soon, Burns plans to start his own label, Everglades Records.

"Not many people in the community get behind this scene that's going on, actually giving kids a safe place to see bands and hang with their friends," says Jack Powell, singer for Madelyn, a local rock band that has played The Talent Farm four times. "This guy spent a good amount of money, time, effort and dedication to make this awesome venue for kids to watch shows. The sound there is great, the venue is really cool, and every band I've talked to that's played there really enjoys it."

Burns enjoys it, too, and doesn't miss the burglar-alarm business one bit. "There are times," he says, "when I just sit in the control room, and I'm kicking back and saying, 'Damn, I've got a good job.' "

The Talent Farm is located at 20911 Johnson St., Suite 111, in Pembroke Pines. Call 954/438-3488 or visit Thetalentfarm.com.