Steve Burns isn't dead.

In fact, Burns is alive and well in New York City, toying around with multimedia ideas, surround sound and video projectors for his upcoming tour. For many fans of the much-loved Blue's Clues television series, the loss of Steve from the series was so great that rumors spread of his death via car crash, suicide or whatever else various media outlets could cook up. No, the reports were incorrect. Burns left Blue's for the sake of something more rewarding and creative than a children's TV series: music.

"It was more of a personal challenge because the show had become such an indelible part of TV history," Burns said. "I knew I was going to make this record. There really wasn't a choice when these other people came out to help."

Burns confesses he has always been a musician and was toying around with music even during his busy years with the Nickelodeon cash cow. But after six years of acting in front of a blue screen, coupled with his discovery of the Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin album, Burns decided to call it quits and make an album of his ideas a la the Flaming Lips influence.

"Doing the show for six years with work days that could take up to 13 hours was draining," Burns said. "When I was done, I had all this built-up creative energy that came out and I wrote 19 songs in two months."

The result was Songs For Dustmites, released last year on PIAS records and it easily stands out as a little brother to the recent work of Oklahoma's Lips. No, the similarity in sound on this record is not a direct ripoff of the Lips; Burns was able to push his demo on to David Fridmann (Mercury Rev and Lips producer) who in turn offered to work on a record.

"Luckily, Fridmann had just thrown a Blue's Clues birthday party for his kid and with that, I was in," Burns said. "He asked if it was OK for Steven (Drozd of the Lips) to help out and before you knew it, I was a kid in a candy store."

Much of the album was constructed in Burns's bedroom with the help of his computer, guitar and keyboard. Many of these demos weren't entirely different than the final cut of Dustmites, but others were worked on a little more. With the help of Fridmann, Drozd, who played drums on several tracks, and Lips' bassist Michael Ivins, who engineered the album, Burns was able to construct the grand sounds and moments he had in his head.

The opening track "Mighty Little Man" stands out as a grand pop song incorporating heavy synthesized sound, electronic blips, Drozd's trademark drumming, and subtle guitar. This was perhaps the song that Burns had envisioned so clearly in his head with the rise and fall of parts so perfectly calculated in sync with the songs progression.

"Dave (Fridmann) mixes so quietly and I wasn't sure if it sounded like I wanted it to," Burns said. "I wanted it to sound like Godzilla kicking in the door and the next day Dave played me his mix loud and that nailed it."

Burns said about half of the album reflects the Lips/Fridmann collaboration while the other is almost entirely his own creations. These songs stand out as a more laid-back approach and are a smaller scale in construction. Tracks will vary from heavily produced synth and guitar sound to the acoustic guitar and the subtleties of Burns's voice showcasing a passion for creating diversity in his music.

"I was very lucky in that I got to skip a lot of steps that made it easier," Burns said.

Going from Blue's Clues to collaborating with the Flaming Lips is quite a step indeed. Burns's creative drive likely played a bigger part than he'll admit. Since the album's release, Burns has toured in support of the Starlight Mints and also done a month-long tour in the UK with the Flaming Lips. These tour dates gave Burns insight on the process of transmitting music to a live audience.

"I have good ideas that are easily replicated in the studio," Burns said. "But in the live setting, it's much harder."

Burns said he'll offer a "Diet Coke version of the Lips show," with visual imagery and other multimedia aiding his live performances. His tour with the Lips gave Burns insight into how to give people a spectacle as well as a great live performance. With only himself and a touring drummer, Burns is up for the challenge of creating his distinctive album sound in a live setting.

"I like to go to shows and take something away from it and this is what I am trying to do for my show," Burns said. "It's going to be a sort of multimedia extravaganza with the music as the centerpiece."

This year's tour is the first headlining tour for Burns and he admits he is still coming into himself in the live context. Today he is working on videos that he will play during the tour. The footage was all shot and compiled by Burns who sees it as an important part of the multimedia experience that is his live show.

Burns sees Blue's Clues as an important part of his past, but it is just that: his past. For many of his friends, the thought of him on a children's TV show was stranger than putting out an album. Judging by his work on Songs For Dustmites, one would have to agree that he is in the right place now.

Steve Burns will come to C-U Tuesday, July 13. Catch his multimedia extravaganza at Cowboy Monkey at 10 p.m. Tickets are $6 with 2ON2OUT opening.