Steve Burns made the transition from hosting a children's show to becoming an indie rocker. He says this new gig is more on par with how his loved ones view him. Steve Burns made the transition from hosting a children's show to becoming an indie rocker. He says this new gig is more on par with how his loved ones view him.

The reporter had something to tell Steve Burns, but he was having trouble finding the words.

Burns is the former host of the beloved Nickelodeon children's program, "Blue's Clues."

Since he left the show in 2003, he has seemingly reinvented himself as an indie rocker.

The reporter bears more than a few scars inflicted by the actor-turned-singer genre (David Soul, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, William Shatner, ouch, ouch, stop, stop), so he had reason to be wary of Burns' debut album "Songs For Dustmites."

But he wasn't prepared for his reaction to the CD.

"You're surprised that my album didn't suck," Burns offered helpfully.

Exactly.

Continuing an extraordinary commitment to fresh, challenging music that puts Fort Wayne venues to shame, the Firehouse in North Manchester will host Steve Burns on Wednesday.

Burns' album, produced and made additionally toothsome by members of the Flaming Lips, is a collection of personal pop tunes ethereally vocalized and bombastically engineered in the patented Lips manner.

Even though most of the people who got to know Burns through the TV show would probably be surprised by his rocker persona, Burns said it was "Blue's Clues" that his family and friends had a hard time comprehending.

"It didn't make sense to anyone," he said. "Touring in a smelly van singing mediocre songs about science and love made much more sense to my loved ones."

Burns said the "Blue's Clues" audition was just one of many on the aspiring actor's agenda that fateful day nine years ago.

He showed up wearing fatigues, earrings and shaggy tresses, but the producers saw something special (not to mention potentially well-groomed) in Burns.

Burns brought to the role of the inquisitive blue puppy owner a wonderful mix of naivete, esteem for his young audience and absolute faith in the realness of his odd world and strange circumstances.

Burns plays down his contribution, however.

"It was all about sneaking in self-aware, self-deprecating glances to the camera while the other producers were checking their e-mail."

Burns eventually grew tired of the 15-hour, music-free workdays.

After Burns retired his green-striped shirt, he wrote "Songs For Dustmites" over the course of a couple months in his Manhattan apartment.

"It was a case of creative constipation, I guess," he said.

Burns' favorite band in the whole wide world was and is the Flaming Lips. Burns managed to get the phone number of the Lips producer Dave Friddman.

Burns called Friddman out of the blue just as Friddman had finished throwing a "Blue's Clues" party for his child.

"I wasn't trying to get him to make my album," Burns said. "At that point, all I really wanted to do was say, (Burns affects the tone of a pathetic fanboy) 'Hey, I like records, toooooo.'"

Friddman asked Burns to send him a demo tape.

Friddman offered to produce "Dustmites" and Burns consequently became one of the few musicians in the history of popular music to have his dream band back him up on his debut album.

"It's been a fairy tale," Burns said. "This sort of thing happens to nobody. So I felt a responsibility to take it as far as I could."

One of the places it has taken him is to Europe as the Lips' opening act. Burns is now touring with a smaller ensemble than the CD would seem to dictate: It's just him and a drummer.

The first few times Burns performed live in America, he experienced a little spillover from his previous gig.

"There was always one or two confused soccer moms from the suburbs clutching handbags in the corner, wondering why I'm playing loud rock music."

Although those people have mostly wised up since, Burns doesn't want people to forget the person he played on "Blue's Clues."

"I am very proud of that show," he said. "I want people to think about me as the guy on 'Blue's Clues' and as the guy who made a CD with the Flaming Lips."