‘Neath the Cover of October Skies

‘Neath the Cover of October Skies

"Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies.” -  Van Morrison, Moondance

Did you see that gorgeous Harvest Moon last week? The Harvest Moon makes a once a year appearance; it is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.

Our Chester’s Bayview Café show in September was a blast!  John Roy Zat with Dorcas Moulton came by to perform a few songs with Dave on piano, “Trouble Why Do You,” and the beautiful “Irish Waltz.”  Bob Loomis also joined us on flute and provided occasional back up on bass. 

We’re behind schedule but working on the CD project, Stone and Fire.  We have relocated to Randy Rood’s studio in El Cerrito, a beautiful and comfortable setting with a view of the Bay where we have completed most of three tracks. One day, we saw the Blue Angels fly over San Pablo Bay and heard their jets roar from Randy’s deck.

We have another date coming up at Chester's 7:30 - 9:30 in Berkeley, Sunday, October 7, where we will celebrate our 33^rd wedding anniversary. This will be our Anniversary New Moon Show. Joining us will be very special guests Debbie and Doug Wendt. Debbie is a pianist/singer, and she will perform the French love songs for which she is renowned. We will also hear Doug’s marvelous classical guitar solos. The food at Chester’s is excellent and there’s a full bar.  Please join us for dinner and a celebration of love.

Sunday October 28, Dave will be the featured poet at Clara Hsu’s Poetry Salon, 4 PM at 301 Gambier Street in San Francisco. Chappell will accompany his reading on guitar. This will be Clara’s last salon for a while. In order to care for her father, who will be 92 years old in January, she will be taking a hiatus from her poetry activities. The salon begins with a potluck dinner, followed by Dave’s reading, and the open mic round of poetry after the featured reader. If you’re planning to go, please make reservations early by e-mail to Clara Hsu, soullesswoman@gmail.com, no later than the Friday before the event to confirm that there is space left. 

We will be joining many performers and promoters at The FAR-West Conference in Irvine, CA from Oct 18^th through 22^nd.  Some of Mother Hen Promotions performers will be there, including John Roy Zat, Severin Browne, and Gary Stockdale. A special pre-conference showcase for out of town Far-West musicians is scheduled at the Firefly Bistro in Pasadena on Wednesday October 17, 7 pm., hosted by Brad Colerick. We will be one of the performers that evening. 

Some of the evening performances at FAR-West are open to the public. If you need information go to the link: http://www.far-west.org/conference-schedule-at-a-glance.html.

We have another date at Chester's on Sunday November 4, from 7:30 - 9:30 pm., program details to follow. We may make it a blues night.

Our big performance next month will be on Sunday, Nov. 11, 4 to 6 pm, at the Occidental Community Arts Center. We will feature a Celebration of the American Song: Old Timey to Jazz, Traditional to Original: featuring Chappell & Dave Holt with Karl Hartmann on bass, John Roy Zat & Dorcas Moulton, and special guest Bob Loomis on flutes. Come for music and enjoy dinner at one of the famous Occidental Italian restaurants after the show. 

We are also returning in November to entertain at Armando's Happy Hour (and a half) 4:30 - 6 pm Friday Nov. 16, with special guests.