We Sing of Brooks, of Blossoms, Birds, and July-flowers …

We Sing of Brooks, of Blossoms, Birds, and July-flowers …


“I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers:
Of April, May, of June, and July-flowers.
I sing of maypoles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes,
Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal cakes.” (Robert Herrick)

“Running barefoot through the pasture
Sunday evening baseball games
The old men talked about the weather
It never changed... it stayed the same
We need rain... the crops are dry
Gonna be... one hot July.” (One Hot July, by Tony Joe White)
 

“In this day and age of so much "cookie cutter" music, all so digitally perfect, etc. - I felt like I was transported back to a time when people only made music for the True Love Of It.” Pamela Polland, www.pamelapolland.com/ commenting on Chappell & Dave’s Stone & Fire CD.

Our fundraiser at Stevie Coyle’s Mighty Fine Guitars, 85 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette, in support of  FAR-West, was a great success! As Jeanette Lundgren of Mother Hen Promotions  reported, “And now - drumroll!  We raised $685 altogether with donated CD sales, cookie sales, and the door.  Very Nice.” See  this Stone & Fire performance with John Roy Zat on fiddle, and this video for Indian Maiden featuring the fabulous Karl Hartman on bass.

Preparations are underway for the FAR-West conference being held in Oakland this October 16-19 at the Marriott City Center. Chappell is helping put together the Best of the West awards, one for a Performer of the Year, and for Ambassador of the Year. The FAR-West organization promotes traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance and related performing arts. If you’d like to register, please go to: http://www.far-west.org/far-west-2014.html. Evening concerts are open to the public at a nominal cost ($15.) with no registration required.

Every Monday night in Marin County an interesting event takes place, “Salons For Your Imagination, Wow!” hosted by Angar Mora. The evening salon begins with food and conversation at Café Arrivederci. Following the dinner, we will be presenting our music on Monday July 21, with books and CDs available for purchase. Start time is 5:30 and the event ends at 8:45. Cafe Arrivederci is on 11 G Street, San Rafael, CA. For reservations, please call Angar Mora at 415-492-8870.

Music by Chappell & Dave Holt Playing on KC Cafe Radio

You may request up to 2 songs per hour, and no more than 10 songs per day. If an artist you request has already played within the last two hours, your request will not be honored, and will appear in the search results with a  icon. Click the “request” button associated with the selection you would like to hear. Your selection should then play sometime over the course of the next hour. Timeliness may be affected by the number of other requests waiting to be played, special programming scheduled to air, or other factors relating to the regular rotation of music playing at the time.

If you’d like to order our new CD, Stone & Fire, directly please send a $17 check (includes $2 shipping) payable to Dave Holt to 1335 Kenwal Rd., #A, Concord, CA 94521. You can also purchase downloads (also Wings of the Morning) at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ChappellDaveHolt

Please contact us if you are interested in having us play a house concert in your area by replying to this newsletter. Don’t forget to like the Chappell & Dave Holt band page, AND the Chappell Rose Holt artist page on Facebook.‎

Have a wonderful month and we’ll see you in August,
Chappell & Dave

Like a Rose That’s Newly Sprung in June …

Like a Rose That’s Newly Sprung in June …

“Oh, my love’s like a red, red rose,

That’s newly sprung in June;

Oh, my love’s like the melodie

That’s sweetly played in tune.” (Robert Burns)

 

“Among the bramble bushes grew a rose. It was a vision of beauty, so I chose to leave the darkness I’d refused to leave …” (Anniversary New Moon, from the new Chappell & Dave Holt CD Stone & Fire)

 

“June is bustin' out all over
All over the meadow and the hill!
Buds'r bustin' outa bushes
And the rompin' river pushes
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill!”

(Rodgers and Hammerstein, fr. Carousel)

We had many great adventures on our Stone & Fire music/CD promotion tour through Corvallis, Portland (OR), Seattle (WA), finally reaching Summit, Oregon for our last concert at the Summit Community Center (April 30 to May 10). On the way up, our first stop was Eugene to visit Jeanette Lundgren of Mother Hen Productions where the shipment of our new CD Stone & Fire awaited us at her address (we saved on sales tax!)

Next day, we drove up to Portland to play our first gig at Magnolia’s Corner, supported by friends who came out to see us (some of whom drove down from Seattle). Back down to Corvallis for a performance at Imagine Coffee followed by a stay at Karl Smiley’s sheep ranch. Our car starter had conked out the night before so we drove back into Corvallis to get a new one. Karl just happened to have a roommate who fixed cars. Maybe he was a car angel. Our stay there was like a musician’s retreat. I think we played music the whole time except when Karl cooked for us. It began to rain and seemed to rain off and on for the rest of our time up north, a refreshing change for drought ravaged Californians.

We made it to Seattle in time for Dave to participate in a poetry reading at the Cascadia Poetry Festival, May 4th where we met some of the Northwest region poets and the Canadian bards. Dave exchanged books with Métis poet Joanne Arnott. He was also able to meet and talk with award-winning editor/teacher/writer and founder of the festival, Paul Nelson.

Off we went through another rain storm to Conor Byrne pub on Ballard Ave., where we played the first of two open mics we signed up for in this famous music town. The talented genius, Joel Tepp, sat in with us on clarinet/harmonica. Our opening song Indian Maiden, with its western swing jazz sound, wowed the crowd. A couple of nights later we played the Hopvine Pub open mic, where we met enthusiastic young musicians drawn to Seattle to play for this city’s great audiences, like David and Erin of the alternative folk/rock duo Jitensha, a charmingly original act from Vancouver. They recently traveled to our area to play San Francisco.

On our return to Portland to play Beaterville Café and Bar, we were delighted to have some of the fans who saw us at Magnolia’s come back to hear us and buy Stone & Fire and Wings of the Morning CDs. These are just some of the details of so many stories we could tell. Those of you connected with us on Facebook were able to enjoy the daily travelogue we posted, and can still view our tour photos on our Facebook Page Chappell & Dave Holt. 

“An unbeatable lineup” of Bay Area Mom Hen clients, Chappell & Dave Holt, John Roy Zat, The Keller Sisters, In the Swing, and Karl Smiley will perform an evening of music at Mighty Fine Guitars, representing the Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) organization. Call 925-268-8226 or visit http://www.mightyfineguitars.com/.

Come on out to Stevie Coyle’s Mighty Fine Guitars at 85 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette, support FAR-West, and hear five great music acts for the price of one donation! This show is to help raise funds for FAR-West whose upcoming conference is held in Oakland this October 16-19 at the Marriott City Center. The FAR-West organization promotes traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance and related performing arts. If you’d like to register, please go to: http://www.far-west.org/far-west-2014.html.  Tickets for the Evening concerts are open to the public with no conference registration required.

We are excited to have the opportunity to open for Caroline Aiken, prominent blues/country /folk/rock songwriter touring from Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, June 19th, at The Monkey House. The Monkey House is a live/work storefront at 1638 University Ave, near Sacramento, just three blocks from North Berkeley BART. It's directly across from the Super 8 Motel and parking is usually easy. Doors open at 7, show at 7:30-10 pm. You can learn more about Caroline Aiken’s music at: http://www.carolineaiken.com/home.html

We will be doing a Bread and Roses concert on Wed., June 18, at The Tamalpais in Greenbrae. This is a private show that provides a great service for the resident seniors. Please visit the website of this important organization at http://www.breadandroses.org/.
 

We have some upcoming house concert appearances in the East Bay and we will share the details once the dates are confirmed. Please contact us if you are also interested in having us play a house concert in your area by replying to this newsletter.

If you’d like to order our new CD, Stone & Fire, directly please send a $17 check (includes $2 shipping) payable to Dave Holt to 1335 Kenwal Rd., #A, Concord, CA 94521. You can also purchase downloads (also Wings of the Morning) at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ChappellDaveHolt

May … With What Pretty Music Shall We Charm the Hours?

May … With What Pretty Music Shall We Charm the Hours?

"May! Queen of blossoms,
 And fulfilling flowers,
With what pretty music
 Shall we charm the hours?
Wilt thou have pipe and reed,
Blown in the open mead?
Or to the lute give heed
 In the green bowers?" -  Lord Edward Thurlow, May

 “Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray;
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear.”

(fr. Camelot, sung by Julie Andrews)
 

On April 7th, we gave a very successful poetry and music performance at Poetry Express in Berkeley, the weekly poets reading now held at Himalayan Flavors on University Avenue. We presented a combination of poetic songs such as Chappell’s Dance of the Desert, and my poetry that was part workshop, part demonstration of the interweaving of the two art forms. We will be reprising this idea in Alameda in the upcoming months. Also look for pending house concert announcements in the summer. Stay tuned!
 

We had a wonderful concert at our Bread and Roses show at Novato Healthcare Center on April 23, 2014. Tracey Rose was our host, and “host in training,” Carrie Sownie gave us a great writeup that gives you a very good picture of what our Bread and Roses shows are like: 
 

“The audience was ready for the show with warm cups of coffee or tea and wrapped up in blankets. Chappell and Dave Holt were charming performers and took us on a journey through the classics like Frank Sinatra to old New Orleans jazz tunes. They played love songs from the 40’s, boogie-woogie tunes from the 50’s and even some original songs they had written. At one point Chappell asked the audience if there were any Cole Porter fans out there and a spirited 'Yes!' came from the audience. 
 

“Many of the boogie-woogie tunes were a favorite. Some guests danced in their chairs, clapped along and tapped their feet. The staff loved it too and danced while assisting the folk. Some staff even poked their head in to enjoy the music before getting back to their work. A favorite moment was when Chappell sang a song that she had written for Dave for their 35th anniversary. It was a beautiful song that inspired an audience member with a purple sweater and beaded necklace to get up and waltz with another staff member.
 

“The performers sang many sing-a-longs, such as 'My Favorite Things' and 'Peace like a River' where the audience sang along softly. There was even a request to sing 'Over the Rainbow' that Chappell promised to sing next time. Afterwards the performers received many thank yous and hugs from the audience.”
 

Our Chappell & Dave Traveling Americana Poetry show is on the road to promote the CD Stone & Fire which we just released. If you’d like to order it directly, please send a $17 check (includes $2 shipping) payable to Dave Holt to 1335 Kenwal Rd., #A, Concord, CA 94521. 
 

We will be traveling for the first half of the month of May as many of you know.  Please follow us on Facebook as we post photos and updates from the road.

April Love is All the Seven Wonders …

April Love is All the Seven Wonders …

 

“One little kiss can tell you this is true.

Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers,

Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet,

But April Love can slip right through your fingers,

So if she’s the one, don’t let her run away.” (April Love by Pat Boone)

 

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.” -  Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time 

 

We had a really fun month of March: a trip to L.A. for a meet and greet party with our online promoter Mother Hen Promotions, and some of her “chicks.” The Zipperers, John and Julie, were wonderful and gracious hosts and put on a great party with plenty of good food and drink (non-alcoholic). We even did some business, and also shared tips and information with each other about venues, shows, club experiences, and studio recordings.

 

This trip coincided with a birthday party in Venice to honor an old friend and a fine musician, Mitch Greenhill, whose band String Madness performed one of the tunes from their CD‎. While in the neighborhood, we played a fun gig at Artlife Center in Redondo Beach with music friends Shakeh Herbekian and Brian Asher.

Two weeks later, Chappell returned to S. California with her vintage dealer friend and client, Barbara Grigg, who had booked her booth at the Vintage Textile Show held at Pickwick Gardens, Burbank. After the hard work of doing the show, there was more fun staying overnight with friends from the “Western Bebop” band Cow Bop. Go take a listen at www.cowbop.com.

The task of recording tracks for the now legendary “Stone and Fire” CD is completed! Next week we will finish up the mixing, the graphics and design, and then get ‘em manufactured to take on the road. Here's the Chappell & Dave schedule for May 2014 appearances in Portland and Washington. Hope we get to see many of our Northwest friends at one of these shows!

Magnolia's Corner, Downtown Portland across from the Hollywood Theater: Thursday, May 1st, 7 to 9pm.

Cascadia Poetry Festival, Seattle WA., Fri. or Sat. daytime open mic performance -- day TBD (depends on our other dates).  Dave was published in Raven Chronicles (Seattle) twice this year so we want to make an appearance at the Cascadia Festival.

Beaterville Singer Songwriter Showcase, Portland OR., Thursday, May 8th, 8 pm.

Karl Smiley House Concert, Blodgett OR. (near Corvallis), Friday May 9.

We may be adding another date in Corvallis on May 2, and we will confirm that once we know for sure. 
 

We will feature at Poetry Express the first Monday in April, the 7th. Come out to Himalayan Flavors, 1585 University Ave., Berkeley CA, for an evening of poetry and poetic lyrics in songwriting! Time: 7-9 pm includes open mic.

Our next Bread and Roses show will be at Novato Healthcare Center on Wednesday, April 23, 2014. Concert Producer/Public Relations Manager, Marian Hubler, dropped us a kind note after our March performance, “Our audience at the hospital loved your songs! Thanks for all your support for Bread and Roses. Look forward to seeing you at Folk Alliance (Region West) in Oakland in October!” Please check out their web site. They provide over 600 concerts a year to people who live in institutions, “Hope and Healing Through Live Music." 

Don’t forget to like the Chappell & Dave Holt band page, AND the Chappell Rose Holt artist page on Facebook.‎

Have a great month,
Chappell & Dave

March Bustles In On Windy Feet …

March Bustles In On Windy Feet …          

… "And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in." -  Susan Reiner, Spring Cleaning

Sun’s gonna shine in my back door some day,

March wind’s gonna blow my blues all away.

(The Carter Family—1934; Jody Stecher/Kate Brislin--1999)

On the last day of February, as we watched the rain clouds sweep across San Pablo Bay, we spent most of the day in the recording studio. We worked on the first tracks for the great song, "A Satisfied Mind" by Joe “Red” Hays and Jack Rhodes. Hayes explained the origin of the lyric this way: "The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years.” 

The first version by Porter Wagoner, went to #1 on the country chart in 1955. Many others have covered the tune since, including Johnny Cash who recorded it in 2004 on the Kill Bill soundtrack, and Willie Nelson in 2010. Our version is a composite arrangement built on one created by Mayne Smith and Mitch Greenhill of the 70’s group Frontier (I played piano with them in those days.) They created a gospel sound with changes moving from the tonic chord through the dominant of the relative minor to the minor. Chappell added

another minor chord to it when we arranged the song for our live performances. All in all, it’s journeyed pretty far from Porter Wagoner’s three chord version at the Grand Ole Opry. We think you all will like our version as much as our local audiences do!

John Roy Zat dropped by and added some wonderful fiddling. It’s sounding great but we still have some vocals, a banjo track and a bass track to add, then full time mixing. Mastering and manufacture is the next stage, with a product just around the corner!

This month, we are preparing for a short junket down to Southern California with

our first stop-over being the Artlife Gallery in Redondo Beach.  Musician/Singer, Shakeh Herbekian and Brian Asher, cellist, host an Invitational Open Mic at the gallery, 1217 S. Pacific Coast Highway.  They will feature Chappell & Dave’s "Jazzy Side of Americana" on Thursday, March 13. “There is always great music, art and fun at this monthly jam,” said Shakeh.

On Saturday morning, March 15th, we'll attend a meet and greet in Canoga Park for the southern California musicians who are looked after by Mother Hen Promotions. That afternoon, we’re off to help Mitch Greenhill of Folklore Productions celebrate his birthday in Santa Monica. It’s going to be a fun time, another adventure.

Dave will be reading Irish poetry for the event created by local publisher/teacher Jannie Dresser, Alta Solano LIT OUT LOUD, Folk & Fine Art Gallery at 1861-A Solano Ave., Berkeley, [in the small alleyway just above Pegasus Books]. Come by on Saturday, 7:30 p.m., March 22, 2014: Judy Wells is launching her book The Glass Ship (inspired by ancient Irish island-voyager tales), and we’ll feature readings of great Irish poets from Yeats to Heaney. Solano Avenue is a great main street, a place to meet and hang out. Hope to see you there!
 

And we also hope to see you at Dave’s poetry reading at Sacred Grounds Café in San Francisco on Wed., March 26.

There We Wept When We Remembered Zion

There We Wept When We Remembered Zion

It is not often that history preserves a memorable record of the sorrow of a people captured and exiled from their own country. Too often the trials of the conquered are eventually forgotten just as the American Indians were. Their survival is often unaccounted for because the exiles may become assimilated among the conquering peoples.

I am fascinated by the enduring power of the Reggae song, By the Rivers of Babylon which has been recorded several times since it first came out in 1970, especially intrigued because the ancient history of the Jewish people is preserved in the lyric. The Jamaican composers, Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians used versions of the ancient Psalms 137 and 19 to write their song. The Psalms come out of the Jewish religious tradition, composed by “the psalmist” when the people were exiled from Israel and taken into captivity by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. After seventy years in Babylon, the survivors were granted clemency by the Persian Emperor, Cyrus the Great, when he conquered Babylon. They were allowed to return to Israel, “the promised land,” where they rebuilt their Temple. 

This song of exile found in the Psalms was adopted by Jamaicans who were enslaved by the British during the era of colonization. Like many Africans, they were deported to foreign countries as slaves to white owners. Some Jamaicans, perhaps up to 5% of the population, became a group known as Rastafarians, named after Ras Tafari, Emperor Haile Selassie I, their hero and deity.

Rastafarians regard 'Ethiopia' as their homeland and therefore like the ancient Jews of Israel, also believe themselves exiled. The Rastas regard their island nation of Jamaica as a hell on earth. 'Ethiopia', the homeland, a place of fond memories of freedom and life prior to oppression, has assumed the aspect of Heaven, not a place in the sky, but a heavenly paradise on Earth. They cherish the expectation of eventually leaving Jamaica to return to Africa.  Read here for more info.

Much of the appeal of the song, a reason it is recorded over and over again, is the

evocative and beautiful Jamaican folk melody, written and originally recorded by The Melodians in a style known as "Rock Steady" at the time when it replaced Ska.

“By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down,
And there we wept when we remembered Zion.

Oh the wicked carried us away, captivity required from us a song.

How can we sing King Alpha’s song in a strange land?

So let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts

Be acceptable in thy sight, over I.”

Here is the original Psalm 137:

“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung our harps,

for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?

If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”

The last two lines of the Rastafarian song come from a different text, Psalm 19:14.  “Over I” is not recognizable to me as being from the Bible, “Lord Jehovah,” being perhaps a close translation.  The Rastas address God as “Jah,” a name given to God in Psalm 68:4 which reads, "Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice in him."  

In relation to Jah and the Rastas' identification as children of Jah, see Psalm 82:6: "I said, 'Ye are gods'; ye are sons of the Most High" (KJV) which provides the biblical basis for Rastas' claim to their own divinity as followers of Jah. Rastas are sparks of the divine. (from Tuning Hebrew Psalms to Reggae Rhythms, an article by Nathaniel Samuel Murrell.)

This song demonstrates the power and universal appeal that music can have. Its enduring popularity is a result of how eloquently it speaks for the cause of the oppressed and displaced. We in America might remember the plight of the Cherokee Indians, famously removed from their homes and driven along the Trail of Tears to reservation lands in Oklahoma. Songwriters have attempted to commemorate the exile of the Cherokees in a memorable song known to all (such as the rock-pop song “Cherokee Nation,” of the sixties sung by Paul Revere and the Raiders) but they have not been as successful as the Melodians were with By the Rivers of Babylon. However, like the Israelites, the Cherokee too have survived as a tribe both in Oklahoma and even in their original East Coast homelands.

A February Face, so Full of Frost and Cloudiness …

A February Face, so Full of Frost and Cloudiness …

Why, what’s the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?”
(William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing)

"A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile … but February made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver …" - American Pie (Don McLean).
***February 3rd was the 55th anniversary of “The Day the Music Died.”

 

We had a wonderful time at our first community service performance for Bread & Roses since returning from a long hiatus to do shows again! We played at Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI), Josie Barrow PACE Center, in Oakland on January 27, 2014.  One of the gentlemen brought in by van for the community’s daily lunch got some assistance from staff so he could jump out of his wheelchair and dance.  “I just had to,” he said, “You got my blood boiling!”

Finally that February cloudiness produced some rain in California.  It had actually rained on Thursday Jan. 30th and we could even smell it in the air, but the storm only got as far as Lafayette where folks at Mighty Fine Guitars would have seen the real deal. At the Bay Area Poets Coalition (BAPC) meeting that Saturday, February 1st, Dave received a Maggie H. Meyer cash prize for his poem “This Was

the Day Hank Williams Died.” To read Dave’s prize-winning poem visit this site where the winning poems are all published on the BAPC web site.

Dave also read his poem December Weather (or not) at the Saturday meeting, a poem thatinvokes the coming of rain in a dry month. Sure enough we woke up to the beautiful sight of snow on Mount Diablo that Saturday night/Sunday morning of the 2nd, some relief for our drought-stricken state. He claims it was his poem that did it. It can be heard on this show video-taped in San Francisco last month.

We are happy to see sales are up for Dave’s book, Voyages to Ancestral Islands. You can view it at Barnes and Nobel Books, if you want to skip using Amazon.com

(however sample pages are only available at Amazon).

A real bear of a cold went around the Bay Area this winter and unfortunately, Chappell was hit bad. This is the cold you may have heard about that lasted 3 to 4 weeks.  No performingor recording being possible, she opened a new Facebook page for all things Chappell—prints, paintings, clothing, jewelry, vintage restoration, mannequin restoration, furniture etc., all the creative things she does for love and money. Drop by and “like” the page along with the nearly 200 others who already have.  Don’t forget to like Chappell and Dave Holt at if you haven’t yet!