Love, Whose Month is Ever May …

Love, Whose Month is Ever May …

"On a day--alack the day!--
Love, whose month is ever May,
Spied a blossom passing fair
Playing in the wanton air …” (Love’s Labours Lost, Act IV, Scene 3, by Willie the Shake)

“So dance with joy remembered
And sing of love’s reward
Raise up a cup of May wine
To the Lady and the Lord.” (Merry May Folk by Arthur Hinds)

Hello Friends, Fans, Family,
 

Last Friday April 29, Chappell tuned her autoharp and drove up into Mt. Diablo State Park to play theFour Days Diabloevent, Save Mount Diablo’s annual hike. She sang and played with Robert Loomis (guitar, vocals), and John Gallagher (resonator guitar) to entertain the hikers/campers after all were served a gourmet steak dinner. In spite of a freezing cold evening when Chappell’s fingers went numb, they made good music together and warmed up everyone’s hearts! (see photo) The hike raises funds for the organization’s important land preservation programs.

Chappell interviewed foran episode of Artist's Connection where she discussed dealing with the demands of art and family. She gave a solo performance on guitar singing Bad Girls Blues, and shared insights with host, journalist, and singer/songwriter Kevin Fagan (pictured). Artist's Connection is a television and YouTube series produced by Sam Hawk, stage managed by Lori Hawk, and recorded at Davis Media Access. More information is available at http://www.artistsconnectionshow.com

In case you missed Dave’s and Lucille Lang Day’s interview/reading on radio KKUP April 20th, here’s a link to the podcast. They read 10 poems from the new anthologyRed Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California (RIRW), in addition to discussing many issues related to Native American history and culture. P.S. To go directly to the interview, you can click on the RIRW portion of the podcast at 10 min. 45 sec. into the soundcloud file.

Coming in July: The Red Indian Road West poets (3 of us) will be featured at Oakland’s 5^th Annual Literary Festival,Beast Crawl on Saturday, July 16, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., in Oakland. Also look for more later about the new music venue, The Backroom with the band WoodBarry.

June 1^st is the release date when our holiday song “Cause to Celebrate” (written by Chappell) will be available for download on CD Baby (see site address below).

Concord Song Circle resumes in May on Sunday the 22^ndwhen we will share songs whose titles start with the letter "A." Dave is also playing the Unity of Walnut Creek worship services that morning, 9:30 and 11:30 am, but will try to make it to the Circle. If you have a chance to attend Unity, please come out and hear some good spiritual musicor you can tune in to the live broadcast (click on “watch live.”)

Women of Substance Radio Show #351 can still be heard on their podcast.Go to this link to hear Chappell and Dave’s Bad Girls Blues along with many other good artists.

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 of Wings of the Morning at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chappelldaveholt) and Stone & Fire athttp://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.‎ Please visit Chappell’s new Etsy shop and “favorite” an item, or you might find something you’d like to purchase:https://www.etsy.com/people/chappellholt

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

Keep List’ning For a Bluebird’s Song Whenever April Showers Come Along …

Keep List’ning For a Bluebird’s Song
Whenever April Showers Come Along …

“The roofs are shining from the rain,
The sparrows twitter as they fly,
And with a windy April grace,
the little clouds go by.
Yet the back yards are bare and brown
With only one unchanging tree—
I could not be so sure of Spring
Save that it sings in me.”
(April by Sara Teasdale)

“So keep on looking for a bluebird and list’ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along,” (DeSylva and Silvers, sung by Al Jolson 1921)

Hello Friends, Fans and Family,
 

We were thankful to have a great start to the month of April, the opportunity to be a part of the Unity Walnut Creek worship service this past Sunday, April 03, 2016. We were able to perform three of our rarely heard songs and the bonus for us was: we got a great response, the encouragement artists need once in a while to know they are on a good path (see photo that doesn’t even feature the top of my head!).

This week we will go into the El Cerrito Records studio to mix the tracks we recorded of Chappell’s holiday song "Cause to Celebrate." We are so grateful to our dear friend, Carlos A. Reyes, for adding a divine violin part to the song. We also thank Oscar Autie for his wonderful engineering and Kenya Autie for her support.


A return to Avonova’s concert room, 417 Avon St., Oakland, CA, 94618, with Carlos Reyes has been scheduled for Saturday, May 28th. This is a wonderful, intimate spot to hear music. Look for ticket information in your emails and on Facebook soon.

Chappell submitted our perennial hit song “Love Fills My Sails” to Bree Noble of  Women of Substance Radio & Podcast for their Mother’s Day show. Although not accepted for that themed show, they liked the song so much it will go on rotation in their online radio broadcast. We’ll keep you posted as to when it’s featured.

Lucille Lang Day and Dave interviewed with Rachelle Linda Escamilla of KKUP radio 91.5, Cupertino, for her show “Out of Our Minds,” about the new California Indian Poets Anthology, Red Indian Road West (RIRW). Several of the poems, including their own contributions, were read and discussed. Rachelle also asked if we could recommend music for the show, and Lucy suggested Chappell & Dave’s new CD, Stone and Fire. So you may hear a couple of our cuts played along with the interview. The show will be broadcast on Wed., April 20, 2016, at 8:00 pm. If you’d like to order the RIRW collection, you can do so online here.

Also, 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. Downloads can be purchased (Wings of the Morning at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chappelldaveholt) or Stone & Fire 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 May,
Chappell & Dave

Winds of March That Make My Heart a Dancer …

Winds of March That Make My Heart a Dancer …

 
“The winds of March that make my heart a dancer, a telephone that rings but who’s to answer,
Oh, how the ghost of you clings. These foolish things remind me of you.” (Holt, Strachey, Link, 1936, recorded by many – our favorite is Billie Holiday’s)

“The afternoon is bright,
With spring in the air,
A mild March afternoon,
With the breath of April stirring,
I am alone in the quiet patio
Looking for some old untried illusion …” (Antonio Machado)
 

Hello Friends and Family,

 

We had an enjoyable Bread & Roses show in February and received a nice report from Sandee Rosenberg, our host, “While we set up the PA, Dave sat down at the piano & began to play a rollicking boogie woogie; the residents immediately responded … Chappell & Dave performed songs from the American songbook and many of the tunes were familiar to the residents. As some sang along now & then, one woman sang along to just about every song. Most all the current residents are in wheelchairs. Their enjoyment was clear in all the hand & toe tapping and big smiles.” And from Carolyn Gauthier, VP of Programs, “We’re so happy to have you as part of our family of performers. You make a difference!” If you haven’t tried it, providing music as a community service is a rewarding experience.

We are going to get back to recording this month. We’ll do a couple of “holiday” tunes at Oscar Autie’s studio in El Cerrito. We first met Oscar when he’d just arrived from Cuba in the 1990’s and his wife worked with Tom Ekkens, Chappell’s brother. He had his first studio going at the time but we chose to record in Martinez back then. Oscar is the Grammy Award-winning engineer/owner/operator of El Cerrito Productions (see his pic). His wife, also his enthusiastic and highly capable business manager, Kenya said, “Oscar and I are fascinated by you and your music!”
The studio has a Yamaha Grand Piano and three completely isolated recording rooms. We’ve always recorded with electronic keyboards before, never with a true grand piano, so this’ll be a treat.

Next month, Chappell and I will perform three songs with the Unity backup band, Fusion, at the Unity of Walnut Creek in their two services on April 3, 9:30 and the 11:30 am,http://www.unityofwalnutcreek.com/. Click on the “Watch Live” button if you can’t be there in person.

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 (Wings of the Morning athttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chappelldaveholt)and Stone & Fire athttp://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.‎

 

Dave is published in a new anthology of American Indian poets, Red Indian Road West (pictured above with some of the poets). He and Lucille Lang Day, editor/publisher, just recorded a radio interview show to be aired in April. Stay tuned!

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

Summer Pathways We Used to Walk … Covered by February Snow

Summer Pathways We Used to Walk … Covered by February Snow

“Once in a while there’s a day, that wakes all my senses and forces pretenses away,
like February rain, washing off dead leaves, forgotten when new ones appear,
a mother’s shedding, she’s shedding winter tears …” (February Rain, by Chappell Holt)

 “Now all the summer pathways where we used to walk are covered by the February snow.
Oh, I really hope you’ll find your garden in the sun, And that’ll help your pretty flowers grow.”
(February Snow, by Bobby Bare)

 Hi Friends, Fans and Family,
 

We hope to see you this Friday, Feb 5th in Berkeley for our show, “An Intimate Evening of Original Americana Music” with Wendy Burch Steel and Redwood and Chappell & Dave Holt at The Monkey House in Berkeley. Admission: sliding scale $10. - $20. Reserve your seats early, there’s limited seating! RSVP to mail@themonkeyhouse.org or call 510-898-1979.


Dave’s poem written about the Pomo tribe of Sonoma County, “Murder in the Modern West,” is included in the anthology “Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California,” edited by Lucille Lang Day and Kurt Schweigman. Readings are happening. We attended one last weekend at Diesel, a Bookstore, in Oakland, CA, on January 31. It was a terrific event. See photo (L to R): poets Dave Holt, Jewelle Gomez, Lucille Lang Day, Sharmagne Leland-St John-Sylbert, Linda Noel, Kim Shuck. Co-editor Kurt Schweigman, though not pictured, was also there.

We will be doing a Bread & Roses show this month on Wednesday, February 24, as volunteer musicians for the folks at Fruitvale Healthcare Center in Oakland.

Bree Noble of Women of Substance Radio & Podcast will debut “Bad Girl Blues” on their online radio station the week of February 22. It will also be included on an upcoming episode of their #1 Podcast on iTunes.

Big thanks to Glen Neff, the Sound Poet, for playing us on his show, 'Eclectic World' KMRD, 96.9 fm, airing out of New Mexico, Mondays 3-5 pm.

Also Dan Herman; thanks for sending us this note, Dan! “Hello! Your music will appear in the next podcast. I aim to publish sometime this week. Here’s where fans can hear the show: 1: My podcast provider:www.radiocblue.podomatic.com,  available for a few weeks. 2: Internet Archive: www.archive.org  I will generate a specific URL once the show is published … Shows from this website remain online in perpetuity. And 3: Stitcher for iPod, iPhone or Android: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/radio-crystal-blue  4: Soundbites of every song I air appear on Clammr:http://www.clammr.com/user/radiocblue”. Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blue, 253 537 1096 or 215 995  2234, www.radiocrystalblue.net,dan@radiocrystalblue.net. Facebook: Dan Herman or Radio Crystal Blue. twitter: @radiocblue

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 (Wings of the Morning athttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chappelldaveholt); Stone & Fire 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 March,
Chappell & Dave

Oh, January, Oh … I Lived a Childhood in Snow

Oh, January, Oh … I Lived a Childhood in Snow 
 

"In January it's so nice
while slipping on the sliding ice
to sip hot chicken soup with rice.
Sipping once, sipping twice." -  Maurice Sendak, In January

“Maybe I should just “let it be,” and maybe it will all come back to me,
Sing oh January, oh! How I lived a childhood in snow.”
- January Hymn by the Decemberists

Hello Family, Friends, and Fans,

We're pleased to have 2 songs in the 2015 Roots Music Report top ten (4 in the top 50, total 6). Thank you to all the DJs who played us in 2015: Kathy Forste (KC Café Radio), Dan Herman, Uncle Shag, Teresa Tudury and Kat Everitt. Special thanks to our hard-working Mom, Jeanette Lundgren, Mother Hen Promotions; also heartfelt thanks again to our fabulous musicians Malcolm Hunter, Carlos A. Reyes, David Hunter, Karl Hartmann,Randy Rood, Thomas Ekkens, John Roy Zat, Mayne Smith, Markie Sanders.


We hope you can come on out to a great show on Saturday, Jan 9th, 7 till 9 PM, $10. Adv Tickets available: "An Evening of Jazz Music, Swing Dance & A Touch of Hawaiian" featuring Chappell & Dave Holt, Cristina Seaborn, The Jubilee American Dance Theater & special guest Douglas Wong at Cue Live Productions Theatre, 1835 Colfax Street in downtown Concord, California. Free parking available.

Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blue wrote to announce Chappell & Dave music will be included in the next podcast to be published this week.  Here’s where fans can hear the show.
1: My podcast provider: www.radiocblue.podomatic.com  Shows on that page will be available for a few weeks.
2: Internet Archive: www.archive.org  A specific URL will be generated once the show is published, which you'll be able to locate via the playlist posts and in social media. Shows from this website remain online in perpetuity.
3: Stitcher for iPod, iPhone or Android:http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/radio-crystal-blue
4: Soundbites of every song aired on Clammr:http://www.clammr.com/user/radiocblue 

Radio Crystal Blue is free to share and listen, in accordance with Creative Commons non-commercial/full attribution/non-derivative license, version 4.0, 253 537 1096 or 215 995  2234 www.radiocrystalblue.net,dan@radiocrystalblue.net

Chappell will be interviewed on Artist Connection this month, an interview program hosted by journalist and singer-songwriter, Kevin Fagan (pictured with Sonoma County Songwriter Hugh Shacklett). The programs feature topic-driven interviews focused on revealing the artist behind the craft, with questions that go beyond persona and performance giving viewers a glimpse through the eyes of the artist. Every episode includes a performance or showing of each artist’s original work.  Also like them on Facebook.

Dave will be playing with Unity Center of Walnut Creek’s band Fusion on Sunday January 24. Here’s a pic of the band at the Christmas Eve service, which was mostly music and a Christmas carol sing with the congregation. Services can be viewed on their web site.

On KC Café Radio, you may request up to 2 songs per hour, 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 (Wings of the Morning at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chappelldaveholt) and Stone & Fire 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.‎

Here’s to a wonderful New Year!
Live long and prosper,
Chappell & Dave

December Is Here Before It’s June … My Goodness How the Time Has Flewn

December Is Here Before It’s June … My Goodness How the Time Has Flewn

“How did it get so late so soon?
Its night before its afternoon.
December is here before its June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?” -  Dr. Seuss

“Oh, what a night, late December back in ’63,
What a very special time for me. As I remember, what a night!”
(Bob Gaudio [of the Four Seasons], and Judy Parker)

Hello Friends, Fans and Family,
 
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. On Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Chappell had her first two sales on the new Etsy site, Chappell Holt Art!
 
She is featuring “all things Chappell,” jewelry, vintage, original designs, art prints and more.  Drop by and visit, “favorite” an item, and/or buy something for a gift.

We are doing a volunteer concert for a Bread & Roses Christmas show at the Livermore Vets Admin. on Sat., Dec. 5, 11:30 AM. The wonderful singer Ella Wolfe will be performing with us some happy Christmas music, swing and standards.
 
Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair
We’re playing on the street on Saturday, Dec 12th, 11 AM till 6 PM: Chappell & Dave Holt will be playing at the Berkeley Hat Co. (2510 Telegraph Ave.) during the 32nd Annual Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair. We played the Telegraph street fair last year and had a great time. You are welcome to come by, bring your axe, and sit in with us.
 
Women Of Substance Radio
Chappell’s Christmas tune, "Another Christmas Song" was chosen for the Dec. 16 play list on Women of Substance radio, Bree Noble is the WOS Founder & CEO. Chappell was really surprised that it was accepted since it was rejected last year.Here is the link to the lists. Other FAR-Westers on the list: Terry Holder and Laura Zucker.
 
When Will Her Song Be Played? Here's how it works. They will be playing continuous Holiday music from November 27 - December 25. Chappell’s song will be included in the continuous mix which means many plays throughout the month (a random mix of all the Holiday music on the playlists). Then on the specific day, December 16, that will be listed on the playlist page, her song will be "featured" and will air at noon and 8 PM Eastern (9 & 5 PM Pacific). There will also be a Podcast episode to be announced in a few weeks.
 

An Evening of Jazz Music, Swing Dance & A Touch of Hawaiian
Get ready for a super music concert in downtown Concord, Saturday January 9, a real extravaganza of a show! Sat. Jan 9th, 7 - 9 PM - $10, at 1835 Colfax St. Advance Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets. The show features Chappell & Dave Holt, Cristina Seaborn, The Jubilee American Dance Theater, & special guest Douglas Wong at Cue Live Productions Theatre in Concord, California  
 
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 via CD Baby: (Wings of the Morning), and Stone & Fire.
 
Also, 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 Holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and if we don’t catch up with you this month, we’ll see you in the New Year,
Chappell & Dave

“Let Me Sit Down With the Ones I Love Best,” Happy Thanksgiving!

“Let Me Sit Down With the Ones I Love Best,”
Happy Thanksgiving!

“No shadow, no stars, no moon, no cars. November, it only believes in a pile of dead leaves and a moon that’s the color of bone.” - November by Tom Waits

“Give me the end of the year an’ its fun
When most of the plannin’ an’ toilin’ is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An’ I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers.”
-  Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving
 

Hi Family and Friends,

We had a really wonderful productive time at the2015 FAR-West music conference, a high energy time sharing the love and camaraderie that flows through the hotel hallways when the FAR-West community meets (Networking Center photo courtesy of Jeanette Lundgren). May it flow out into the world! We’re hoping to make it to next year’s conference 2016 in Seattle.

Chappell & Dave will be the featured singers at Unity of Walnut Creek, this Sunday, November 8th, backed up by the house band, Fusion. The services feature special musical guests, like Chappell & Dave Holt, every Sunday who bring a unique voice every time, drawing on many varied styles of praise and worshipful music. This time, they bring the jazzy side of spiritual Americana to the Unity service. Come on out for some good singing with the congregation, and a good church experience. You can also watch online here. Here’s Mahalia Jackson singing “I’m Gonna Live the Life I sing About in My Song,” one we will feature on Sunday.

Another great collaboration this month, Chappell & Dave Holt with harpist/violinist Carlos Reyes at The Monkey House, 1638 University Ave., Berkeley, CA. Don’t miss this rare show, a chance to see a Carlos ground breaking harp performance up close. Reserve Seats by emailing seats@themonkeyhouse.org


Sunday, November 22, 2015, 7 – 9 pm, we’ll be performing at Murphy’s Irish Pub, 464 1st St. E., Sonoma, CA. Concord Song Circle leader, Bob Loomis, (see pic) will join us on this one playing flute, and harmonica. No Cover.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Christmas is around the corner! Holiday Special! Order both our CDs,Stone & Fire, and Wings of the Morning, directly for $22 (includes shipping). Make your check payable to Dave Holt and send it to 1335 Kenwal Rd., #A, Concord, CA 94521. You can also purchase downloads at CD Baby (Wings of the Morning) and Stone & Fire .

House concerts, live music in the intimacy of a home, are a great way to experience music! 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 Happy Thanksgiving and we hope to see you soon,
Chappell & Dave