Ken Holt: News

The Beachside Resident, August 9, 2008

CD REVIEW: Eyes Wide Open by Ken Holt

Shouting Stones Records, 2008

Raised in Jacksonville during the infancy of what we now know as Southern Rock, Indialantic musician Ken Holt developed a strong admiration for the Beatles. Through his father, he soon learned to respect the songs of Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins, Guy Clark, and Earl Scruggs. Blending these seemingly disparate influences together, he's come up with what he calls Suburban Country, both timeless in the spirit of his idols and of very much of the moment, informed by the beachside community and the modern concerns that come with living that unique lifestyle.

Eyes Wide Open, his second album, is Suburban Country through and through. Humorous, ruminative and inspired, Eyes Wide Open, on which he sings and plays all of the instruments (barring some piano tracks a friend sent via email as sound files) and which he recorded and mixed himself in his garage studio, is a striking album, full of a boundless love of music and the peace and understanding it brings. Including 6 original tracks, as well as 5 covers (including Pete Seeger's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and John Lennon's ever-timely anthem "Give Peace A Chance"), this follow-up to 2004's well-received Shouting Stones sees Holt mining a deep store of wide-ranging personal experiences.

Opener "Testimony," a heartfelt look back and a brave look forward on his fascinating life, sets the stage with some deftly-crafted, toungue-in-cheek lyrics ("I felt so cool in that Corvair van/Orange and black, bottles rollin' in the back/Long hair, peace signs, Zeppelin on the 8-track/Glad I was there. I wouldn't want to go back." Holt's deep faith shines through on title track "Eyes Wide Open," which is dedicated to his father, Ken Sr. It's a stirring avowal of his belief in a higher power that ultimately stems from within and just one of several standouts on a truly eye-opening local release.

Visit Ken Holt's website -- www.kenholtmusic.com -- where you can watch videos, hear song samples, view photos, and order copies of his CD. Ken plays every Sunday morning at Pineda Presbyterian Church on N. Wickham Rd. in Melbourne, and will be appearing at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club on September 5th and 19th, and East Coast Coffee & Tea, Indian Harbour Beach, on September 12th at 7 p.m.

I've been married for 15 years to Leigh Holt, a wonderful woman who gets better lookin' all the time (while I go the other direction). Leigh has done more to "save the world" than I ever will. I admire and love her.

We have 3 kids, although Loren, 23 years old is NOT a kid anymore. Recently married in June to a great surfer guy, John, Loren and husband will be moving to Panama to contribute there.
We adopted Tina (16) and Raul (13) just about 13 years ago. Raul is my number ONE roadie, very bright and a blast to hang out with. Tina is our hispanic beauty who guarantees that life will never be boring.

I am grateful and blessed for who God has given me to share this life.

By Darrell Johnson
Hometown News

Indialantic -
Singer/songwriter Ken Holt's philosophy of life has evolved over the years, but it's always been about music.

"I believe if you have an eye on the road, another eye on God and your tongue in your cheek, it's likely to come out country," he wrote recently.

Mr. Holt has released two CDs, both recorded in his own studio in his garage.

He started in 2003 with "Shouting Stones," and the latest, "Eyes Wide Open," was released last year.

He performs the lead vocal, harmony and instrumental tracks himself, then blends the final CD.

"Steve Dore, a friend in California, did the piano on some of the songs," he said. "I sent him (my recording), and he played the piano part and sent it back as an electronic sound file in wave format."

Mr. Holt's style is often Christian-based and always upbeat and positive.

He grew up in Jacksonville and studied political science in college.

"It was '69, '70, '71, and there was a lot of interest in politics," he said. "I was one of those idealistic hippie kids, one of those kids who wanted to impact the world in some way and thought politics was the way to do that."

After graduating, he moved to Kennebunkport, Maine, and helped form a band called "The Blend."

For 10 years, the group played at ski resorts and colleges, appearing in Kennebunkport during the summers and in the Mount Washington Valley in New Hampshire in the winters.

"For a regional band in New England, we were very successful," Mr. Holt said. "We had a contract with MCA records, toured the country, played with The Who at Boston Garden, played with ZZ Top, had a couple of songs in the Billboard Top 100. We were New England's version of Southern Rock."

Eventually, that old "What's next?" question prompted him to go back to graduate school, and a pastor friend suggested a Christian college in Virginia.

"I decided that was what God wanted me to do," Mr. Holt said. "I wrote a song driving up to Richmond, and I carried my guitar and introduced myself like, 'I'm Ken, and this is what I am.'"

From that point on, whenever someone needed a leader for a sing-along or music at a chapel or a conference, he was the choice, he said.

He later attended seminary, once more becoming the person who greeted incoming students with an eye toward forming a new band.

"(At my first church as a pastor), I got a bunch of kids together and taught them three chords," he said. "We had all those kids up there in the fellowship hall, along with drums, playing 'Johnnie Be Good,' and the congregation was going, 'Oh, my God, who have we hired?'"

Mr. Holt developed the habit of reaching for his guitar in the middle of a sermon to help make his point.

"It would prompt people to think, or wake up, or whatever the case may be," he said.

Having pastored four churches since 1989, the last being First Presbyterian in Palm Bay, he has moved on to working part-time as the praise band leader at Pineda Presbyterian Church.

He is trying to establish himself as a performing solo artist again.

He's had the most success working with faith-based organizations that help people in need.

"I haven't been successful getting booked at 'Joe's Bar and Grill,'" he said. "There's nothing wrong with 'Joes Bar and Grill,' but my music just doesn't fit into that setting. I don't play Jimmy Buffett."

Mr. Holt has played in some volunteer settings, such as the cold night homeless shelter in Melbourne and Resurrection Ranch (a Melbourne-based crisis center for families), and people who listen always want to hear more, he said.

"They're not paying gigs, but they're the kind of gigs I come out of saying, 'That was really cool,'" he said. "I'd like to get back into singing at churches and conferences again, especially with kids."

He said he feels like that's where God wants him to be anyway.

Ken Holt's CDs can be ordered at www.kenholtmusic.com.

The site includes links that will enable people to listen to songs or download the albums.

For information, or to book Mr. Holt for an event, call (321) 727-9771.



Contact Darrell Johnson at (407) 592-3425 or Johnson@hometownnewsol.com.

Celebrate Radio has selected Do What U Can Do from the Shouting Stones CD for streaming on the web worldwide 24/7 from servers in Freemont CA, Milan, Italy and Germany. Celebrate Radio is a combined non-profit project of Streetcats Foundation, One Heart for Kids, Radio for Peace, Reaching Up Radio Network and European Gospel Radio. Do What U Can Do will also be included on the upcoming Positively Music V.2 compiliation CD. The compiliation will be used to help raise money for at-risk youth projects and organizations in the US and overseas. Check it out at www.celebrateradio.com and make requests at info@celebrateradio.com (Attn. Don Fass / Director of Programming).

WCLZ 98.9 of Portland, Maine has added cuts from Eyes Wide Open to it's Music From 207 radio show. DJ, Lara Seaver has played Where Have All The Flowers Gone and expects to add more cuts in the future. WCLZ plays a mix of classic cuts and new artists. Log on to www.989wclz.com for live music. At 98.9 "Different Is Good." Make requests at lseaver@portlandradiogroup.com.

SHOUTING STONES is a collection of songs I’ve lived with for awhile. Some, like Promised Land, were born in the mid-80’s. Each one tells a little bit about me, directly or indirectly, yet each one is about everyone of us who would like to find some useful way to fit into this world. For me, the journey has for a long time involved trudging along with God. That is, I’ve been doing the trudging and God has been doing most of the waiting. But that’s OK. God has waited on greater or lesser men than me.

The CD title, SHOUTING STONES, comes from a reference Jesus made once about a bunch of inanimate objects, STONES. He seemed to believe that if everyone else dropped the ball, the stones would come along and pick it up. It occurred to me that if Jesus believed a bunch of dead-pan stones had value and worth and HOPE, well, there just might be HOPE for me too. So, this whole SHOUTING STONES thing works for me. I can relate, as they say. I’d like to be one.

Check out Do What U Can Do. That seems to be the song that has gotten the most attention. After all, doing what you can do is really ALL you can do anyway. And by the grace of God, that’s enough.

Hope you enjoy the pickin’, singin’, and pontificatin’. It’s Suburban Country Music. It’s walkin’ the talk country. It’s what I do.

Peace to you and yours,
Ken Holt

Published November 21, 2007
Presbyterian pastor releases new CD 'Eyes Wide Open'

BY KING QUILLEN
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

INDIALANTIC - Ken Holt has been ministering or making music -- and sometimes both at once -- for much of his life.

He's had a variety of careers during his 57 years, from playing in a rock band to pastoring a Presbyterian church, but he's done it all, as his new CD's title song says, with "Eyes Wide Open."

"It comes from how I see the world," said Holt, who lives in Indialantic. "I go with eyes wide open, moving on from any one thing to the next. I have my eyes wide open to see what's next. And here I go again, on this new adventure."

He's had many adventures. After seven moves in 14 years, his military family settled in Jacksonville, where Holt played in a high school rock band, then enrolled at Jacksonville University.

"I majored in political science and the Age of Aquarius," he said. "I was one of those hippie kids that wanted to change the world."

Changing the world gave way to becoming a rock star when a classmate's band needed a bass player. That led to a summer gig in Maine, which turned into 10 years in a band called The Blend.

The group played original material on the New England club and college circuit, won two recording contracts with MCA Records and went on two tours that took them west to Ohio and north and south from Maine to Miami.

Those were heady days. The band opened for the likes of The Who, ZZ Top, The Outlaws and Charlie Daniels, and Holt still smiles when he recalls hobnobbing with Daniels and other stars.

When The Blend broke up after a decade, Holt reworked his youthful plan of changing the world, returned to school for degrees in Christian education and divinity and became an ordained Presbyterian minister.

He served several Florida parishes, including Palm Bay, but never stopped playing and composing music. After two decades of ministering, Holt opted for more music and family time. He now leads a church praise band and records his own music at his home studio, aptly named The Garage.

Holt labels his style suburban country and says, "It's not really country; it's not really rock 'n' roll. It's a little bit of every little piece of music that seeped into my head over the years."

Many of the songs have multiple meanings. "Eyes Wide Open" was composed as his dad was dying, "movin' toward the light." From a broader perspective, Holt says the song's theme is hope and new beginnings.

He's had a few new beginnings himself, and his song, "Testimony," gives his take on the results so far: "Who I am, over time, comes by grace, turns out fine."

My 2nd CD is done and finding its way to the outside world...that would be you.

The title cut, EYES WIDE OPEN, is a song written for and dedicated to my dad. It's a song we can all sing at one time or the other. I hope you find it meaningful.

Plus, 6 more original cuts, and 5 others that stuck in my head and needed to come out. Check out the LYRIC button for words to all the songs.

This CD, like the first, SHOUTING STONES, was recorded solely in The Garage (that's my garage studio). I sang the parts, played the instruments, pushed the buttons, and tweaked the knobs. Steve Dore sent in some piano tracks from California as WAV files. It was a tremendous thrill to play with Steve again, even in this cyber space way. Duncan Stanbury from Frankford Wayne studios in New York did the final mastering. OASIS disk manufacturing in New Jersey did the duplication, and HERE IT IS.

As Steve Dore said to me, these projects are a "labor of love." Which is to say, the creative process requires many labor intensive hours. You have to love it, and I do.

I hope you find things on this CD that make you smile. My intention is always to have an eye on life and a hope for tomorrow. I hope the "HOPE" part comes through. Peace to you and yours.

With Eyes Wide Open,
Ken Holt

I spent 3 days in Waco, Texas once, and 2 days in Nashville. That’s not very long. I don’t ride horses, actually prefer waves, and don’t have a current cowboy hat. But I have lived a good portion of my life in a 1960’s built suburb with an elementary school and a Presbyterian church down the street.

When I couldn’t get enough of the Beatles, my dad was feeling the same way about Merle Haggard, Earl Scruggs, Chet Atkins, and Willie. Now, I appreciate even more the craftsmanship of a Beatles song, but it’s the lyrical integrity of Guy Clark and the guitar statements of Warren Haynes that move me the most.

Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, I was weaned on what came to be known as Southern Rock, though that name hadn’t been penned yet. I danced at the local teen club to Ronnie Van Zant’s pre-Skynyrd blues. Dickie Betts played cover songs under the black lights down the street, while Duane and Gregg Allman set up their amps on the radio station lawn just to have a place to play. All of that seeps in, and over time, some of it finds it’s way back out.

My earliest country songs were written in southern Maine. I believe if you have an eye on the road, another eye on God, and your tongue in your cheek, it’s likely to come out country. And that can happen on the coast of Maine or the coast of Florida. It’s as much a state of mind as a state in the Union.

My dad, Ken Sr., was the most honest, likable, and unpretentious man I’ve ever known. I’d like my music to be just like him…honest, likable, and unpretentious. That’s my goal. I call it Suburban Country.

With Eyes Wide Open,
Ken Holt

Artists I've had the pleasure of sharing a piece of the stage with:
Loggins & Messina
Poco
The Outlaws
Charlie Daniels Band
New Riders of the Purple Sage
Hall & Oates
NRBQ
Foghat
James Cotton Blues Band
Nils Lofgren
ZZ Top
John Prine
38 Special
Dr. Hook
Pure Prairie League
Blue Oyster Cult
Elvin Bishop Band
Chris Hillman (Byrds)
James Montgomery
THE WHO
and likely some others I
can't remember.

Boston Garden, Boston, MA 1978: Opening act for The Who on one of their many "farewell" tours. The previous opening act on the tour had been fired by Townsend for poor audience response. As a successful regional act, The Blend was hired to open. Nervous? Yeah! Pumped? Oh Yeah! The Blend rocked as hard as we could rock in front of 25,000 Who fans. Wow! We survived. They liked us. And, I got to hang back stage and watch Pete Townsend smash to pieces another Gibson SG.
Definitely the stuff that rock and roll memories are made of. What a Great Gig.

Track #3 of my new CD asks the question, "Can't You Hear Me?" IF you've ever had someone turn their back on you and walk away, ignore you, do the rude thing, THEN you know what this song is talking about. Originally written by former band mate, Jim Drown,
"Can't You Hear Me" is a fair question in what can be an impersonal world. Give it a listen. You are not alone.