Eye On Country Concert Review - Darryl Holter at The Seven Grand
May 25, 2013 - Dan Sherman, Eye On Country
A couple of weeks ago I read in the Downtown News that Darryl Holter was playing at Seven Grand and I thought I would stop by and listen. I really enjoy that place-it's like a bar from the 19th century. You climb up about four sets of stairs to get there and it's dark and old feeling with deer and moose heads hanging from the walls. The bar is long and stocked with about a jillion bottles of Scotch and Bourbon and Rye from all over the world. I sipped on a 10 year old Ardbeg Scotch and then shifted gears to a dark beer (recommended by the bartender) that was so heavy and rich that drinking it was almost like eating dinner.
A girl from work had told me that Darryl Holter does "Americana" music. I thought I would see a bearded guy in overhauls sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar singing down-home tunes about living in the mountains or sleeping under the stars somewhere. Instead Holter came out with a plugged in guitar, a revved up sound system, and a group of serious musicians who really know how to play. The result was an hour of mostly great songs for a medium-sized Wednesday-night crowd, including many who seemed to be familiar with Holter's songs.
Many of the songs came from Holter's recent album, "Crooked Hearts," which he describes as songs about "dysfunctional relationships". The title track tells the story of a guy who falls for a female safe-cracker, an armed robbery, and a trip to the county jail. On a somewhat lighter note is "November Rain," in which two people from very different backgrounds are thrown together in a clandestine safe house. "Backburner Blues" brings the blues element into the Americana equation while "The Gambler's Holiday" is a song that should be played on LA's country station, Go Country 105. Another song called "Try, Try, Try" has a sort of Brit-pop quality that doesn't seem to fit the Americana groove, but it has a catchy tune.
On the other hand, Holter took British singer-songwriter Richard Thompson's song "Walking the Long Miles Home" and turned it into a rollicking country story of walking home in the middle of the night after a long evening of revelry. I found myself humming the tune walking back to my apartment.
Holter will be returning to Seven Grand on Wed June 12th at 10pm.
- Dan Sherman, Eye On Country
Darryl Holter will perform "Crooked Hearts" and other songs at the Seven Grand whisky bar in Downtown LA.
Darryl Holter at 10pm
Fleeting Heart at 11pm
The Seven Grand:
515 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.sevengrandbars.com
Follow Darryl Holter Music on Facebook
Darryl Holter Live Show Wed May 8, 2013 at The Seven Grand Downtown LA, CA with All Spots To Black
The Seven Grand:
515 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
"Crooked Hearts", the single from Darryl Holter's new album of the same title, has moved into 25th place in the Country "Up and Coming" chart. The list is prepared weekly by the Spins Tracking System, which keeps track of the number of times a particular record is played in a week by major radio stations in the U.S. In its first week on the chart, "Crooked Hearts" had 521 spins on 21 stations.
“We thought this single could be picked up by country radio stations,” said Bill Wence, the Nashville based musician and radio promotion specialist. “It’s a great story song and those are always popular with country audiences.”
Darryl Holter will perform "Crooked Hearts" and other songs at the Seven Grand whisky bar in Downtown LA.
Darryl Holter at 10pm
All Spots To Black at 11pm
The Seven Grand:
515 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.sevengrandbars.com
Follow Darryl Holter Music on Facebook
Darryl Holter Returns For 2 Shows in Minnesota
April 10th and 12th, 2013
Darryl returns to the Twin Cities April 10 and 12. Holter will perform with a group of Twin City musicians and will feature songs from his critically acclaimed album, “Crooked Hearts”.
Details About The Shows HERE
Crooked Hearts Breaks into the Charts Plus Live Show Wed March 27, 2013 at The Seven Grand Downtown LA, CA with Fleeting Heart
The Seven Grand:
515 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
"Crooked Hearts", the single from Darryl Holter's new album of the same title, has moved into 25th place in the Country "Up and Coming" chart. The list is prepared weekly by the Spins Tracking System, which keeps track of the number of times a particular record is played in a week by major radio stations in the U.S. In its first week on the chart, "Crooked Hearts" had 521 spins on 21 stations.
“We thought this single could be picked up by country radio stations,” said Bill Wence, the Nashville based musician and radio promotion specialist. “It’s a great story song and those are always popular with country audiences.”
Darryl will perform "Crooked Hearts" and other songs on Wed March 27th at the Seven Grand whisky bar in Downtown LA. The show begins at 10 pm. Also performing is a great L.A. country-rock band, Fleeting Heart.
The Seven Grand:
515 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.sevengrandbars.com
Follow Darryl Holter Music on Facebook
Visit: Latest Darryl Holter News
Darryl Holter Memoirs
Darryl Holter Music
Darryl Holter Photo Gallery
AmericanaUK Review: Darryl Holter's Crooked Hearts
by Paul Kerr July 13, 2012
A blast from the past from a guy who’s been there.
Darryl Holter is a kindly looking grey haired gent whose appearance on his album cover might make you think he's the kind of guy who sings for his supper in folk clubs and cabarets. Well as the man said you can't judge a book by the cover and an initial listen to this album reveals a man who has a firm grasp on the American folk and protest tradition.
Although he's only been recording over the past few years, this his third album is a fine collection of self penned songs and a few covers performed in the manner of some grizzled veterans of the sixties. In particular it reminds one of Chip Taylor's recent releases and especially of the albums released by Bob Neuwirth in the eighties. Apt indeed as it turns out that Holter was a contemporary of Dylan and Neuwirth and attended the University of Minnesota and was a habitué of the Dinkytown scene following the likes of Koerner, Ray and Glover. Although able to perform the contemporary song staples Holter went on to carve a career as a historian of left wing movements only returning to music as a fully-fledged grown up.
Able to deliver acoustic blues, country tinged rollicks and sensitive songwriterly musings its testament to his talent that he’s able to garner guests such as Dave Alvin, Benmont Tench and Greg Leisz, Leisz in particular adorns the album with some fine pedal and lap steel playing. Opening with a tremendous version of Alvin’s murder ballad "Mary Brown" Holter also covers Dylan's "Love Is a Four Letter Word" in a manner that is reminiscent of Phil Ochs while Richard Thompson’s "Walking The Long Miles Home" gets a country makeover. Of his own songs "Rue Du Pont Au Chou" is a magisterial piece of biography and is fully explained on his very interesting memoirs on his website. Overall a very interesting character and a very sweet album.
Read More
www.americana-uk.com
MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE Review: Crooked Hearts
by Chuck Dauphin June 30, 2012
New Folk Tunes: Darryl Holter: Crooked Hearts
It's been a while since I have heard a great murder song. For the most part, they just don't make songs like that anymore. Moments into, "Mary Brown ," the first cut on the album, there's already been one. It definitely qualifies as a song of passion and mystery that will leave an impression on you - along with those Waylon Jennings-ish guitar riffs. The good thing is that there is a lot more where that comes from on this album.
A native of Minnesota, Holter also tips the hat to the sound of the 1960s. The organ work of Matt Rollings is a great way to set the mood on the title cut, and that vibe also works well on the wistful "November Rain." But, there is a lot more to him than that.
He delivers a countrified version of Bob Dylan’s "Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word," and even takes an excursion through the mountains on Richard Thompson's "Walking The Long Miles Home." He saves the best for last, with a pair of emotional ballads to close the album in "Mouffetard Noir" and "Midnight In Cologne," where he really gets a chance to show his depth. All in all, a very solid collection from an artist that deserves to be heard!
PARCBENCH Review: Crooked Hearts
Written by Greg Victor in Music on June 30, 2012
New Folk Tunes: Darryl Holter's 'Crooked Hearts'
*** (out of 4 stars)
Darryl Holter is one of a kind. I'm not going to try to classify, nor compare him to any other artists (who would that be, anyway - some sort of Jacques Brel-meets-Johnny Cash figure?... or Rod McKuen having a really hard life in some parallel universe...?). Instead, I’ll just willingly enter the world he creates on his latest album, Crooked Hearts. It is a world we live in, but don't often hear songs of that are this honest. Holter has a voice that is a force to be reckoned with; it is strong, relaxed and makes it clear that he means what he sings.
Most songs have a lyric that pretends to be a poem - a goal rarely achieved in any meaningful way. Darryl Holter chooses to go the more complicated, more rewarding route; he sets prose to music. Sure, it may pass as poetry once in awhile, but what is really happening here is more narrative and more specific. Floating on a heartfelt keyboard passage ("Midnight in Cologne") or speaking truthful cadence to a persistent drumbeat ("Love Is Just a Four Letter Word"), the words that Holter sings are entire screenplays that come to life through song.
Essential Downloads: “Crooked Hearts,” “November Rain.”
www.parcbench.com
JSI'S TOP 21 SYNDICATED COLUMN
June 2012 - By John Shelton Ivany
Darryl Holter - Crooked Hearts
Crooked Hearts by Darryl Holter is a unique album, where he can be raucous and high on one song and then break your heart with subtlety and finesse the next. As raw as he is, there's a great intelligence and wisdom in his singing.
- John Shelton Ivany, www.jsitop21.com
Crooked Hearts Review
Country Music People Magazine
June 2012 - By Paul Riley
DARRYL HOLTER: Crooked Hearts | Producer: Ben Wendel | 213 Music
Here is a huge talent. Country/Americana singer-songwriter Darryl Holter currently lives and works in L.A, but is originally from Minneapolis. Apart from
music, this is the singers third release, he also writes books.
The Crooked Hearts disc finds Darryl Holter with a Grammy-nominated producer, Ben Wendel, who completely understands his music. There are eight fantastic original songs, plus five very well-chosen cover versions. The backing band are perfect, with special mention needed for steel guitar player, Greg Leisz and piano/organ player Matt Rollins. Darryl Holter is also joined on two tracks (3 and 7), by his daughter, singer Julia Shammas Holter, who releases CDs of obsessively beautiful songs.
Crooked Hearts begins with Dave Alvin’s 1998 song Mary Brown. The new version of this dark song sounds even darker and more ominous with Darryl Holter’s powerful vocal, and the wonderful steel guitar. In the 1960s Bob Dylan wrote a song called, Love Is Just A Four Letter Word. He doesn’t seem to have ever recorded it but folkie Joan Baez did, and now Darryl Holter has. Here it becomes a thoughtful country song with a short solo vocal by the singer’s daughter. The other stand-out cover version (they are all highly original), is Richard Thompson’s Walking The Long Miles Home. My ears rebel when any English folk music is heard and I detest the original version. This however, is a gigantic improvement, the track becomes pure country, with fiddle and steel guitar. Very reluctantly I have to say that Richard Thompson is a fine songwriter, pity he sings! The bell at the start of the track is a neat touch. Other cover versions are a beautiful, haunting version of Benmont Tench’s Why Dont You Quit Leaving Me Alone and country ballad I Aint Blue, which has a sensitive, understated vocal by Holter.
This disc is not only about cover versions, Darryl Holter writes songs as good as the covers. He is a storyteller, title track Crooked Hearts tells of a man and woman off to a robbery. There is a kind of desperation in the characters, which is brought out by the superb vocal. The dark romance of Take Me Away has the lyric,” delete all the promises”. A street in Paris features in Mouffetard Noir, a track that captures France and the cafe society, with smoky late night jazz clubs. This is songwriting of a very high standard, it feels like Leonard Cohen on peak form.
The final track, Midnight In Cologne combines the melody of an old jazz track from 1974, by Keith Jarrett, with new lyrics. This beautiful piano led ballad provides a perfect end to an astonishing disc, from a singer who deserves to sell millions of discs. This album has everything, fantastic songs, great backing tracks, a producer at the top of his game, and at the centre of all this Darryl Holter, one of the very best singer-songwriters in the world right now. For this disc only eight out of a collection of 40 songs were chosen, hopefully the others, will soon be, “chosen”. Darryl Holter may be a genius.
- Paul Riley
Darryl Holter Music
Darryl Holter Photo Gallery
Exclaim Magazine - Toronto, ON
May 01 2012 - By Kerry Doole
You can't always judge an artist by the quality of the material they cover, but it works in Darryl Holter's case. On his third album, the L.A.-based singer-songwriter (and Woody Guthrie scholar) covers tunes by Richard Thompson, Bob Dylan, Spider John Koerner, Dave Alvin and Benmont Tench, with the latter two also making guest appearances.
Holter's eight originals are equally effective showcases for his authoritative vocals; he has a lived-in, ruggedly honest voice that's, at times, reminiscent of Billy Joe Shaver. A strong cast of players assembled by Holter and producer Ben Wendel (Kneebody) includes steel ace Greg Leisz, Don Heffington and Matt Rollings, while daughter Julia Holter duets nicely on Dylan's "Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word." Moody, piano-driven closing track "Midnight In Cologne" is based on the melody of a Keith Jarrett composition, confirming that Holter can be adventurous in his songwriting approach. This is a fine work.
(213 Music)
Music Review: Darryl Holter - Crooked Hearts from www.blogcritics.org
Author: David Bowling, Published: May 28, 2012
Darryl Holter’s music can be classified as that of a folk singer, an American roots artist, or if you want to stretch a bit, a pop artist. His type of music really does not matter as the focus is always upon his stories. His booming voice has now returned with his third album of tales that will amuse, scare, intrigue, and ultimately entertain.
Crooked Hearts is mostly a dark album that is inhabited by real but extremely flawed people. There are few happy endings in the musical universe of Darryl Holter. There is longing and romance but they are usually countered by betrayal and heartbreak. It is not an album for the light of heart on a sunny day, but rather one that can be appreciated as the shadows fall. It explores the dark places of the human story.
Holter has always been able to write much of his own material. The title track is is a first person narrative of two lovers committing a robbery but the real crime is yet to come. “Mouffetard Noir” takes place in picturesque Paris but the story has an unhappy ending and long-term regret. Many times it is fate that brings people together but in his “November Rain” that does not mean they were right for each other. The most creative track finds him using the music of the fourth track of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 album Concert At Cologne as a foundation for his lyrics of a bittersweet memory.
Holter also chose his cover material well. Dave Alvin’s “Mary Brown” is the album’s lead track and sets the tone for what will follow as it combines love, crime, and betrayal into a painful but unforgettable mix. Richard Thompson’s “Walking The Long Miles Home” is a tale of loneliness. Bob Dylan’s “Love is Just a Four-Letter World,” which is often associated with Joan Baez, is given a masculine interpretation.
In many ways Crooked Hearts is a throwback album as it takes old themes and populates them with an assortment of imperfect characters. The result is an album of music that draws the listener in and keeps his or her attention throughout.
(Read More Here)
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange Review:
Crooked Hearts by Darryl Holter
A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Mark S. Tucker
Darryl Holter never settles for the easy answer or the even easier lyric, whether his own or others', as is well demonstrated in the first track in Crooked Hearts (Dave Alvin's unsettling love song Mary Brown) and most everywhere else in this new release. The more difficult questions in life and living are what concern the rootsy folker, not endlessly repeating paeans to Norman Rockwell fantasies. The back story to Holter is contained in the review to his last effort, West Bank Gone (here), but, this time around, I'm detecting a few Glenn Yarbrough touches here and there as well. Holter may have moved on in time, but his heart still resides in that old West Bank milieu.
His version of Murphey & Koerner's I Ain't Blue, two composers he strongly favors, cogently reminds one of David Bromberg's old cover of DeWayne Blackwell's I'm Mister Blue, here in a nicely reworked even mellower downtone cover, as was the case with Bromberg's heart-tug. Several esteemed guests sit in—Dave Alvin, Benmont Tench, Willie Murphey, etc.—and Holter even wisely cribbed a riff from Keith Jarrett's famed Concert at Koln LP of '74, building Midnight in Cologne from it. When you're savvy enough to listen to Keith, the modern god of piano along with Gould and Evans, there's precious little you otherwise lack for, and Crooked Hearts is a corner of the world complete unto itself.
Holter, like Ian Tyson and others now well on in their careers, has reached a point where the many years logged have attained a savor and a savvy that transcend the hurly burly of the chartbusting world, where nuance and atmosphere replace hooks and crowd pleasing, where reflection and cautionaries take on new depth and significance. So if Crooked Hearts seems to take you down a path or two you hadn't expected, that isn't a mistake, and maybe it's time to consider what such insights portend in a world that seems hellbent on self-destruction. Maybe some new doors need to be opened as others are closed.
Los Angeles Downtown News
FROM CAR MASTER TO ROOTS ROCKER
Darryl Holter Sings About Crooked Hearts
By Ryan Vaillancourt, Staff Writer
Darryl Holter is known around Downtown primarily as the double-breasted suit-wearing executive who manages the Shammas Group's empire of Figueroa Street auto dealerships.
So it might come as a surprise that under the white collar veneer, Holter's a guitar pickin' working man's working man with a penchant for progressive politics. He even wrote a song called "Looking for Health Care Reform" for a musician union fundraiser.
Holter has spent increasing time in recent years with his six string. Last month, he released his third album, Crooked Hearts, a roots rock exploration of relationships gone awry. On the record he is backed by a lineup of top notch musicians, including Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin and fiddle wizard Gabe Witcher of the Punch Brothers.
He spoke with Los Angeles Downtown News about his business and his music.
Los Angeles Downtown News: You're known as the de facto president of Auto Row. How and when did you get into music?
Darryl Holter: My father taught me when I was a kid. I grew up in Minnesota and I started playing around the state at hospitals and talent contests and even television shows. I primarily did country western music when I was really young. Then I was very interested in the folk music revival in part because Bob Dylan came from Minnesota, so there was a direct connection. I went through literally doing every Bob Dylan song that ever existed. Then I was involved as a student in the civil rights and the anti-war movements, so I used a lot of my music there. I found that music was a really interesting way to connect with people. Over the years I’d written a lot of songs and I decided about five years ago that I might like to record them. I thought if I don’t do it now, I'll never do it.
Q: Starting with Dave Alvin, Crooked Hearts has some heavy hitter musicians. How'd they end up on your record?
A: When I decided to record, I said to (co-producer Ben Wendel), "Look, I want to do this right." We went and got the best guys we could. I've been playing music since I was a little kid but usually it's been by myself. In doing the records I was able to play with really great people. It has allowed me to see my own creations in a totally new way.
Crooked Hearts: CD Review MIDWEST RECORD - CHICAGO, IL
MIDWEST RECORD - CHICAGO, IL, May 5, 2012
Darryl Holter, Crooked Hearts (213 Music)
With renewed attention on 60s flavored roots music in the wake of Levon Helm dying, Holter fills a real void. A folkie that was there and has enough pull to rope in a lot of star power on this set, Holter is more concerned with the flow and the quality of the album than grabbing all the songwriting credits, and the attention to detail shows. Whether recording songs Dylan wrote but never recorded or resurrecting his home boy John Koerner with a classic from the classic "Running Jumping Standing Still", this set about the dark side of love in all its forms hits you like a blast from the past you almost forgot/didn't know existed. For such a glum flavored album, it has amazing charm and repeatability. Holter has been flying high under the radar for a while but this set makes his qualities and virtues firmly undeniable. Killer stuff throughout.
- Chris Spector
West Bank Gone: CD Review Sing Out Magazine
By Gvon T., Sing Out Magazine, Jan 5, 2011
Darryl Holter, West Bank Gone (213 Music)
Combining the adroit touch of both a lyricist and a musical historian, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Darryl Hotter recreates, in both words and music, the fascinating saga of the storied "West Bank" folk and roots music scene in 1960s Minneapolis, Minn., which inspired a kid from Hibbing named Zimmerman, as well as the bluesy trio of John Koerner, Dave Ray and Tony Glover, among others, and was also where Bonnie Raitt recorded her first album.
Drawing from his own youthful North Country roots experiences, Hotter paints .an eloquent tableau of those halcyon days, with image-loaded songs, such as the perfectly modulated title composition (a heartfelt homage to a local bar and its bohemian patrons - including the esteemed, ill-fated poet John Berryman - some of whom also proved performers with a future) along with a cleverly written revisiting of Johnny Cash's 1950s hit "Ballad of a Teenage Queen," here called "Last Chorus of the Last Song," and a rousing (Holter is ably aided and abetted throughout by the likes of keyboardist Benmont Tench, lap and steel guitar legend Greg Leisz and percussionist Nate Wood) and an oddly spirited reflection titled "5 AM," a song about a chance meeting at an all-night coffee house. It is, oddly enough, followed by Holter's desultory version of "Girl from the North Country," one of Dylan's finest early efforts.
Holter and crew also cover three other, less well-known songs - channeling Gram Parsons' Flying Burrito Brothers staple "One Hundred Years from Today" in fine fashion as well as the soulfulness of Jay Farrar on his revelatory plea "Back into Your World" and it's back to the future with a chilly-wind blues, co-composed by the aforementioned Koerner, called "Friends and Lovers." Other formidable Hotter originals include the love anthem "Two for Each Other" and the nostalgic "Breakfast in Beertown."
- GvonT , Sing Out Magazine
West Bank Gone: CD Review Blurt-Online.com
By Lee Zimmerman www.Blurt-Online.com December 13, 2010
Darryl Holter, West Bank Gone (213 Music)
Being from Minnesota, the land of Bob Dylan's early origins, might make music some sort of birthright, because for Darryl Holter, that roostsy, narrative style seems to come quite naturally. On this, his second album, this northern plains native son plows deeply into his homegrown environs and comes up with a winning set of reflective story songs that borrow heavily from formative encounters with early musical heroes. Indeed, the spirits of Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Spider John Koerner, and other rugged troubadours are invested heavily in this material, both in the descriptive style and in its attachment to middle America. Perhaps that's why Holter sounds so assured; in recalling his early admiration of the people and places that birthed his most precious musical memories, he offers an autobiographical glimpse into the dimly-lit clubs and coffee bars where friends would gather, musicians would bond, and relationships were spawned from the same fused experiences.
As a result, songs like "Two For Each Other," "The Mixers" and "Birthday in Beertown" take on an added resilience in both their assertive stance and the tender connection. Freely mixing folk, blues and country, he surveys traditional templates throughout, from the freewheeling stomp of "The Trouble Is" to the brassy surge of "5 AM." Telling too, is his choice of covers, as expressed in a beautifully evocative take on Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" and the celebratory surge of Gram Parson's ringing "One Hundred Years From Now." Having that kinship to his forebears etched in each of these tracks makes West Bank Gone a vital travelogue intrinsically clasped to the heartland. - Lee Zimmerman
West Bank Gone: CD Review VintageGuitar.com
By John Heidt www.VintageGuitar.com December 2010
Darryl Holter, West Bank Gone (213 Music)
A journey through the Minneapolis that spawned the likes of Bob Dylan and Koerner, Ray and Glover, Holter's gruff voice and the contributions of musicians like Ben Tech and Greg Leisz make this a solid effort from Holter, who writes a lyric like someone who has lived what he's writing about. - JH
Singer Darryl Holter celebrates Minneapolis' West Bank
by Euan Kerr, Minnesota Public Radio
October 12, 2010
St. Paul, Minn. — The West Bank of Minneapolis hosts a homecoming of sorts on Thursday. Singer Darryl Holter will stage a CD release concert at Palmer's Bar for his new recording "West Bank Gone."
It's a tribute to when Holter lived in the neighborhood in the late 1960's. At the time it was a musical hotspot attracting international attention, and Holter played a bit himself.
Holter now is a developer living in Los Angeles. Yet as he told Euan Kerr, he could never forget those West Bank Days, and that's what led to the album.
Darryl Holter will play music from his album "West Bank Gone" on Thursday evening at Palmers Bar in the West Bank area of Minneapolis.
Listen to the interview with Euan Kerr on Minnesota Public Radio
DARRYL HOLTER/West Bank Gone
213 MUSIC, Midwest Record – Chicago, IL
August 20, 2010
We dug his self released debut last year, but this time around, in addition to his compelling originals, he covers John Koerner in a tip of the hat to his Twin City folk/blues roots. Very much in the spirit of the scene that spawned Dylan, Koerner and others you never heard of but would have enjoyed, this crack singer/songwriter makes you wonder why he flew under the radar for so long. An accomplished set that will reassure you mature songwriting is alive and well, this is first class adult, contemporary pop that raises the bar and changes the game. A winner throughout."
– Chris Spector
Singer/songwriter Darryl Holter returns to his North Country roots
on new CD, "West Bank Gone", out September 21 on 213 Music
July, 2010
"213 Music announces a September 21 release date for West Bank Gone, the second album from L.A.-based singer/songwriter Darryl Holter, featuring special guest musicians Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) on keyboards, pedal and lap steel guitar master Greg Leisz and renowned percussionist Nate Wood. West Bank Gone was produced by Grammy nominee Ben Wendel, recorded at Conway Studios and will be distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution.
Darryl Holter will celebrate the release of West Bank Gone with a series of September dates in both Los Angeles (including a show at Hotel Café) and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Combining the deft touch of both a lyricist and a musical historian, Darryl Holter recreates the fabled “West Bank” folk and roots music scene in Minneapolis of the 1960s, which spawned a young Bob Dylan and where Bonnie Raitt recorded her first album. Drawing from his own North Country roots experiences, Holter paints a vivid tableau of what it was like back then, with songs such as “The Mixers,” a sad but engaging ballad set in a popular West Bank bar; “5 am,” a spirited song about a chance encounter in a dreary all-night coffee shop; or the title track, which chronicles some of the West Bank personalities who are no longer with us.
"
>> read press release
Country Stars Online
April 24, 2009
“This is a reflective and thoughtful debut...
Delve and delve deeply into the life and lyrics of Minneapolis born Darryl Holter, and you’ll find a storyteller, one who has lived richly against the backdrop of his folksy tunes. From his liner notes, we learn his musical hero is Bob Dylan. We also learn Holter played on picket lines with Pete Seeger. These two influences shine out, and brightly, on an album, that by contrast, is truthfully moody. "
>> read article
Vintage Guitar Magazine
April, 2009
“Though this is Darryl Holter's first CD, he is no novice. This collection of of 13 originals displays a dark view of the American landscape that can only come from an experienced songwriter."
Rootstime, Belgium
Reviewed by Ron Bervoerts
“This debut album can be best described as incredible. It brings together portions of rock with country, folk, and blues tones and adds bit of pop... a group of excellent musicians... the overall production, the total sound, is handled with care. All in all, it is a convincing debut, timeless and full of diversity."
Darryl Holter’s New Album Rocks Hotel Café
Feb 20, 2009
"He’s seen a lot of life and knows how to make songs out of it. He does vocals and guitar on these folk-rock originals, all built up with strong country currents and blues underpinning. At their best, the songs bring to mind a sort of Dylan meets Springsteen meets Gram Parsons. This is Holter’s first CD, but his musicians are all top-shelf professionals and the large, partisan crowd enjoyed a tightly-scripted set of songs."
Darryl Holter
Campus Circle
Feb 4, 2009
"he sure knows
the lay of the land... Holter tells endearing stories throughout the album...
“These are stories from my life,” says Holter. “It’s my personal musical journey from country
music to folk, protest songs to blues and finally to
whatever it is that I do today.”
213 MUSIC - DARRYL HOLTER:
MIDWEST RECORD, CHICAGO, IL
FEBRUARY 3, 2009
– Chris Spector
Mark Pucci
November 21, 2008
“These songs are stories from my life,” says Holter about the album. “It’s my personal musical journey from country music to folk, protest songs to blues, and finally, to whatever it is that I do today.” The result is an intriguing stew of rock-based originals, spiced with country sounds, folk feelings and blues undercurrents."
Joe Nick Patoski
Austin, Texas, 2008
"Darryl Holter had already been through his Singing TV Cowboy phase, his country and western phase, and his folkie Dylan/Spider John Koerner/ Dave Snaker Ray phase by the time I caught up with him in 1970, briefly sharing a funky, broken-down house on Cedar Avenue by the Mississippi River and the University of Minnesota, next door to a gas station where a case of Leinenkugel longnecks could be had for $3, not too far from the Scholar Coffeehouse and Dinkytown where Dylan once lived, and just a block from a strip of storied music joints and bars where there was music in the air, and plentiful dope and free love if your bullshit was half decent. It was a heady time of all possibilities, doubly informed by the first Allman Brothers Band album, Dylan’s odd Self Portrait, the Band’s Music from Big Pink, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Moondance, Leon Russell’s debut LP, and Willie and the Bees buzzing around.
Darryl was the one guy in the house who just didn’t listen to music, but actually played music. He did it with such passion that you could understand why he commanded such a presence (especially when his girlfriend or other women were around) singing lyrics worth listening to, and playing with chops that required no further accompaniment.
He told story songs about people and places that seemed exotic to a green-around-the-ears kid like me, singing them like he meant every word. Most of the material, it turned out, was his.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. I moved back to Texas to write about music, which has pretty much defined my life. Darryl never stopped either. He became a radical academic and ultimately the face of Felix Chevrolet in downtown LA, singing, playing guitar, and writing about his adventures along the way. His word portraits of street people, gamblers, and Parisian alleys ring true because they are true - real people and real places, sung and strummed by a real cool guy who sounds just as cool today as he did all those years ago. Listen close and see what I mean."