For Becky Holt, performing is still like “playing pretend, getting dressed up and dancing around singing into a microphone.” When she was younger, she would dress up in cowboy boots, run around the house and pretend she was Patsy Cline or Tanya Tucker.
Many years later, Holt has traded her Playskool microphone for a real one and a larger audience. She is performing a residency at the Continental Room every Sunday this month and brings the audience stories based on her life experiences through her folksy voice, the lively strums of her guitar and the complementary addition of her backup band.
Where do you find inspiration for your music?
I think realistically the largest influences on my music are experiences, relationships, people that I interact directly with. My music is very literal, I am typically writing about something or someone with very few metaphors or abstractions. The story that I am trying to tell or the way someone makes me feel will have the most dramatic effect on my music.
It states on your Bandcamp page that you recorded your EP “Self-Titled” in your living room. What was the experience like?
Recording an album in your living room means you are poor. It was difficult. It made the people who lived above me pretty grumpy. I am really grateful for the people who worked on those recordings with me though. The other musicians who contributed really brought the songs to life. Until last year I had only ever played by myself. It was an exciting experience.
How did you get your guitar?
When I first started learning to play I was borrowing my roommates guitar. When I moved out I stole it. (no worries, I recently returned it) It was an old fender acoustic with a missing pic guard. It didn’t even sound that good but I loved it. Last spring when I got my tax return I splurged and bought a martin with a built in pick-up/tuner. It’s so pretty! A week later my friend Jesse dropped it on a concrete floor. Now the right side of the body is cracked and covered in scotch tape but I think it adds character.
When someone listens to your music, who does he or she compare you with?
I’ve been compared to Zooey Deschanel and Jenny Lewis, so these comparisons make me happy. I got Joanna Newsom a couple times, however. I don’t really see that comparison but whatever. Older people always say I remind them of Alanis Morrissette. That’s the worst comparison but I just have to assume that all female singers with long brown hair must sound the same to them. My brother today said he wished I sounded like The Dead Weather but that I am just not cool enough. I wish I sounded like Thao Ngyuen and The Get Down Stay Down, but once again the issue of not being cool enough gets in the way.
Tell me your song-writing process.
When I am writing a song the lyrics are usually the most important aspect. Trying to put into words exactly how I feel is tricky but I’ve found being unapologetically honest has made my music more relatable. After that it’s up to the real musicians who add the bells and whistles that make the song interesting and catchy. I am really excited about the new band that I have been working with. They’ve been pushing me to make more upbeat catchy songs.
Where do you go beyond the Continental Room residency? Any full-length album in the works?
My goal for this summer is to record a full length. I have a lot of songs on the shelf that I am excited to record. I also have a group of really talented and creative musicians who support me. I’m looking for a chance to showcase the range of my ideas. The next album or EP we record is going to kick some serious singer/songwriter ass.
Listen to her EP at beckyholt.bandcamp.com and check out her show every Sunday in June at 9 p.m. at the Continental Room, 115 W. Santa Fe Ave. For more photos from the Becky Holt, check out this link.
Comments