new

NEWS

06-14-06


An audio feed from the show on June 10th. Thanks to The Fine Line for a great party! If you haven't checked out this fine organization, please do - it is what Dallas music sorely needs.
A fair amount of press:
Article about 300th show on TexasGigs

05-18-06


A new TexasGigs Podcast
>A good writeup of Chris today from QuickDFW:
Article about Observer Music Awards


CHRIS HOLT NOT SLOWING DOWN

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, May 18, 2006

That Dallas musician Chris Holt works hard is a given. While some consider him the most talented artist in town, he's at least one of the most prolific.

Currently at his lowest level of output with "only" four projects in the works, Holt has been receiving a lot of well-deserved critical praise lately. Apart from writing, recording and performing solo material, Holt has a full-time band, Olospo, as well as regular gigs with one of Salim Nourallah's backing bands. There's also the Jones Thing and the Lonelies. With a day job and a family added to the mix, it's a wonder the guy has time to sleep.

On the front burner for Holt is a long-delayed Olospo album, Film At Eleven, as well as a new solo album. He's performing two times this weekend. Here's more from Holt:

Paul Salfen
Q: Are you, indeed, the hardest working man in Dallas show business?
A: (Laughs) I don't know. That's what they tell me, but I guess that's not really up to me to decide.

Q: Is one of your musical projects closest to your heart, or is that like choosing a favorite child?
A: It's kind of like that. Obviously the one I spend the most time with right now is Olospo. Anything where I get to lead the way and do the songwriting, that will be my chief focus. I'm really excited about being in Salim's band, though, with what he's doing right now. Just getting to work with him is always a treat.

Q: On your MySpace site, you write, "I'm 33 and aging by the second." Is it a hard lifestyle?
A: (Laughs) It is getting harder to be busy all of the time. I have a wife and we're having a baby in July, so it's harder to stay busy like this during the week, but it's what I do and it's what I've done my whole life. I can't imagine ever doing anything else. When I think about getting older, I think about how the music industry views it. The way I look at it, I think I still have another good 20 years of music left in me.

Q: Will the new Olospo CD ever see the light of day? What happened to it?
A: Yes, we're currently working on it. Tom Bridwell, our drummer, just bought a house in Lake Highlands and it's supposed to be fully functional June 1, so we're going to transfer the tapes and finish that record and another one, which was originally slated to be my next solo album. But we might just make it another Olospo album. ... The lack of budget and inability to find consistent studio time was the hold-up – we were recording at Last Beat Studios, which was sold. We're really excited about Tom's studio because we're able to work non-stop and don't have to worry about the budget. ... As long as we can keep making records, I don't care what else we do.

DETAILS
Chris Holt performs with Olospo at 10 p.m. tomorrow at Club Dada. He performs solo Saturday at the Wildflower Festival in Richardson, at the acoustic café stage. He will also play an acoustic show Wednesday at Club Dada. To hear some music, visit chrisholt music.com and olospo.com.

05-11-06


PICKED A WINNER

As some of you Dallas fans already know, our founder and captain Chris Holt has come away from the 2006 Dallas Observer Music Awards, winning BOTH of the categories he was nominated for (Musician of the Year, Best Instrumentalist), and participating in another win, as he played with Salim Nourallah on the Album of the Year. We are all very proud of Chris!

Here is Chris's message from the next morning.

Here's the follow-up article from the observer.

04-10-06


DOMA NOMINATIONS
Once again the nominations have been posted for the Dallas Observer Music Awards, and once again we find that Chris Holt has been nominated, this time in two categories: Instrumentalist, and Musician of the Year. Please go and vote here.

04-09-06


THE NEXT STEP
After a few months spent retooling things, olospo is returning to the regularly scheduled program. During this time, we have effected a lineup change that will allow us greater flexibility of schedule and will result in shows more often. So, at this time we must announce that our own Britt Morris is stepping aside to spend time with his family. Britt has done an incredible job as a keyboard player and sometimes-guitarist, he wrote and helped write songs that became olospo standards and favorites, but the most important thing he can do is be is a great husband and father. He will always be with us, and his influence will not soon disappear from olospo.

In his stead, we are happy to announce that Eric Neal, whom you know from our New Years Eve shenanigans, and Steve Luthye, whom you probably don't know from our friends Uberheaddy are joining the band. Both of these gentlemen are excellent and creative musicians. They are both multi-instrumentalists, though Eric will primarily be playing second guitar, and Steve will primarily be playing keys. This new lineup has spent the past few months practicing and playing shows under other names while perfecting both the existing catalog and the new material, which is as quirky and rock-filled as ever.

Olospo's first official gig with this new lineup will be at the ATX Festival in Austin on April 28-29. This is a great new festival celebrating everything Austin, and olospo is delighted to be playing twice...once on Friday night and once on Saturday afternoon. Check out their website, then go here to purchase your tickets online...when you do, be sure to type in 'Olospo' (case sensitive) in the field that says 'discount coupon/redeem discount'. Come be part of history in the re-making as the new version of olospo takes the stage!

04-05-06


DESTRUCTION, TERROR AND MAYHEM
So, the Dallas Mavericks are having this contest where local acts submit playoff theme music. There were 19 submissions, and they'll be compiled onto a promotional CD, but more importantly one of those will be chosen to be used by the Mavs in various ways during the playoffs. Olospo's entry is 'Destruction, Terror and Mayhem'...take a listen, and give us a vote! Then, tell everyone else you know to vote! Rock the vote!
Here is the TexasGigs.com website.
You can go right to the voting page here.

01-03-06


THE WARM THRILL OF CONFUSION, THAT SPACE CADET GLOW...
Well Spo friends, New Year's Eve has come and gone, and I must say, it was everything I hoped it would be. We worked hard to build "The Wall", and nothing was more fun than tearing it down in the end. I thoughteveryone involved did a fantastic job - the band: Eric, Tom, Britt, Nick, Cas, Jen, and the crew: Drew on lights, Mark and Kevin on sound, Kurt and Grant on various artwork and visual effects, Thomas and Peter for the creation and building of the wall, and all those who painted, folded, and taped the day before the show.

I want to say thanks to not only everyone who helped in the production, but also those who cheered and sang along with us. I often fantasized about staging my favorite rock opera back when I was a teenager, first learning the guitar in my bedroom...so it was a dizzying, surreal satisfaction to watch and hear it spring to life before my very eyes. Everything that could've gone wrong miraculously didn't, and despite a few minor slips, I thought we pulled it off confidently. What a treat it was for me, and I hope it was every bit the same for all of you. The Spo show that followed was like icing on a thick, fattening birthday cake. And we ate it all up, every last bite.

Thank you again for listening. Stay tuned for new music in '06!

Chris
January 3, 2006

11-06-05


GOOD DAY LIVE - KDFW FOX 4, Dallas TX - Fri Nov 11th, 8am to 9am

Get your VCR's ready!!! We are very pleased to announce the first LIVE TV performance by olospo on Good Day Live in Dallas Texas! Good Day Live is the daily morning show on Channel 4 FOX KDFW from 5am to 9am in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and olospo will be the musical guest in support of their show that evening at the Granada Theater, Friday November 11th. Olospo will be featured in the final hour of the program from 8am to 9am and will play instrumental outros to commercial breaks, and then will perform one song at approximately 8:50am. Don't wake up late and miss this regional first!

http://kdfw.com
KDFW Channel 4 FOX
Dallas Texas
==========================================================
GRANADA THEATER - GREENVILLE AVE, Dallas TX - Fri Nov 11th, 7pm
==========================================================

The Granada Theater in Dallas Texas presents an evening with olospo with special guests Pilotdrift and Millicent Friendly. Advance tickets for the Friday November 11th show are $10 and will be $12 at the door. Doors open at 7pm and and music starts at 8pm, and olospo will take the stage at approximately 11pm. For those of you who have yet to see olospo rock and roll in Dallas' premiere venue, you won't want to miss this performance at the majestic Granada Theater!

http://granadatheater.com
3524 Greenville Ave.
Dallas TX 75206
(214) 824-9933
==========================================================
XINGOLATI - GROOVE CRUISE OF THE PACIFIC, LA to BAJA - WRAP UP
==========================================================

We want to thank all the olospo fans who joined us on the maiden voyage of the Xingolati - Groove Cruise of the Pacific from Long Beach California to the Baja peninsula of Mexico with a port of call in Ensenada. The nonstop music and circus-like environment were the perfect blending of worlds and created the most unique and memorable experience for everyone aboard the ship! Olospo kicked things off with to a blistering start with an energetic and tight performance on the Lido Deck, and then brought the house down in the Leonardo Room for a late night show following the Flaming Lips. The intimacy of the entire event was such that Wayne Coyne could casually stop by to catch a blazing version of olospo's William and Aaron, and even DJ Logic sat to in the crowd and enjoyed the groove all the way to the very end, when he removed his Spiderman mask to pose for pictures. It was an incredible adventure!

We also want to send out special thanks to Mark McLarry and Neal Turley at Guy Grand Productions, because without them Xingolati could not have been possible, and we look forward with eager anticipation to Xingolati 2006!

Be sure to attend the Harvest Moon Fest and the Granada Theater, and those who were on board the ship can reminisce about the good times and those couldn't attend can hear the stories of the madness!

http://xingolati.com

Links to articles and reviews:
Ice Cream Man
Cal State Long Beach 49er
Xingolati

Who is Guy grand?
http://guygrand.com
2401 East 6th St. #4063
Austin TX 78702
(512) 469-9410 ==========================================================

9-21-05


Lots of things going on behind the scenes in the last couple of months, and we're ramping up for the Xingolati trip, which is less than a month away! A very successful show was had on Saturday at the Granada, and olospo will be taking the stage once more before the boat. That occasion will be Saturday the 24th at the Barley House in Dallas, for a lovely afternoon show. Come by and donate to hurricane relief! Otherwise, those of you who have signed up for the trip (and there are a lot of you!), get ready! The rest of you...you still have time to get on! See xingolati.com for details!

7-7-05


Hello spo fans! JDY here, with some wonderful and exciting news...after persistent nagging of Neil Turley by Grant Dickerson we were offered a rare opportunity, I flew to California with my wife to meet with Neil and Mark Mclarry of Guy Grand Productions to confirm the addition of olospo to the Xingolati Groove Cruise of the Pacific headlined by the Flaming Lips and including MMW and Particle and G Love and John Popper on October 14th through the 17th. The 2,000 passenger ship sets sail out of Long Beach, California to Baja California, Mexico and back.

We met Mark and Neil at the Independent on Divisadero in San Francisco last week for a promotional party with Perpetual Groove. We handed out nearly 150 live spo CDs and hung out with the Guys for awhile after the show and talked about our love of olospo and the Xingolati Cruise. The meeting went very well and I am proud to tell you that olospo will be playing not just one, but at least 2 FULL SHOWS on this floating freak show! My advice to you would be to book a room at the Coast Hotel next to the launch site Thursday night before Xingolati for a California Cruise Vacation from Thursday October 13th until Monday the 17th...this will be a once in a lifetime chance!

If you have not heard of this event yet, then please go to http://xingolati.com and see what all the fuss is about...it will be - without a doubt - the biggest olospo extravaganza in the history of the band...trust me on this one...Mark is brother of Sean Mclarry who was in Walter Mitty with Chris Holt, and some of Sean's music lives on though the band...in fact, Herbal Tea is a salute to Sean Mclarry and and Sean is the inspiration for Guy Grand Productions who along with his brother Mark Mclarry conceived the Xingolati Cruise...and the presence of olospo is going to make these shows very inspirational musical events and if I may dare say...the best olospo shows ever!

For those of you who have looked at the Xingolati web site and see no mention of olospo and doubt my almighty word...you may line up behind Mike Aurzada and wait to make your reservations until the official announcement...but of course, by then you will only be able to purchase steerage accommodations because the best rooms are selling out first and fast. In fact, all of the suites with private balconies are already sold out, but I have arranged to have a suite or two held back for some of us spo fans...I already have mine...so if you want a Paradise Penthouse Suite then send me an email or call (415)256-8499 immediately...first one gets it!

We have arranged for a promotional discount code to be used to track the number of people going on this Cruise to show their support for olospo...and that code is olospo (case sensitive) and will give you $50 off your cabin as well...so please, do not hesitate and get your cabin reserved now...this will help in showing the men in charge that we support our favorite band...please, reserve your room now...go ahead, just do it and get it over with...so just quit thinking about it and do it...this is going to be a life altering event!

Oh, and by the way, olospo just might be part of the pre-party show on Thursday from 4pm until 10pm, so you may as well plan on booking a room at the Coast Hotel adjacent to the launch site which is on the Xingolati web site at http://xingolati.com and be sure to use the promotional code of olospo in all lower case. You can book your room for the pre and post cruise party by calling (562)435-7676 and tell them you are with the Xingolati Cruise.

JDY is going to be partying on Venice Beach Thursday afternoon of October 13th...where will you be?

James Dean Young

P.S. All cruise and hotel booking information is at http://xingolati.com

5-3-05


Congratulations to Chris, who took home 'Musician of the Year' last night at the Dallas Observer Music Awards. Thanks to everyone who voted, and we'll try to hit those other categories again next year!

Here's Chris's personal message:


Well, good morning everyone...I'm rather hungover after a night of serious drinking...but I feel good, actually...funny how that works out. So, I'll try and be brief about all this...I want to say THANK YOU a million times to everyone who voted for Olospo and myself...it was looking rather bleak (thanks to those damn Burden Brothers) until the very end, when by some strange miracle, I took Musician Of The Year...it would have never happened without all of the amazing and dedicated Spo fans, and of course, my bandmates, who deserved every bit of recognition that I got...all of you folks are the greatest and we thank you again and again for all your support. Pick up a copy of the Observer this week and check it out...I'm just dreading seeing a picture of myself...I'm not good with photos.

Anyway, so there's a lot more to report...first of all, we have two Spo shows this weekend, and we're fucking stoked! We've been rehearsing and getting it all together. We're not gonna debut any of our new stuff just yet, cause we're still hammering out arrangements for the new album this summer, but we've got some ass stomping music ready for you. Please come out and have your asses stomped.

And now, FINALLY, I am thrilled to announce that my solo album "Summer Reverb" will be released this month...there will be three different Chris Holt shows, featuring my new six-piece solo band. This band is totally kickass and I can't wait for you guys to hear them live and hear my new album. We'll be playing next Thursday, May 12th at The Granada, opening for Mur...and then we have a double header on Saturday, May 21st...first at the Wildflower Festival in Richardson at 9pm, and then at Club Dada later that night. I am hoping to have the cds ready for release at the Granada, but most likely the first release party will be on the 21st. I'll keep everyone posted and I'll probably remind you guys a hundred times.

Thank you again for supporting us in the Spo, and for giving me such a cool honor last night. It's gonna be a great month.

Chris
5/4/05

And here's the follow-up article that appeared in today's Observer:


Chris Holt
Musician of the Year
No onewill be more surprised about Chris Holt winning Musician of the Year than Chris Holt. Endless self-deprecating and just plain nice, the 32-year- old Holt is almost too polite to be a rock star. When the Dallas Observer photographer asked him to sit for a second photo for this issue, he worried his first batch of portraits had just been that bad. But Holt, without making much of a fuss about it, has quietly become one of the busiest, and most reliable, musicians in town: This year alone he played with Olospo, The Lonelies, Petty Theft, Hard Night's Day, Jones Thing, Rahim Quazi and Sorta, in addition to playing weekly all request gigs at the Barley House, finishing a solo album, Summer Reverb, and generally being the go-to guy for guitar and keys. His talent and musical dexterity have almost become a handicap; he does so much it's sometimes hard to figure out what he actually does. His band Olospo (cringe-inducing name inspiration: Polo Sport) packs in the patchouli-wearing, tank-topped lovelies by playing wildly intricate music that is part Rush, part Ben Folds. Holt shirks the "jam band" label ("I hate Widespread Panic!" he said once), but how else do you describe a band that plays self-described "13-minute musical odysseys"? Meanwhile, his work with cover bands has revealed what a versa-tile player he is, while his all-request gigs (sometimes performed under the name "Chris Holt's Jukebox") spotlight a near encyclopedic facility with pop music and charming willingness to throw caution three sheet to the wind. And yet, not enough people have head Chris Holt the singer-song-writer, who draws inspiration from Elliott Smith and Wilco to craft songs that can be as memorable as they are melodic. But his side projects are so popular, and entertaining, that it's sometimes a battle for Holt toget even his biggest fans to listen to his new work. Well, not anymore. – S.H.

4-13-05

Barley House tonight

The usual Barley House action tonight, Chris starts around 9:30-10pm. Remember they're at a new location here.

Voting for Dallas Observer Music Awards closes soon

...like in the next couple of days. If you haven't done so already, please go here and vote for your favorites, which hopefully will include both Chris and olospo!

Databases

I have made some significant progress on the olospo database project, and I'll start testing some things out soon. I believe I'm going to start with the basic catalog information first, originals and covers type thing and build from there. I've tracked lots of cool stuff, so we'll be able to have lots of interactive stats and things like that. I do have one favor to ask of anyone who is one of those email-keepers...I lost all my old ones in a hard-drive crisis last August, and I'm missing four setlists: #272-#275, which are the first four after the end of the touring (they were only documented in the emails for about eight months). If someone keeps all their old emails and can find the ones I sent to the list back then, it would really help out!

4-06-05

Chris's Barley House series resumes at new location

The Barley House, who won the battle for Chris's regular Wednesday night slot several months ago, have completed the move to their new facilities here.

iTunes

Both of olospo's studio albums 'Herbal Tea' and 'This is the Pagoda' have been registered with iTunes. Download away!

Speaking of the albums...

As you may have gathered, we're just about out of copies of...well, pretty much everything. We're working on a better distribution system, and new copies of the albums should be pressed in the next month or so.

3-31-05

Dallas Observer Music Awards Voting is OPEN!!

Starting today, you can go here to vote for olospo, Chris, and all of your other favorite bands. As a reminder, here are the categories in question, and our humble suggestions regarding who to vote for:
Couple other olospo-related recommendations...you should vote for our friend Paul Williams on 'Best Producer'. He's the one responsible for the high quality of both olospo studio albums. Also, DARLA is nominated for folk/acoustic...she of course has appeared onstage with olospo numerous times to reprise her vocal roles from 'This is the Pagoda'.

The Razor's Ledge - by Chris

Greetings Spo friends. It seems there's a lot brewing in the once dormant Spo World right now, so I'll cut to the chase. First and foremost are the upcoming shows with the Big Wu in early May. After the great time we had at the Granada in January, we're amped up to get back onstage and try out more new stuff. In Dallas, we're playing Sons of Hermann Hall for the first time. We hope everyone will keep coming out and supporting the Spo...it's been a major factor in the revitalization of this band.

Speaking of which, I can't say thank you enough to everyone for the Dallas Observer nominations. The Spo fanbase is an amazing group of people, and you've made us feel great about this band again. I'm not sure what our chances are at actually winning any awards, but I'm so happy knowing that all of you voted to get us (and me) on the bill...and now for the shameless plug...don't forget to vote for us again, maybe we can scream loud enough for them to hear. Thanks again for the surprise confidence boost.

So anyway, I've been talking about my solo album "Summer Reverb" for months now, so I'm pleased to finally announced that it is finished and ready for release. The only problem is that I haven't settled on what label to release it on...I'm still working on that with a few different options, but I'm very close. Of course, we're talking small indie label stuff...no phone calls from Sony just yet. So, it's official release might not be until, fittingly enough, summer time. But if you can find me, I'll be glad to let you hear it between now and then. I'm just glad it's done, so I can start moving on to the next one.

Speaking of the next one, we are currently planning a new Olospo studio album. We're going to use some of the tracks from my "Film At Eleven" sessions as the starting point for a new record this summer...we've all been writing and we're making plans to work out a lot of new ideas for the upcoming studio project. So, hopefully we'll be hearing a brand new Spo album by the end of this year.

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a few more solo acoustic shows at the new Barley House, but then I'm launching my new six-piece solo band, coming soon to a venue near you...I'm aiming to debut the album and the new group in May.

Until then, there's always the awards to look forward to...do nominees drink for free?

Chris
3/30/05

Uberheaddy

Those who know the band know who Chad is. For those who don't know, he's the one who joined them on the road in 2003, ostensibly to help drive and help lug gear around, but actually to study their methods and document his findings, much as a naturalist would with a pack of gibbons. He's also the one who showed Tom drums in the first place. He's also the drummer for a band that olospo fans worth their salt will find quite interesting indeed. He'll be playing along with his cohorts Darin Prejean and Yusil Eisenberg Thursday at the Texas Tea House. See schedule for details.

Deep Ellum Arts Festival

Now one for Saturday afternoon...Chris will be on the Michelob Ultra Stage at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival this Saturday at 1:30pm. It's free, it's kid-friendly, and there's lots of stuff! See schedule for details.

3-23-05

Final night at Barley House

Chris's gig tonight at the Barley House is a sendoff for that location, as the bar will be moving after this.

olospo.com

We have moved to a new server, and the site has undergone some considerable revisions, as you can see.

3-16-05

Hardcore Troubadours this Friday

The troubies are playing Friday 9:30pm at the Texas Tea House across from the Red Blood Club...if you'd like to print out posters there's a .pdf ad here

Olospo shows booked in early May

Heads up ...olospo will have two shows coming up in the first week of May...one at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, and one at Antones in Austin. This will be the first time the band has played Sons of Hermann...if you've never been it's a terrific venue. The last time olospo was at Antones was 2001 I believe...that should be a great one. We'll provide more details in the coming weeks.

Observer Music Awards Nominations

Many of you may have already seen this, but the nominations that we were talking about a couple of weeks ago came through, and olospo was nominated for two categories, and Chris for three. It breaks down like this:

Thank you, thank you to the people who voted...this is such a great boost. They're on the ballot...now remember to vote! Polls open March 31st, and winners will be announced May 3rd.

Chris would like to personally express his thanks:

A Note from Chris

Wow...when I heard that we had been nominated for a couple Observer Awards, and that I had been nominated for several others, I was shocked and surprised...it was completely unexpected...but it made me realize how incredible the Olospo fans are. To everyone who voted for us (and for me), thank you so much. For years, we've been overlooked by the local press, and it feels wonderful to finally get some recognition from them. I just wish Nick, Tom, and Britt had been nominated as well for their respective categories, cause they deserve it as much as I do. I don't really know what our chances of winning are, but I hope that all of you will vote on March 31st and again show the Observer how powerful the Spo fans can be. Thank you all so much. This is really cool.
-Chris

Review of Chris's solo act

Along with the nomination nods, the Observer this week also had a review of Chris's regular Wednesday night solo act that he does at the Barley House:

Chris Holt

Wednesday March 9 at the Barley House
"So here's how it works", says Chris Holt, sitting with a guitar across his lap and sipping the first of several drinks. "You request the songs, and I play 'em." Within minutes, the crowd is lining up to hand him titles scribbled on cocktail napkins or simply shouting out the names: The Shins, Elliott Smith, Cheap Trick, Brian Eno, Bowie. But Holt's always game for an obscure dare, too, and while his voice occasionally may falter on a high note or his memory may blank on a chorus,it's astonishing how often he can pluck these songs from memory. As the evening unfolds, he moves to his keyboard so that he can offer up, say, a note-perfect rendition of Ben Folds Five's 'Jackson Cannery' on the heels of a killer acoustic cover of Rush's 'Spirit of the Radio'.

Holt's shows are modeled loosely on uber-producer Jon Brion's open-request L.A. gigs, in which the audience challenges the performer not to be novel but to be musically omniscient-and that, in itself, becomes its own kind of novelty. The gigs are casual and intimate, a fare cry from Holt's previous incarnation as the monster guitarist for local jam band Olospo (or, as the group is more obnoxiously known, 'Spo'). Lest you think him a mere cover act, however, Holt slips in original tunes that stand alongside the favorites, like 'Good Luck' )from his upcoming Wilco-inspired solo CD Summer Reverb), a simple, hummable love song that's been stuck in my head all week.

Because he's so talented at playing other's songs, it's sometimes hard to pin down what Holt offers as an original artist. He has a pleasant but undistinctive voice, an average-guy demeanor, and though he's a tremendously gifted musician-possibly one of the best in town (see his nominations as Musician of the Year, Best Songwriter and Best Guitarist in this year's Dallas Observer Music Awards, page 63)-he has yet to hit his stride in the scene. In the meantime, however, I must admit to being a terrific sucker for these request-heavy gigs. And if I have one complaint, it would simply be that he play 'Eye of the Tiger'. Finally.

- Sarah Helpola.