Larchmont Chronicle: New book by local shines light on cars and early Los Angeles
Hancock Park resident Darryl Holter, co-owner of Chevalier’s on Larchmont Boulevard, has a new book out. Written with Stephen Gee, the book includes a foreword by erstwhile “Tonight Show” host and car aficionado Jay Leno. The book, “Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900-1930,” is packed full of local history gems. Sprinkled with vintage photos and original cartoons, the book enlightens readers about the role Los Angeles’ early auto retailers played in the growth of the car industry and the city.
Julia Holter Unveils Score for The Passion of Joan of Arc
Julia is in the UK to lead performances of the score she composed for the incredible 1928 silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Her original score was performed in Los Angeles in 2017 and was scheduled to be performed at the Huddersfeld Contemporary Festival in 2020 until Covid struck and the event was cancelled for two years. Attached are reviews from The Times of London and The Guardian. This is not Julia’s first time with film work. She organized the music Bleed for This (2016), a film based on a true story starring Miles Teller as Vinny "The Pazmanian ... [Read More]
Back In The Saddle Again
Oliver Holter, my father, died this week at the age of 100. I was with him on September 1 for his 100th birthday. He died peacefully in his sleep under the loving care of my sister, Cyndy and niece, Kiera. Here is Dad’s obituary and a section from a book I wrote for him to commemorate his 80th birthday. Dad introduced me to music as a child and taught me how to play guitar. -DH From OLLIE80: Memories of My Father and I (2002) By Darryl Holter Like a lot of young boys, I was attracted to cowboys. My mother ... [Read More]
Resolution Calling for New Streaming Royalty to Fairly Pay Music Artists
Congresswoman Tlaib Introduces Resolution Calling for New Streaming Royalty to Fairly Pay Music Artists Aug 11, 2022 WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) introduced House Concurrent Resolution 102, a new resolution recognizing the need to establish a new royalty program that would directly compensate musicians with a fairer royalty payment every time their music is listened to on a streaming music service, like Spotify. “Streaming has become an increasingly popular choice for people to enjoy music, but unfortunately while streaming services and record labels continue to make tons of money off of these platforms, the artists who make this music are ... [Read More]
Darryl Holter: The Making of Radio Songs
Darryl Holter: The Making of Radio Songs On July 19, 1937, Woody Guthrie and his cousin, Jack “Oklahoma” Guthrie, aired their first radio show on KFVD in Los Angeles. It was a fifteen-minute show that started at 8 a.m. Jack took the lead with singing-cowboy songs while sidekick Woody played harmonica and provided back-up vocals. In August, the duo added Maxine Crissman to the show and Frank Burke, the station owner, gave them an extra slot at 11 pm. When Jack decided to leave the show for other work, Guthrie renamed it “Woody and Lefty Lou” (Crissman’s family had ... [Read More]
Anaïs Mitchell and “Hadestown” Opens in Los Angeles
After playing to sold-out audiences on Broadway prior to the pandemic, and winning a dozen Tony and Grammy Awards, the musical “Hadestown” arrived in Los Angles a few nights ago. Julia and I joined a jam-packed crowd at the Ahmanson Theatre two nights ago and it was a ball. Based on the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice, “Hadestown” is set in the Depression years and features 21 great songs. The music, lyrics, and book were written by an incredibly talented woman, Anaïs Mitchell. “Hadestown” plays in Los Angeles for about a month. I noticed that several shows are sold ... [Read More]
Honoring Esteban Torres with Guthrie’s “Plain Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee)”
Recently I learned that retired U.S. Representative Esteban Torres had passed away at the age of 92. Although I had met Congressman Torres (or “E.T.” as friends called him) several years ago, I never really knew him, but I knew about his incredible career. Born in the copper mining region of Arizona, his father, a miner, was deported to Mexico in 1935, when E.T. was three years. This was during the depths of the Great Depression and thousands of Mexican laborers were deported. E.T. never saw his father again but he went on to an inspiring career serving in the ... [Read More]
All They Will Call You: The Telling of the Plane Wreck at Los Gatos Canyon – Darryl Holter Book Review
Tim Z. Hernandez, All They Will Call You: The Telling of the Plane Wreck at Los Gatos Canyon. University of Arizona Press, 2017. Book Review by Darryl Holter | Woody Guthrie Annual, 3 (2017) Woody Guthrie made lists. He compiled lists of all the songs he had written and then made new lists, sometimes changing the titles. In private notebooks he made lists of songs he wanted to write, headlines from newspapers, and names of friends he planned to write. On New Year’s Day in 1943 he recorded a list of thirty-three resolutions including “work more and better,” “change socks,” ... [Read More]
Happy Birthday, Waylon Jennings! (No, not that Waylon Jennings.)
Happy Birthday, Waylon Jennings! No, not that Waylon Jennings. I mean my dog and BTW, I didn’t name him. Waylon turned 15 years on January 16th, so we had a little party for him. I adopted Waylon from a rescue service in 2008. I’ve always liked the songs by Waylon Jennings so I liked the dog’s name. Also, I am a bit of a Francophile and Waylon is a French Brittany, the largest of the Spaniel family, a bird dog who loves to retrieve tennis balls. Unlike American Brittanys, which are brown and white or liver and white, French Brittanys ... [Read More]
All of Darryl Holter’s recordings are now available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp
Darryl Holter has made his latest album Roots & Branches available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp - Along with his entire back catalogue, including Radio Songs, West Bank Gone, Crooked Hearts and more, now easily accessible. Visit the entire catalogue for stream or purchase on https://darrylholter.bandcamp.com/ Darryl Holter grew up playing the guitar and singing country and rock and roll songs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His current brand of Americana music draws from country, blues and folk traditions and often tells stories about people, places and events.
Darryl Holter grew up playing the guitar and singing country and rock and roll songs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His current brand of Americana music draws from country, blues and folk traditions and often tells stories about people, places and events.