Betsy Holt - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I am a professional singer/guitarist, composer, and private music teacher in Olympia, Washington. I teach guitar, banjo, electric bass, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, also beginning piano, vocal coaching, music theory. All styles, all musical genres. Teaching in Olympia since 1995.
I opened my new Betsy Holt Music Studio on August 1, 2007, located at 209 E. 5th Avenue, Downtown Olympia, above Darby's Restaurant across from the Capitol Theater. I'm in the middle of the Olympia energy vortex, a very creative spot to be in!
I can provide live music for any occasion or venue, with combinations ranging from solo to quintet.
Beginning Thursday, June 19, I will be teaching beginning to advanced pop/rock keyboard (for children and adults) at the NEW Rhythm Fire School of Music and Performance (www.rhythmfireschool.com), located at 2805 Pacific Ave., Olympia.
Check out my photos of the Dream Trio at Olympia's Artswalk, October 2006. The Dream Trio plays mostly blues and jazz, but also lots of vintage rock, country and folk standards. Instrumentation ranges from guitar and bass to two guitars and bass or other instruments like flute, clarinet, mandolin.
I just finished my blues CD, "Something I Can't Finish" (title cut): mostly original songs, but includes my versions of Dan Hicks song Reelin Down, which I had the great fortune to perform in December 2005 at the Triple Door in Seattle with Dan and the band!
Recent gigs: Artisan's Cafe, Olympia; Iron Rabbit, Oly; Wolf Haven,Tenino, WA, Harbor Days in Oly w/The Dream Trio, Lorree Gardener, bass/backup vocal; Tom Russell, clarinet, moi on guitar/vocal
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My Interests

Nonviolence is the only solution to the problems of the world. Yo-yos (and people playing with them) should be prevalent everywhere in public spaces. I'm sure they'd have them at Wind Up Here in Olympia.

I'm currently working on a demo of the Dream Trio so we can get some gigs in the spring!

I'd like to meet:

Any new students who are itchy to learn about music (I'm fortunate to already know a lot of these!).

I'd also love to meet: Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Annie Lennox, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Noam Chomsky, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Eric Clapton.

"Shower the people you love with love; show them the way that you feel. Things are gonna be much better if you only will." -- James Taylor

What we think, we become. -- Buddha

Music:

Gershwins; Bebop and any jazz from any era. '60s girl group songs (Carol King). Bossa Nova, traditional Mexican music. Early Elvis Costello; Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, REAL country music; flat pickin'hot bluegrass; Allison Krauss. Patti Smith, Annie Lennox, Norman Blake, Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Pentangle. Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson. Joni Mitchell (the "Blue" album is a must for any student of early '70s acoustic music), Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie. Jennifer Warnes' cover album of Leonard Cohen songs, "Famous Blue Raincoat" is one of the gratest albums of all time. Joan Osborne is a fabulous and versatile singer. John Mayer is keepin the blues alive! Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis; Ella Fitzgerald is my favorite female singer of all time if I really have to pick one!

Movies:

Faves: This is Spinal Tap; Brazil; Defending Your Life; Young Frankenstein, any Mel Brooks; Woody Allen. Once, Simpsons movie.

Television:

I pay only $16 a month for the most basic cable, because I think most of the stuff is garbage. I love PBS, Frontline, Bill Moyers' Journal, NOW, Nova, War of the World (a new series during July /08); McLaughlin Group. Meet the Press on Sundays (I really loved Tim Russert--a voice of sanity on the networks). Sometimes I listen to overseas radio (European radio) by way of KXOT in Seattle. Also NPR and local 88.5, KAOS.

July 30, 07: From Simon Schama's Power of Art (about Rembrandt)on PBS: "This is what drives the greatest art: Contempt for ingratiation."

Books:

The Four Agreements. Beat poets, Hemingway, Michael Moore, Al Franken, buddhist philosophy, Wm. B. Yeats' A Vision, Ouspensky In Search of the Miraculous; You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay; Denise Levertov's poetry

Heroes:

My mother & father; my grandparents; my siblings. Lonnie Johnson; Charles Brown; Buddha; George Gershwin; Ariana Huffington, Eleanor Clift, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales of Democracy Now!; Patti Smith; Paco de Lucia; Anne Buck. All positive forces in the universe.

My Blog

HOLT@HINT

HOLT@HINT: Saturday, April 5, 2008, 7:30 to 9 pm. Moi on guitar & vocal, plus surprise guests. Raw acoustic blues, jazz, REAL country, originals. Groovy atmosphere, Batdorf &...
Posted by Betsy Holt on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:11:00 PST

Music Theory Demystified

MUSIC THEORY DEMYSTIFIED..: I specialize in music theory on guitar and piano. If you’re a songwriter who wants to expand your toolbox of chord progressions; if you play by ear and know the...
Posted by Betsy Holt on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:57:00 PST

Olympia Flood Relief, Sat. 2/16, 9:30 pm Eagles Ballrm

I'll be performing this Saturday night, 2/16, at the Olympia Flood Relief concert (also happening on Sunday night). I go on about 9:30 pm for only 1/2 an hour, so don't miss it! My fr...
Posted by Betsy Holt on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:42:00 PST

OPEN HOUSE on Dec. 8, 2007

Hello, all! Please come to an Open House, this Saturday, December 8, 2007, at my new music studio in downtown Oly, featuring the Dream Trio, me on guitar/vocal, Lorree Gardener, bass, and Lisa ...
Posted by Betsy Holt on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:18:00 PST