New Interview: Chris Holt on The Slack (and more)

by Erin Rice

One of the busiest men in Dallas music, Chris Holt, took some time out for Pegasus News to answer questions about his latest DOMA win (third year in a row), his band The Slack, their album being released on Friday, August 24 at the Granada Theatre, and other crazy, random, and not-quite-as-random stuff.

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PegNews: How does it feel to win DOMA Musician of the Year three years in a row?

Chris Holt: It feels weird. I mean, it feels great, but at the same time I feel a bit guilty. There are so many musicians in this town who are better than me and who do as much as I do. It’s just weird that I get recognized when so many others don’t. But I’m not complaining. I feel incredibly grateful that anybody thought I was good enough to give me this award. And three times in a row? It’s like some bizarre dream! I can’t thank everyone enough.

PN: The Slack formed in 2004, but then were stalled because of a "demanding schedule." What transpired so that The Slack could get going again?

CH: The Slack started as a concept long before we actually played a note. Lindsay Graham and I met through Sarah Hepola, whom I knew and he was dating at the time. I think that was in the spring of 2004, when Olospo first went on hiatus and I started recording Summer Reverb (my 2005 solo album). I’d been playing in Olospo for the past five years and we had a good run, but we decided to take a long break at the end of ’03. After that, I met a lot of musicians and started playing with a ton of different bands…I think it was about nine or ten altogether.

Lindsay and I met, and discovered that we liked a lot of the same stuff, and sometimes we’d see each other at the Barley House and we’d talk about playing together. I remember I had a song called “Slack” and somehow we came across the name and agreed that it was a great, simple name for a band. I can’t remember much about how it all came together after that, I just remember that there was a lot of drunken talk about starting the band before it actually happened!

After I finished Reverb in early ’05, that was when we started trying to get together. Lindsay brought Chris Carmichael and I brought Eric Neal (who I had just started playing with in The Jones Thing), and we started rehearsing. Lindsay wrote some songs and I wrote some songs and we had some potential. But I was playing in way too many bands at the time…I had my own solo band The Egos, as well as Olospo, plus I was doing stuff like Jones Thing, The Lonelies, Petty Theft, and my Holt Jukebox thing. I just got too busy and we could never get any momentum going. It was just a bad idea to try and start a new band right then if I wasn’t going to commit to it. We had about six songs, but we never played a show…kinda stupid, really. The band that never was. And it was all my fault.

Over the next couple years, as Olospo evolved (and eventually ended), with the help of the Summer Reverb material and a shifting musical direction on my part, I found myself with a great band – Eric Neal, Steve Luthye, and Tom Bridwell – who were the latter day Olospo lineup. We all knew that Olospo was something we wanted to put to bed…or at least I knew I did, and I made the decision that Olospo was going to end and I wanted to start something new and fresh with the three guys I was already playing with. I had a new group of songs that I wanted to record, including some of the ones from the original Slack rehearsals, and one day it occurred to me that we could just resurrect The Slack. So we did that.

PN: Your bio states that the first songs for The Slack were co-written between yourself and Lindsay Graham. How do the songs, songwriting, and overall sound differ now that Lindsey is no longer with the band. And in general, what type of sound are you striving for?

CH: Well, there was only one song that Lindsay and I actually wrote together and that was “Wishful Sinking”, which is the title track of the new record. I remember that he had three songs and I had three songs and “Sinking” was the only one we wrote together. He had the opening guitar riff and melody idea, and I took it home and finished it that night with words, a chorus and a bridge. Basically I hijacked his idea and ran with it!

Since The Slack never even played a show back then, I didn’t really think too much about what the band’s “original sound” was when we started thinking about getting it back together. I had Eric, Tom, and Steve wanting to go forward with the new batch of songs I had, and we needed a name. Carmichael was busy doing Airline and Lindsay was busy doing his Junius Recording studio, so I just asked Lindsay if he’d be cool with me resurrecting the name for my new band. He was cool with it…it had been a long time since we’d thought about The Slack as an idea or band, and I needed a good name that I could move forward with as a solo project, really.

The Slack now exists as a vehicle for my songs, and I’m happy about that. Since we never played a show or made a record back then, I don’t really think the sound or the songwriting has changed. It’s just me writing songs, the same way I did in 2004. Lindsay’s stamp did actually make it into the new album, because he had some good arrangement ideas. Obviously the title track was something he helped to write. And “Leaving Chicago” definitely benefited from an overall sound that Lindsay helped me achieve on the original demo. Tom and I tried to recreate that as faithfully as possible on the studio recording, and I think we pulled it off well.

As far as the sound that I’m shooting for…I don't know. I’ve always been a big Beatles fan, and to me, the songs are the key. I love to rock out and crank my guitar to eleven, but I also really love quiet, gentle music. In Olospo we used to thrive on instrumental lunacy and off-the-wall arrangements. Now I’m writing pretty different songs. Summer Reverb was a big departure from the Olospo sound, and the new album is a continuation of that. I’ve always tried to be as melodic as possible with songs, but I think the difference now is that I’m simplifying them. They’re not quite as convoluted as they used to be. I just try to find a good stylistic balance in my music. I love to try to different styles, I just don’t know if it ever works!

The sound of Wishful Sinking is definitely rock and powerpop, with attempts at digging a little deeper in between. Some of the darker, different songs – like “Insatiable” or “The Big Picture” – those are the ones I’m most proud of on this record.

PN: Tell me about putting together the soon to be released album, Wishful Sinking, i.e. thoughts on the album, the process of putting it together, expectations/hopes for it, what it means to have an album out there featuring the full band in its latest form.

CH: I’m really excited about the album, but I’m also sick to death of it. I’ve had to hear it so many times in mixing…ugh. Regardless, I think it’s some of the best – if not the best – music I’ve produced.

Tom and I did Reverb together at Last Beat, with me playing almost all the instruments. So when Last Beat closed down and I moved to Lake Highlands, he bought a house there too and turned it into his own home studio, called Tomcast.

We spent nearly two years off and on messing with recording. The problem is that it took a long time to get everything figured out with the new name and the new band lineup. And when my son was born in 2006, I took some time off from music. But not too long. I wound up tracking a lot of the instruments myself for a lot of the songs in the winter, and I kept writing new songs toward the end of 2006. We finally got the name thing worked out early this year, and we added a new bassist, David Deshazo in March. When Dave came on board, we were able to really knock out the rest of the new album in just a couple months.

There are some tracks where it’s mostly me playing, but there are also others where it’s the full band. Eric and Steve both did string and horn arrangements for a couple tunes, which are amazing. Those parts sound fantastic, I think. This band is a really great group of musicians. I’ve also been excited about the way we’re playing together on stage. We’re currently preparing for the CD release party and we’re going to be playing a lot of tunes on the album that we’ve never done live – like “Chicago”, “Big Picture”, and “Whisper”. I think it’s going to be a major challenge to recreate them live and I’m looking forward to it.

I hope the album does well…I really want to be able to make a splash with this record and take this band to the next level. I believe in it, I just try not to get my hopes up that anything extraordinary is going to happen. There are a lot of great bands putting out way better records than me who still toil away in obscurity. It’s the sad reality of today’s music industry.

PN: What influences are we likely to hear in Wishful Sinking?

CH: Musically, I think it just sounds like me, but when I say that, I basically mean that it sounds like everything I like. And it has my production “stamp” on it, if there is such a thing. I know what I want my records to sound like, and Tom does a fantastic job of helping me achieve that. He’s a master in the studio at engineering and helping me get what I want. I’m actually an incredibly picky bastard in the studio, but luckily he’s patient with me. I don’t think the sound of my music is original or groundbreaking or anything like that. To me it just sounds like me and, hopefully, it sounds honest. These days it’s pretty damn hard to be original.

I’m never shy about wearing my influences on my sleeve, but I’m not necessarily going to say who they are for each song. I think it’s more fun to make ‘em guess where the influences are coming from. Some are probably obvious, but others might be surprising. I guess if you want to know all my favorite bands, you should just check my MySpace page…but that still doesn’t explain everything that’s on the record!

PN: Is the goal of The Slack to remain a Dallas (DFW) band or to become a national act?

CH: I think we’re going to do everything we can to go national and be successful. But if we never get out of Dallas, so be it. I’m not 21 anymore. I’ve got to do what’s best for me and my family and all that. Being 34 and touring all year long doesn’t sound all that appealing, unless we’re making great money. I’ve been playing music for as long as I can remember, and I make a living doing it…but it’s not big money. I just want to keep making records and keep playing as long as I can, and hopefully things will snowball. I’d love to be in a successful touring band with a really big fan base, and I think it’s still possible for guys my age. But selling records is a hard thing to do. I guess we will have to just check out the opportunities that come our way and hope that we can all keep make a living doing this…that’s the dream, right?

PN: What does it mean to you, as a Dallas musician, to have your band's (main project's?) album release at the Granada Theatre? On top of that, to be co-releasing that night with Salim Nourallah?

CH: I love the Granada! It’s my favorite venue to play, and I honestly think I’ve probably played there more than any other musician. Seriously, from 2004-2007, I have played there so many times with so many different bands. They’ve joked that I should get a plaque on the wall!

Playing with Salim is great. Eric and I both play in his band [The Noise], too, so we’ll be busy that night. His new album is excellent. To get to share the CD release party with him is a huge treat for me and a chance to let his fans hear my own music. The fact that it’s at the Granada is just icing on the cake. Those guys are like my second family up there.

PN: Do you ever get exhausted at festivals when you play in two or three bands on the lineup? Seriously, how many projects are you a part of at the moment? How do you balance all of that, in addition to your home/family life?

CH: Man, that DOMA showcase at Gezellig was exhausting - four sets in four different bands, all in one night. I think that was a record for me. I was very tired at the end of it, but I still managed to get drunk late night with the guys!

Right now I’m only in five bands…it seems ridiculous, I know. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. For me, music is just a way of life. I’m currently doing The Slack, which is my biggest priority at the moment, and the only outlet I have for my own songwriting. Then there’s Sorta, Johnny Rollins, Salim – I do guitars and keys for them - and Glen Reynolds, for whom I play bass. It’s a lot better than a few years ago when I was in about ten bands!

Now it just requires very careful planning…and a good bit of time off in between. As long as I get a couple nights a week to relax at home with my family, that’s essential. And I get to spend days at home with my wife and son a lot, cause she works from home and I’m basically self-employed. There are times when things get really busy for me and I need to take a good break, but I usually get back to work after a few days off. I can’t sit still for long.

At some point, I’d like to cut it down to just a couple major musical projects – especially if there’s big money to be made! But all the ones I’m in right now, I really enjoy and I believe in them artistically, regardless of the payday. I’d hate to step away and miss out on a great opportunity later, you know?

PN: This question is more related to the Dallas music scene: There seems to be some incongruity in Dallas music between talent and fan attendance at shows. For example, one band that you are a part of, JLR and the All-Nighters, is possibly one of the most talented bands in the area, with an album that is locally and internationally acclaimed. However, in the two or three times I have seen JLR and band perform, turnout has been incredibly low. This seems to go for a lot of highly praised bands/artists in that area. Why do you think this is? Or is my perception of it incorrect?

CH: I think it’s sad that so many great bands have trouble getting people to come out and see them. I spent years being somewhat spoiled and not really realizing how hard it is to find an audience. Even though we never hit it really big, when Olospo played anywhere in Texas, from about 2000 to 2005, we always played to a packed crowd. I don’t know how or why, but we just had a lot of people who dug it. It’s been kinda sad watching a lot of my other bands struggle to find their audiences locally, but I don’t know what the answer is. Sometimes we do really well – all the bands – but other times, we play to tiny crowds. It’s frustrating.

I think there are a lot of brilliant musicians and bands in this town, and I think there are a great many music fans. I just wish more of them would come out and support the bands that deserve their attention. I think a lot of it has to do with this age we live in…the music industry is crumbling. Live music is a great, great thing and I think people to need to embrace it. I’m really puzzled as to why so many Dallas bands struggle with that.

PH: Less serious question: If the Austin music scene and the Dallas music scene (fans, bands, and all) got into a huge, knock down, drag out brawl, which scene would ultimately garner the Mortal Kombatesque "Finish Him" (i.e. who would win)?

CH: The Austin folks would be overly confident and assured of domination, and would therefore become lazy in their arrogance, allowing us to sneak up and surprise them with our underrated talent. I think we’d be the Cinderella story…the upset victory. As long as we didn’t commit mass scenicide by blogging each other in the back. :)

PN: Who's really the better fiddle player? Johnny or the Devil? A Dallas mayoral candidate (he lost) refused to answer this question, so I make sure to ask it whenever else I can!

CH: Well, it’s pretty obvious. Johnny makes it very clear that he’s the best there’s ever been. But the Devil’s pretty funky.

I’m sure it was a helluva duel.

Lead photo by Kate Mackley

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