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| Becky playing at my art show. Photo by Zack Haison Dinh |
I've been friends with Becky Holt since the very beginning of her musical career, when she starting posting videos on youtube of herself playing songs on guitar, since she played at art openings at Hibbleton Gallery, or at Nerdy Thursdays at Mulberry St. And then she began playing venues around Fullerton like The Continental Room, and got a band, and invested time and money into making real recordings. At each stage of the journey, I've been privileged to watch the evolution of Becky Holt from a talented songwriter, to a full-on musician who plays gigs and now has a full-length album called "Cut and Paste".
Becky is a testament to the idea that, if you really want to follow your dreams, the journey is going to be a long one. There's no instant gratification. It's not like you do a show, or record some songs and say, "Yep. I've made it." If you want to be an artist, as Becky is, you have to do what you love, and keep doing it, and never give up, and eventually you will succeed, on your own terms, as Becky has.
Whether or not Becky Holt becomes a household name or a Top Billboard Artist, or remains a talented and well-loved local performer, I know she will never stop making music, because it's now part of who she is, what she does, and it's lovely to watch, and listen to.
The songs on "Cut and Paste" are characterized by a vulnerable honesty mixed with sweet folk-inspired melodies, the kind of melodies that stay with you, that you want to whistle along to. The music is at times playful, dark, hopeful, heartbroken, and ultimately confident. The songs, for all their sweetness, demonstrate a musician who has seen ups and downs, learned from them, and now sings from hard-fought experience, with confidence both in her abilities as a songwriter and the clarity of her voice.
Five golden stars, Becky Holt.
