The Holly Bell Home Page

What You'll Find at this Site...

Some things about me (including my concert schedule)
Tidbits regarding national neo-folk acts (a.k.a. my influences)
Links that I thought were cool and that I thought other people might appreciate (not necessarily music-related)
Songs that begin with "And..." - That's right. You heard me: I'm keeping a list of songs that start out with the word "And." (Sort of like collecting lint, huh?) Check to see if you know of some that I haven't listed, and please email them to me. I plan to continue updating my list!

A little (about) me:

Most of you who came here on purpose probably already know me, so you might want to move on to the other stuff. But, for you poor saps who ended up here of all the places on the WWW, I'll introduce myself.

I'm a performing songwriter/guitarist, born and raised in San Diego. I've been writing and performing my music all over town for more than ten years now, but have been appearing in San Diego coffee houses almost exclusively for the last five years, or so. The music I play is best described as neo-folk, which is a combination of a lot of things - including older folk styles - but is actually pretty different, in some ways, than its predecessors. (If you're confused, you can look at a more elaborate definition.)

My act usually consists of me and my guitar, though I occasionally have a surprise guest (more of a surprise to me than other people, really) who helps things along. The music is pretty upbeat - sometimes downright energetic, if you ask me - but people keep telling me how ``soothing" it is. I guess I'm not exactly Led Zeppelin, but I'd like to think I'm not sleepy. I alternate a lot between strumming and finger-style, and the set is pretty evenly divided between originals (mine, that is) and covers of other artists I like (see my list of influences).

If you have questions about my set list, I have provided the complete list of songs I may or may not play during a concert, as well as lyrics for some of my original tunes. Those that I have - ahem - ``borrowed" have been fully documented in terms of who wrote `em and who sings `em.

To find out where and when I'm playing next, be sure to check out the schedule. I update it once a month and, if you're in San Diego County, chances are good that I'll be in or near your area sometime. Don't forget to say `hi.'

Read what other people have said about me in magazine articles and reviews.

I didn't want to bore everybody with the tedious details, but all you guitarheads might be interested in checking out the gearbox.

Recordings

For the amount of time I've been writing, my albums are actually pretty few and far between. I do have two recordings which have been available through local stores and at concerts. I am also currently working on a third, full-length album, which I hope to have finished, well, by the time I'm dead. Actually, I'm hoping to get some work done on it this summer. For those of you who are interested in the progress - and process - of the recording, I'll try to keep you current with the Album Update File. Anyway, here it is, in all its glory, my phonography:

Hear Me (1987) A poppy four-song demo. Lots of keyboards and clean guitars.
Lessons in Reality (1990) Full album with nine original songs. Pretty eclectic collection and generally not as pop as the first.
Work-in-Progress Release date? Who knows? It's not done yet. Looks like it's going to be the most raw of my recordings yet, which is a good thing, I think.

If you would like to order Lessons in Reality, feel free to contact me at my email address. I don't really sell Hear Me anymore because it's unofficially out of print (hey, that makes it kind of a collectors item!), but if you absolutely have to have a copy, I may be able to help. Want a copy of the work-in-progress? Well, all I can tell you is - it's good to want.