In yesterday's first installment of January Three Stars, you met Hello Tokyo. Today we're covering local guitarist/singer Mike Holden, and tomorrow we'll round things out with Ris Paul Ric (aka Chris Richards).

Mike Holden
We saw Mike Holden play this past Friday at Revolution Records, where he was promoting his EP, Level, alongside Sara Kryscio. His music is equal parts rock and folk. The guitar playing is mostly in the folk sphere, and his vocals are somewhere in between. And what side you may think he falls upon will depend on what you hear in his words: the lovelorn longing, or the introspective quietude of crooning; that love is a metaphor, a translation of what life is about. Of course, the folk-rock divide is an artifice of music criticism and we at DCist are, at times, music critics. Holden sounds great when he walks that line, like he did perfectly on "Drop the Other Shoe," juxtaposing a failed love with sad, but not defeated pursuit of life (with sad and patient mediation on the life thereafter).

Though he's been to Ireland only once, the land seems to hold a lot of experiences for him. He confessed he wrote "Help Me Sleep" at the kitchen table of a fellow musician's mother's house. "Help Me Sleep" is another song that justaxposes the mundane existence of life in the absence of love, and the concrete reality that a beloved's body brings to a bed. On “Last Man Standing,” Holden’s voice wailed about the triumph, hinting at the fatigue and disappointment that may lie underneath. Holden's love -- when compared to the drama of something like Rubber Soul -- is a peaceful fact of life. Love on Mike's lips sounds drab and warm instead of superflous or hot, yet still conveys a depth. He closed with "I Do," a song by the Irish musician he toured with, Paul Casey. It distracted with lyrical sleight of hand as the pattern and speed of the strum shift towards excitement. In the end, it left his voice behind, shook the guitar, and rode Mike’s hunched figure to the end.

This DCist would like to see Mike move in the direction of the cover he performed and "Last Man Standing", varying strum patterns and vocal tones in a way those two songs show he is capable of doing. His quick absorption of musical technique (only picking up guitar after college) and influences points towards that growth.

Visit Mike at: http://www.mikeholdenmusic.com/

Hear him next: January 28, 2006 on the XM Satellite Radio Stage at the Washington Auto Show

Questions for Mike Holden:

How/when did you get into music?

I didn't get my first guitar and start playing music until around the time I graduated college, but I've always been a music fan. Outside of family members who got me listening to good music, I probably have Pearl Jam and Springsteen to thank for my musical inspiration more than anyone else. Once I got my guitar and started playing music, I took a few lessons on and off and was always focused on writing my own stuff. I just worked at it every day. I'd come home from work and play during lunch and I'd play for hours every night. I started playing the open mics, mostly in Arlington at first, and then started playing some regular shows, recorded a demo, and worked my way into the scene that way. Then I started getting out of town to play whenever possible.

You are a big champion of the local music scene. What are its strengths and where is there room for improvement?

Whether it's jazz, blues, rock or anything else, you can find it pretty much any night of the week in the D.C. area at venues where music is a main focal point and not just something happening in the background. One of the big challenges is getting the word out to people that there's a lot of original music being made by DC-based artists who are putting out their own CDs, touring outside the area, getting national press, getting radio play, etc. Many people have no idea this is going on and the more music fans we get plugged into the scene, the more it will thrive.

What we could really use is a radio station for the D.C. Metro area like WRNR Annapolis, WTMD in Towson or WXPN in Philadelphia. Since we don't have stations like them in D.C., I'd listen to internet streams of out-of-town radio stations like WOXY or WXPN all day if I could take that stream with me.

As a fixture in DC music, advice on how people can get involved?

For a musician looking to break into the scene, I'd say get a quality demo of your best songs, put them on MySpace, get yourself a website and start hitting the open mics to work at landing some gigs or meeting other musicians you can play shows with. You can work on your stage presence there and promote what you're doing, while trying to work your way into some of the venues around town.

For music fans looking to get involved, I'd love to see more music blogs and Podcasts coming out of D.C. We live in an age where someone could start the next Pitchfork in their basement or record a Podcast in their bedroom that can be heard by thousands of people. It just has to be a quality product with some smart marketing behind it and the internet makes this easier to do. Or just go to music venues and check out new bands. And bring your friends!

How was being in Ireland?

Ireland was great. It's been almost three years since I made that trip over there to play with Paul Casey, but I'd love to do it again someday. I was mostly in Northern Ireland and really enjoyed it. I opened a show for Paul in Derry, his hometown, and the whole trip was a blast. We all caught a Springsteen show in Dublin which was a lot of fun too. And I dug the garlic potatoes I had everywhere I could find them. I've been drinking tea ever since too.

You worked with Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Wilco, Suzanne Vega) on you new EP Level. How was that process?

Mitch played on all the tracks on the new EP and mixed it as well. Working with him was a great experience. I'm really happy with the job that he and the producer, Ted Comerford, did on the record. It sounds just like I wanted it to. Mitch's studio is amazing and after a few days in that studio, I didn't want to leave. I would have liked to have stayed there and written and recorded about 10 more songs.

What local acts do you recommend?

Some of my favorites right now...Tim Bracken, Laura Burhenn, Brandon Butler, Gist, Andy Zipf, Meredith Bragg, Michael Jantz, Bicycle Thieves, Nethers, Justin Jones, Shane Hines, Rose, and I could probably come up with some others. They're all making original music that D.C. should be proud to call it's own. I also recommend that people immediately buy my new EP, Level, on iTunes or at Revolution Records in Van Ness, after they're done reading this.