12:26 PM CDT on Thursday, May 18, 2006

That Dallas musician Chris Holt works hard is a given. While some consider him the most talented artist in town, he's at least one of the most prolific.

"I know a lot of guys that work really hard, but I keep getting recognized for it, which is ... flattering actually."

Kate Mackley

Currently at his lowest level of output with "only" four projects in the works, Holt has been receiving a lot of well-deserved critical praise lately. Apart from writing, recording and performing solo material, Holt has a full-time band, Olospo, as well as regular gigs with one of Salim Nourallah's backing bands. There's also the Jones Thing and the Lonelies. With a day job and a family added to the mix, it's a wonder the guy has time to sleep.

On the front burner for Holt is a long-delayed Olospo album, Film At Eleven, as well as a new solo album. He's performing two times this weekend. Here's more from Holt:

Paul Salfen

Q: Are you, indeed, the hardest working man in Dallas show business?

A: (Laughs) I don't know. That's what they tell me, but I guess that's not really up to me to decide.

Q: Is one of your musical projects closest to your heart, or is that like choosing a favorite child?

A: It's kind of like that. Obviously the one I spend the most time with right now is Olospo. Anything where I get to lead the way and do the songwriting, that will be my chief focus. I'm really excited about being in Salim's band, though, with what he's doing right now. Just getting to work with him is always a treat.

Q: On your MySpace site, you write, "I'm 33 and aging by the second." Is it a hard lifestyle?

A: (Laughs) It is getting harder to be busy all of the time. I have a wife and we're having a baby in July, so it's harder to stay busy like this during the week, but it's what I do and it's what I've done my whole life. I can't imagine ever doing anything else. When I think about getting older, I think about how the music industry views it. The way I look at it, I think I still have another good 20 years of music left in me.

Q: Will the new Olospo CD ever see the light of day? What happened to it?

A: Yes, we're currently working on it. Tom Bridwell, our drummer, just bought a house in Lake Highlands and it's supposed to be fully functional June 1, so we're going to transfer the tapes and finish that record and another one, which was originally slated to be my next solo album. But we might just make it another Olospo album. ... The lack of budget and inability to find consistent studio time was the hold-up – we were recording at Last Beat Studios, which was sold. We're really excited about Tom's studio because we're able to work non-stop and don't have to worry about the budget. ... As long as we can keep making records, I don't care what else we do.

Chris Holt performs with Olospo at 10 p.m. tomorrow at Club Dada. He performs solo Saturday at the Wildflower Festival in Richardson, at the acoustic café stage. He will also play an acoustic show Wednesday at Club Dada. To hear some music, visit chrisholt music.com and olospo.com.