Two-Band Concert Picnic Sunday Afternoon At Town Park—

Young Guitar Prodigy Holden Truelove Hopes To Help A Family Friend

By Shannon Hicks

Holden Truelove’s first guitar was a gift his grandparents ordered out of a Sears catalog and gave to the boy when he was 7 years old. Today the 12-year-old guitar prodigy plays a Gibson Les Paul ’59 Reissue Flame-Top Sunburst, another gift from his grandparents.

In these past five years, the Thomaston resident has done a lot with those two guitars. He has shared the stage with no less than the blues legends B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and The Marshall Tucker Band. The appearance with Buddy Guy was Holden’s first public appearance onstage.

According to Holden’s Web site, the youngster had managed to acquire backstage passes for Guy’s 1998 show at Charles Ives Center in Danbury. When the young musician met Mr Guy he apparently charmed him with his story of how he began playing at age seven on the guitar his grandparents had purchased for him. Next thing everyone knew, Mr Guy had young Holden right up there on the stage with him. He has since appeared with Mr Guy on four occasions.

In January of this year Holden kicked off Amazing Kids Week on television’s Live with Regis by performing an Eric Clapton song. In April he was the featured performer at Bethel High School in a concert that also presented sets by Chance Browne and Dan Bonis & Friends. (Proceeds from that show, by the way, went to a Bethel High School scholarship fund, not to any of the performers.)

In May he, along with Ted Wall and Paul Gabriel, performed a few songs for the morning audience of New Haven radio station WPLR; later that month Holden took Second Runner-Up honors — out of over 1,200 participants — in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Jam with Kenny Wayne Shepherd Contest. And in July, he was part of a two-act blues evening at Danbury CityCenter’s Summertime Festival of the Arts. The July 27 concert had Holden co-headlining along with Jim Weider (the former lead guitarist with The Band) & The Honky Tonk Gurus.

In the last few years, Holden has also fronted two bands, both called The Holden Truelove Band. The current line-up of the band will be offering Newtown blues lovers a live performance this weekend at Dickinson Park on Elm Drive. The concert is a benefit picnic for Georgia-Pacific employee John McCourt, who is battling liver cancer.

“I was approached by Rich Evan, who used to work with Mr McCourt,” Holden said during a phone interview from his home last week. Like most kids his age, he was getting ready for the end of summer and another school year. Like a growing number of students across the nation, however, Holden wasn’t heading back into a traditional institution this month; Holden is home-schooled.

“At first I was shocked, because I didn’t know Mr McCourt has cancer,” continued the musician. “But I think it’s great because he could do really well with something like this.”

Three years ago John McCourt risked his life by stopping his truck and rushing into a burning building in Seymour to rescue an elderly couple. For his heroism, Mr McCourt received the Owen R. Cheatham Medal of Valor. The New Fairfield resident was presented with a plaque and a check for $1,000 from company executives who made the trip to Newtown from Atlanta.

Now his former co-workers at Georgia-Pacific in Newtown are planning a benefit concert to raise money for Mr McCourt, who is gravely ill.

“His short-term wages have stopped and he is without a paycheck now,” Georgia-Pacific warehouse supervisor Richard Evon recently told The Bee.

Co-worker Manny Pavone, a materials handler in the warehouse, suggested that a band be organized to play a benefit concert on Sunday, September 9, at Dickinson Park. Mr Pavone, who plays lead guitar, was soon joined by joined by Kenny Kavanaugh on drums, Richie Evon on rhythm guitar, and Richie Truelove on bass. (Mr Truelove is Holden’s father.)

Sunday’s event will include a pig roast plus hot dogs, hamburgers, and other food. Tickets are available in advance for $10 per person by calling 203-888-7008 and leaving a message, or at the gate for $15. The picnic will begin at 2 and is expected to run until 6 pm.

Everyone involved in presenting the concert picnic is donating their time to the event, from the sound engineer and the bands to those who are providing the food and those who will be cooking and preparing all of the food for Sunday afternoon.

 Mr McCourt was making one of his regular runs to Seymour in the company truck in January 1999 when he spotted flames coming from a house on Bank Street. After parking the truck, he learned from bystanders that an elderly couple was still inside the burning building.

Without hesitating, Mr McCourt ran into the smoke-filled house and rescued the couple. The woman was still asleep in the back bedroom, so Mr McCourt had to wake her up and explain what was happening while getting her outside.

The Holden Truelove Band

The current Holden Truelove Band formed about six months ago with members who are similar in age. The original band was formed when Holden was 10, but with the other members in their 30s and 40s, there were different priorities to contend with. As a result, the group disbanded.

The new line-up consists of Jerrod Cattey, age 16, on drums and vocals; Kyle Berardinelli, 14, bass and vocals; and Bob Nuzzello, 16, guitar and vocals; in addition to Holden. The group started coming together about six months ago, but it was another three months before its rhythm guitarist joined the picture.

“We practice three or four times a week as a group, and I work on my own about two hours a day,” Holden said. He works on his guitar playing as well as his songwriting. The band has six originals in its repertoire and a number of blues, rock and R&B covers to fall back on.

“When I first started [playing guitar] a few years ago, I wanted to learn the blues,” Holden said. “And because that’s what I pretty much learned, now our songs are still blues-based but with more of a rock feel.”

The musician is ready to start spending even more time composing new material and performing as much as possible, all in preparation for the next step: A recording deal.

“I’m real close” to having a full album’s worth of material, the musician said, “but it’s hard sometimes. Sometimes you won’t write anything for weeks, and you’ve gotta be in the mood to write. You can’t just say ‘I’m gonna go play my guitar and write a good song.’ It just doesn’t work like that.

“It doesn’t matter what age you are,” he continued. “If you’re in the music business, it can sometimes be really hard. Songs come, and you aren’t always ready for them. You can write good material at weird times.”

The game plan for Sunday afternoon is to have an opening set by The Manny Pavone Band, and then a set by The Holden Truelove Band. The concert’s finalé will be a performance by all of the musicians together, offering their take on the rock standard “Johnny B. Goode.”

“That’s Mr McCourt’s name and we just want to see him happy,” Holden said. “We want this to be good for him.”