20 Friday, January 24, 2014 Music Shawn Holley is planning his CD release party Saturday at the Marriott-Slaterville City Offices. Celebrate new CD release with local musician Shawn Holley By LINDA EAST BRADY Standard-Examiner staff ike most who love to play, musician Shawn Holley picked up The Beatles and a guitar about the same time, in his teens. And also like most who love to play, he went on to make his living other ways. But the Marriott-Slaterville native never really put down the guitar. Now, at 53, he has released his own album, called "Church Street." The release will be celebrated with a free album release concert at the Marriott-Slaterville City Offices on Saturday, Jan. 25. There will be light refreshments and CDs for sale as well. Holley said he was browsing around the Weber County Library in 1986 when he saw an old postcard, dating back to the 1930s or 1940s, with a picture of Ogden's 24th Street. Two churches, including the still-active St. Joseph's Church, were visible in the shot. "That was the image that inspired the title cut," he said. The album contains songs written by Holley over the course of 18 years. He first recorded a sketch of the record in 2007. Todd Spencer, a young man from Holley's LDS ward, has a home recording system, and helped Holley demo some tracks. Later, Holley took that rough recording and hooked up with Clearfield-based producer and musician Mark Stephenson, who owns and operates MAS Studios. They essentially started over, with help from Salt Lake City- based guitarist Michael Dowdle. Dowdle provided guitar, bass and percussion to the project. "What a great musician as well as engineer PREVIEW • WHO: Shawn Holley CD release party • WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 • WHERE: Marriott-Slaterville City Offices, 1570 W. 400 North, Ogden • TICKETS: Free. For more information, call 801-627-1919 Mark is," said Holley. "And then Michael gave the guitar licks a world-class sound." So why release now, seven years after the first recordings? No time like the present, said Holley. "You have to do things or they don't get done," he said. "This was a dream I had and I decided the years were going by, and I wanted to do this while I could still sing. And I had surgery on my arm, and I got to thinking about how long I might be able to play." The album contains various styles, said Holley. Though three songs mention Christmas, he does not consider it a holiday record, though it does have a bit of a wintertime air about it. But there are also touches of Latin-style rock courtesy of Dowdle's contributions, as well as folk songs and contemporary Christian music. Is there a song he is somehow closest to? His bonus track "My Little Girl" might be it. "I was torn apart when my youngest left for college," he said. "That one started out as a song about the different moods of rain. But it ended up about a parent who is seeing his little girl grow up." Contact reporter Linda East Brady at 801- 625-4279 or lbrady@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter @LindaEastBrady.