The dB's

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The dB's
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The dB's performing in New York on December 6, 2007
Background information
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OriginNew York City
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GenresPage Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
Years active1978–1988, 2005–present
LabelTemplate:Pluralize from textAlbion
Bearsville
I.R.S.
Rhino
Monkey Hill
Bar/None
Propeller Sound Recordings
MembersPeter Holsapple
Chris Stamey
Will Rigby
Gene Holder
Past membersRick Wagner
Jeff Beninato
Eric Peterson
Websitethedbs.com

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The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s.[5][1] Their debut album Stands for Decibels is acclaimed as one of the great "lost" power pop albums of the 1980s.[by whom?]

The band members are Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder. Although the members are all from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the group was formed in New York City in 1978. In 2012, the band completed its first new studio album in 25 years and its first in 30 years with the original lineup.[6]

History

During 1977, Stamey played bass with Alex Chilton in New York,[7] and recorded "(I Thought) You Wanted to Know" with Television guitarist Richard Lloyd. A single of the latter song, backed with "If and When" (on which Rigby and Holder played), was issued in 1978, credited to Chris Stamey and the dB's.[8]

Holsapple joined the group in October 1978,[9] after moving to New York City from North Carolina. Their single "Black and White" was issued by Shake Records in 1980.

British label Albion Records released their first album Stands for Decibels in January 1981 to critical acclaim but negligible sales.[10]

According to Trouser Press, the group drew from 1960s pop and psychedelia as well as 1970s pop groups like Big Star, but the songs by composers Stamey and Holsapple were too distinctive to merely copy their sources of inspiration.[11] While Holsapple was skilled in the composing of fairly conventional tunes such as "Big Brown Eyes" and "Bad Reputation," Stamey's songs, such as "Espionage" and "Tearjerkin'," tended to be somewhat more experimental and quirky.[8][11]

They released a second album on Albion in 1981,[12] Repercussion, and also released singles such as "Judy." These two albums were later reissued on one compact disc.[8]

Stamey left the group after the second album, and pursued a career as a solo artist and producer.[9] The group then recorded the album Like This, released in 1984.[9] The band signed an American record deal with Bearsville Records, but distribution problems caused the album to be delayed, and Bearsville folded the same year. Rick Wagner joined the band on bass, and Holder moved to lead guitar.[13]

The Sound of Music, their last album before their breakup, was released on I.R.S. Records in 1987 with New Orleans bass player Jeff Beninato,[9] founder of the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund.[14] The album reached the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 171.[15] Beninato participated in the subsequent tour. Holder left the band to join the Individuals, and Eric Peterson was recruited on lead guitar after replacing temporary guitarist/keyboardist Harold Kelt. "[The Sound of Music] has been out of print since 1988," said Peter Holsapple in 2022. "I.R.S. then rejected all the demos for a second album on the label, and I ended the band after a show in Florida."[16] In 2017, Holsapple said: "Somehow we've gone from great white hope to also-ran to godfathers of power pop, all without selling a whole lot of records. There were some cities where we felt like we were kind of a big deal. In Chicago we got a lot of radio play on WXRT and we could sell out the clubs there, but take us to Bloomington, Indiana, and nobody knew who we were."[17]

Several albums were released after the dB's broke up. Line Records compiled Stands for Decibels and Repercussion with the addition of two bonus tracks, first in 1992 as dB's First/ Repercussion, then in 1999 as Neverland.[18] Ride the Wild Tom-Tom, released in 1993 by Rhino Records, collected demos, early recordings, and singles. Paris Avenue, issued in 1994 by Monkey Hill Records, was a posthumous album by the final line-up, based on demo tapes from the band's waning days.

Other projects

Following the dB's breakup, Holsapple worked as a sideman, serving as a full-time auxiliary guitarist and keyboardist for R.E.M. for four years,[9] beginning with the Green world tour and continuing through the 1991 Out of Time album.[19][20] After finishing working with R.E.M., he toured with Hootie and the Blowfish[21] and then joined the Continental Drifters. He has toured and recorded with The Paranoid Style since 2024. He has released three solo albums, 1997's Out of My Way, followed by Game Day (2018) and The Face of 68 (2025).

Stamey has released six solo records and has worked as a record producer. In 1985, the Christmas Time holiday-themed mini-album was issued by Coyote Records, credited to "Chris Stamey Group with Special Guests the dB's". It was expanded to a 17-song CD in 1993, retitled Christmas Time Again and featuring contributions from Mitch Easter, Ryan Adams, Marshall Crenshaw, Don Dixon, and others, and then again as a 21-song CD in November 2006.[22]

Rigby played drums for Steve Earle and others, and Holder continued to record and produce.

In 1991, Stamey and Holsapple reunited (not under the dB's moniker) as a duo to record an album titled Mavericks.

Reunion

The classic lineup of the dB's reunited in 2005 and performed two shows in Chicago and two in Hoboken, New Jersey.[23][24]

Also in 2005, the band recorded a cover version of the 1966 song "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" to benefit the New Orleans Musicians' Relief Fund.[25]

Bowery Ballroom in NYC hosted the dB's in January 2007,[26] and in February 2007, the band performed at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina.[27]

In March 2012, Holsapple, Stamey, Rigby, and Mitch Easter (substituting for Holder) played at South by Southwest.[6]

Falling Off the Sky was released in June 2012 by Bar/None Records.[28]

Members

Sources:[29]

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Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:110 top:20 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1978 till:08/31/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1978 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1978

Colors = 

id:vocals   value:red       legend:Vocals
id:bvocals  value:pink legend:Backing_and_occasional_lead_vocals
id:guitar   value:green     legend:Guitars
id:bass     value:blue      legend:Bass_guitar
id:keys     value:purple    legend:Keyboards
id:drums    value:orange    legend:Drums
id:album    value:black     legend:Studio_album

LineData = 

color:album
layer:back
at:01/15/1981
at:12/26/1981
at:09/12/1984
at:09/09/1987
at:10/04/1994
at:06/12/2012

BarData = 

bar:Chris   text:Chris Stamey
bar:Peter   text:Peter Holsapple
bar:Eric    text:Eric Peterson
bar:Gene    text:Gene Holder
bar:Rick    text:Rick Wagner
bar:Jeff    text:Jeff Beninato
bar:Will    text:Will Rigby

PlotData = 

width:11
bar:Chris  from:start      till:04/01/1982 color:guitar
bar:Chris  from:start      till:04/01/1982 color:vocals width:3
bar:Chris  from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:guitar
bar:Chris  from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:vocals width:3
bar:Peter  from:10/01/1978 till:01/01/1979 color:keys
bar:Peter  from:10/01/1978 till:01/01/1979 color:bvocals width:3
bar:Peter  from:01/01/1979 till:10/01/1988 color:guitar
bar:Peter  from:01/01/1979 till:10/01/1988 color:vocals width:3
bar:Peter  from:01/01/1979 till:10/01/1988 color:keys   width:7
bar:Peter  from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:guitar
bar:Peter  from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:vocals width:3
bar:Peter  from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:keys   width:7
bar:Eric   from:01/01/1988 till:10/01/1988 color:guitar
bar:Gene   from:start      till:10/01/1984 color:bass
bar:Gene   from:01/01/1983 till:10/01/1984 color:guitar width:3
bar:Gene   from:10/01/1984 till:09/09/1987 color:guitar
bar:Gene   from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:bass
bar:Rick   from:10/01/1984 till:01/01/1985 color:bass
bar:Jeff   from:01/01/1985 till:10/01/1988 color:bass
bar:Jeff   from:01/01/1985 till:10/01/1988 color:bvocals width:3
bar:Will   from:start      till:10/01/1988 color:drums
bar:Will   from:start      till:10/01/1988 color:bvocals width:3
bar:Will   from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:drums
bar:Will   from:09/01/2005 till:end        color:bvocals width:3

</timeline>

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

  • Amplifier (1981, Albion Records)
  • Revolution of the Mind (2013, Orange Sound)

Singles

  • "(I Thought) You Wanted to Know" as Chris Stamey & the dB's (1978, Car Records)
  • "Black and White" (1980, Shake Records)
  • "Dynamite" (1981, Albion Records)
  • "Big Brown Eyes" (1981, Albion Records)
  • "Judy" (1981, Albion Records)
  • "Neverland" (1982, Albion Records)
  • "Living a Lie" (1982, Albion Records)
  • "Love Is for Lovers" (1984, Bearsville Records)
  • "I Lie" (1987, I.R.S. Records)
  • "Picture Sleeve" (2011, Orange Sound)
  • "Bad Reputation (New York Rocker Sessions)" (2021, Propeller Sound Recordings)
  • "Tell Me Two Times (New York Rocker Sessions)" (2021, Propeller Sound Recordings)

Compilation albums

  • Amplifier (1986, Dojo Records)
  • dB's First/ Repercussion (1992, Line Records)
  • Ride the Wild Tom-Tom (1993, Rhino Records)
  • Neverland (1999, Line Records)
  • I Thought You Wanted to Know: 1978-1981 (2021, Propeller Sound Recordings)

References

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Deming, Mark. "The dB's | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Runtagh, Jordan (April 8, 2014). "Catchy, Loud and Proud: 20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever". VH1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2020. For many, they are the definitive power pop band.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Staunton, Terry. "The Db's - Falling off the Sky". Record Collector. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smotroff, Mark (July 1, 2019). "Chris Stamey's Star-Studded 20th Century Songs Ring True for 21st Century Times on CD, Tidal". Audiophile Review. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cateforis, Theo (2011). Are We Not New Wave? : Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s. University of Michigan Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-472-03470-3.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The dB's". SxSW. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cornell, Rick (December 8, 2010). "Chris Stamey revisits Big Star's Third with a few dozen friends". Indy Week. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cost, Jud (June 1, 2009). "Q&A with Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey". Magnet. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 650. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dahlen, Chris (January 21, 2002). "The dB's: Stands for Decibels/Repercussion". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."TrouserPress.com :: dB's". Trouserpress.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Woodstra, Chris. "Repercussion - The dB's | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gordon, Keith (April 17, 2016). "CD Review: The dB's Like This (1984/2006)". That Devil Music. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New Orleans Musician's Relief Fund - a grass roots certified 501(c)(3) not for profit organization dedicated to aiding New Orleans musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina". Nomrf.org. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The dB's The Sound Of Music Chart History". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Breznikar, Klemen (November 1, 2022). "Peter Holsapple | The dB's | Interview". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bledsoe, Wayne. "Former dB's member Peter Holsapple still creating vibrations that last". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The dB's - dB's First/ Repercussion". Discogs.com. 1992. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."It's My Life: Peter Holsapple on the Life and Death of the Continental Drifters". Popmatters.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Peter Holsapple on the dB's, Mitch Easter and R.E.M.: Gimme Five". Somethingelsereviews.com. June 14, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holsapple, Peter (May 2015). "No FLOTUS for Hootie: Peter Holsapple on playing one of David Letterman's final shows with Hootie & the Blowfish". Indyweek.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.uncredited (October 27, 2006). "It's Christmas Time Again with The dB's and Friends". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kot, Greg (September 9, 2005). "Reunited dB's pick up where they left off". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Henn, George (October 24, 2005). "A Hoboken Homecoming". Medleyville. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Boudreau, Mark (September 28, 2005). "The Db's Offer MP3 Track To Benefit New Orleans Musicians Relief Fundings". The Rock and Roll Report. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Live Review: The dB's/ Mitch Easter / Sneakers - Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)". No Depression. February 28, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Parker, Chris (January 31, 2007). "Chapel Hill's the dB's play Carrboro". Indy Week. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The dB's to Release Reunion Album, 'Falling Off the Sky' (First in 25 Years) & Plan 2012 Tour, SXSW Stop". Radio.com. March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."the dB's". AllMusic.

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