The dB's
| The dBs | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States |
| Genres | Power pop,jangle pop |
| Years active | 1978–1988, 2005–present |
| Labels | Albion, Bearsville, I.R.S., Rhino, Monkey Hill, Bar/None |
| Website | www.thedbs.com |
| Members |
Peter Holsapple Chris Stamey Will Rigby Gene Holder |
The dB's are an American power pop and jangle pop group who first came into prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s. The band members are Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby and Gene Holder. While 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 1978 lineup.
Stamey played bass with Alex Chilton in New York during 1977, and with Television guitarist Richard Lloyd recorded "(I Thought) You Wanted to Know" that year. A single of this song, backed with "If and When" (on which Rigby and Holder played), appeared in 1978, credited to Chris Stamey and the dB's. Holsapple joined the group in October 1978 after moving to New York City from North Carolina.
They released their first album, Stands for Decibels, in 1981, to critical acclaim but negligible sales. According to Trouser Press, the group drew from '60s pop and psychedelia as well as '70s pop groups like Big Star, but the songs by composers Stamey and Holsapple were too distinctive to merely copy their sources of inspiration. Stamey and Holsapple were the band's songwriters, and while Holsapple was skilled in the composing of fairly conventional tunes such as "Big Brown Eyes" and "Bad Reputation," Stamey's songs, which include "Espionage" and "Tearjerkin'," tended to be somewhat more experimental and quirky. They released a second album in 1982, Repercussion, which built upon the strengths of the first album, and also released singles such as "Judy." These two albums, recorded on the British label Albion, have since been reissued on one compact disc.
Stamey left the group after the second album, and pursued a career as a solo artist and producer. The group then recorded a third album, Like This, released in 1984. The band had finally landed an American record deal with Bearsville Records, but distribution woes caused the album to be greatly delayed, and Bearsville folded the same year. Rick Wagner joined the band on bass, and Holder moved to lead guitar.
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