In the press run-up to the band’s induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in June 2024, R.E.M. made regular mention of the impact that the eclectic indie power pop group the dB’s had on their music. The public nods that R.E.M. members like Mike Mills have directed toward this North Carolina foursome could not have been better-timed. The dB’s have just announced their first set of tour dates in 12 years, and featuring all original members – Peter Holsapple (vocals, guitar), Chris Stamey (vocals, guitar), Gene Holder (bass) and Will Rigby (drums).
Through Propeller Sound Recordings, they have also reissued their 1981 debut album, Stands for deciBels on all digital platforms, on CD, and for the first time in the US, on vinyl as well. A new video for the lead track, “Black and White,” showcases the tremendous energy that their debut introduced and underscores why the band’s music continues to influence and shape the sounds of so many contemporary rock acts.
The dB's, Stands for DeciBels, album cover.
The foursome grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and helped define what would become the rich North Carolina indie-rock scene, but emigrated to New York in the late 1970s and formed the band, frequently appearing at CBGB, Max’s Kansas City and other influential venues.
Stands for deciBels was produced by the band in association with the late Alan Betrock, founder of the seminal post-punk publication New York Rocker, with Don Dixon, Scott Litt and Martin Rushent mixing. It was originally issued in 1981 on UK-based Albion Records, and was impossible to find stateside, either at retail or on radio. That only makes its legend larger and this reissue that much more important. (I wonder how rare the editor’s import 45 of “Big Brown Eyes” is, then?)
Peter Holsapple. Courtesy of Daniel Coston.
In late summer, the band will announce additional tour dates as well as a fall release date for the multi-format reissue of its second album, Repercussion. The dB’s’ last national shows were in 2012 on the heels of Falling Off the Sky, their studio album of that year.
We caught up with founding member Peter Holsapple to talk about the state of music today, and what it was like to make music in Manhattan back when the studios were often as infamous as the bands they recorded. We also spoke about his partnership with Chris Stamey, and what the key is to their long-lasting partnership and what spice makes their musical sauce so special.
Ray Chelstowski: The New York rock scene that helped launch your careers seems to have disappeared.
Peter Holsapple: I think that it’s really hard to imagine starting a band in 2024. We were able to move to New York City in 1978 when we were in our early 20s. Then you were able to live relatively cheaply and you could cheaply rehearse. We actually had had the advantage of cutting our teeth in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in bands for years before that, so we weren’t just appearing out of nowhere, buying our first guitar and playing our first chord. We had already recorded and were fairly far along by then. I think the last band and that could afford to live and rehearse in New York were the Strokes, and they were independently wealthy. I can’t imagine doing it today.
RC: Are you encouraged by the interest that younger audiences are having with the music you and your peers made so long ago?
It’s interesting to see [that for] bands for the 1980s that we were friends with and played shows alongside, that there is renewed interest in their music. I’m assuming it’s coming from younger people, not people our age reliving their early 20s. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing but the idea that young people could become interested in music that we recorded 40 years ago is a fascinating development so I’m glad to be part of this.
RC: The dB’s have had an influence on established bands like R.E.M. and even newer acts like Vampire Weekend. What do you think your impact has been?
PH: It’s difficult for me as a member of this band to gauge whatever kind of reach we may have had. You have to remember that those first two dB’s records were not released in the United States. They were only released in Europe, and the only way they made it over here was through import copies. And the only way they made it over here on any sort of radio was through college students and independent stations that played their own personal copies of the records. So, the feeling that I have as far as reach goes is hard to know. When you have a group like R.E.M. who have similar elements of a more refined and defined sound, they were on late night television and had songs that were not only played on the radio but were also hits. They also had records that sold lots of copies, none of which happened for the dB’s. So we didn’t have the kind of “tail” that could influence a lot of bands. I like to think of us as a happy footnote, rather than any sort of pronounced influence.
The dB's rocking out in 2016. Courtesy of John Gessner.
RC: The music business has changed quite a bit since you started out. How do bands make music work as a career if they are starting out today?
PH: The business model has changed so hugely since I first started making records in the 1970s. I think it’s almost unrecognizable at this point. If you’re in a group now where members are at the age the dB’s were when they started and you have a day job that makes it easier to work for no money on a Monday night, and you have someone doing a bang-up job on your social media, then there’s no reason why you couldn’t succeed. It’s harder for older bands in some ways. For me, I’ve stopped looking at music as an income stream. Every so often I’ll get a check from BMI or something. Every so often someone will feature a song of mine in a movie. That’s great. But with streaming, labels have cut the bands and musicians out [and] we are left to take what crumbs are left over on the table and be satisfied with that.
RC: This first record was made at legendary New York City studios. What was it like recording at Blue Rock Studio and Power Station?
PH: Blue Rock was a really nice studio in Soho with a great engineer. They had just finished recording the first Tom Verlaine [lead guitarist of Television] solo record. It was a really neat place to work and we had a producer named Alan Betrock who was the founder of New York Rocker magazine. He was not a “technical” producer. He would come in and kind of do the vibe thing. Chris (Stamey) was more the person who would play with the arrangements. So we were able to make this record over a number of sessions and I later learned that that was where (Bob) Dylan had recorded “Watching The River Flow “as well as “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” Think there was a lot of jazz recorded there as well.
Power Station was cool too because we knew the history of it. Tony Bongiovi (producer) was there, a great engineer. It was the best-of-the best equipment. We went in and recorded two songs, “ask for Jill” and “PH Factor.” They had cool things there like tubular bells and chimes that we were able to use.
Original Albion Records single of “Big Brown Eyes” from the Stands for DeciBels album. Courtesy of Frank Doris.
RC: Were the reissues of Stands for deciBels and Repercussion remastered?
PH: Yes, they were remastered by a guy named Bob Weston, and the feeling is that he did a superb job with them. I haven’t listened to them. I’m not really a guy who goes back and listens to my own stuff very often. I’m proud that I did it but we had really careful listeners in Chris and Gene who are both respected engineers and producers themselves. In the words of B.B. King to Carly Simon when he did overdubs at Power Station for her: “If you likes it I likes it.”
RC: You have known and have worked with Chris Stamey for a long time. What is the secret to your partnership?
PH: When my father would drop me off to elementary school on his way to work I would see Chris getting out of his car with his cello case, and it always made me think he had to be an interesting guy. So I’ve known him a long time. We started working together at an early age and have a similar taste in music. I don’t know what he listens to now. We diverged over the years but I think we’ve become the perfect combination of oil and vinegar. We both have strengths and weaknesses and I think our strengths complement each other. I think it is the same thing with our vocals. Neither one of us is Caruso. When we sing together we have a sound that is unique and has become an earmark of the dB’s sound.
The dB's 2024 Tour Dates:
9/07 Hopscotch Festival Raleigh, NC
9/13 Atlantis Washington, DC
9/14 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, PA
9/15 White Eagle Hall Jersey City, NJ
10/11 Amsterdam Bar and Hall St. Paul, MN
10/12 Old Town School of Folk Music Chicago, IL
Header image courtesy of Peter Holsapple.
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