Exciting news for eclectic indie power pop fans! The dB’s have announced their first tour in 12 years, featuring all original members: Peter Holsapple (vocals, guitar), Chris Stamey (vocals, guitar), Gene Holder (bass), and Will Rigby (drums).
The band members, who grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, were pivotal in shaping the North Carolina indie-rock scene before relocating to New York in the late 1970s. There, they frequently performed at iconic venues like CBGB and Maxwell’s.
Propeller Sound Recordings has released their debut album, “Stands for deciBels,” on all digital platforms as of June 7. The CD and vinyl reissue (the first US vinyl release) will be available on June 14. The CD edition will feature a bonus track, “Judy,” which was not included in the original release.
Check out the high-energy video for the lead track, “Black and White,” which premiered last week.
Originally produced by the band with the late Alan Betrock, founder of the influential post-punk publication New York Rocker, and mixed by Don Dixon, Scott Litt, and Martin Rushent, “Stands for deciBels” was first released in 1981 on UK-based Albion Records.
“’Stands for deciBels’ was the first place many people heard The dB’s – thanks to intrepid college deejays who brought their personal copies into the stations. Hopefully, those old disc jockeys can now replace their original copies with pristine new ones,” says Peter Holsapple.
R.E.M.’s Mike Mills recalls his first listen to “Stands for deciBels” as a defining moment: “This album let me know we weren’t alone, that there were others out there with the same curiosity and willingness to dive into melody, structure, and pop sensibility with no fear, no reserve, only joy and well-deserved excitement. I still love listening to ‘Stands for deciBels,’ and I always will,” he says.
Chris Stamey reflects on the recording process: “This was primarily a band-produced and -arranged record, recorded old-school analog at the dawn of what became ‘indie,’ at Blue Rock Studios, with producer Alan Betrock intermittently steadying the ship. After filling all 16 tracks with a cornucopia of ideas, we were fortunate to have aces like Scott Litt, Don Dixon, and Martin Rushent help mix.”
Stay tuned for additional tour dates to be announced in late summer, along with a fall multi-format reissue of their second album, “Repercussion.” The dB’s last national tour was in 2012, following their studio album “Falling Off the Sky.”
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
