This band didn't get a ton of press at the time, but it did have some terrific "name" North Carolina (and nationally known) musicians who were already established and some who went on to bigger things later.
The News & Observer 11-5-93
Vault cleaning
Chris Stamey gets a studio tan handling reissues.
By David Menconi; Staff writer
There will probably never be a box set documenting North Carolina guitar pop. But if you were putting one together, Chris Stamey and the dB's (plus assorted spinoffs) would account for a huge chunk of it.
After forming in Winston-Salem in the late '70s, the dB's charted a course for melodic postpunks everywhere. Since their razor-sharp power pop was ahead of its time, they never received their propers. But dB's albums like 1981's landmark "Stands for Decibels" sound just as good today as they did then. So do the plethora of dB's-related reissues that have come out in the past year. These include: "Ride the Wild TomTom" (Rhino Records), the great lost dB's album that hit the stores last week. It consists of 26 late-'70s vintage tracks and demos, many of them quite wonderful (especially the jittery "We Should Be In Bed"). "It's a Wonderful Life" (ESD Records), Stamey's 1983 solo album. It was released last fall as a 16-track disc that also includes Stamey's 1984 mini-album, "Instant Excitement." "Racket" (ESD Records) by Sneakers, Stamey's pre-dB's band with Mitch Easter, also reissued last fall. Another reissue in the works is Stamey's 1985 Christmas album, "Christmastime," due out in October on ESD. Stamey expanded this version to a 17-track collection with contributions from familiar associates like Syd Straw, Alex Chilton and his old dB's band mate Peter Holsapple.
To get all these records into presentable shape for the digital age, Stamey had to put in a lot of unexpected studio time -- remixing almost everything and even cutting some new tracks. "All these projects seemed like they would only take about a week to finish when I agreed to do them," says Stamey, who moved to Chapel Hill last year. "But they've all taken a long time. If nothing else, it's been a real education in what you can do with recording techniques.
"Some of those dB's tracks were literally put together from scraps on the floor, and some hadn't been sung when they were first recorded. It was interesting to go back and do those again. To sing 'We Should Be In Bed,' I had to get real nervous. Will {Rigby, the dB's drummer} is ahead of the beat on that one and the vocal had to be ahead of him. There actually was a vocal version of that one, but with no kick drum and you could hear a chair banging really loudly. So we redid it."
These albums also include some historical oddities. "Ride the Wild TomTom" has "I Read New York Rocker," a never-used radio spot for the dB's favorite rock magazine (they rehearsed and recorded in the magazine's offices during their early years). "Racket" contains "B&G Pie Commercial," Easter's tribute to "a famous Winston-Salem delicacy." As the album's liner notes explain, "The chords under the words 'B and G' were meant to be B and G, but had to be transposed to A and F to accommodate the singer's 'range.' It's the thought that counts." "B&G pies are what some people might call vile -- these seriously deep-fried, not at all low-fat things, especially the chocolate pies," Stamey says. "But we liked 'em."
Now that the vaults have been more or less cleared out, Stamey can get back to more timely projects like his "Big Band," which features guitarist Jeff Hart, Swamis guitarist Brent Lambert, former Finger drummer John Howe and old partner Easter on bass. Stamey and band play tonight at the Brewery, a show that Stamey says will be "a relatively straightforward, uncomplicated evening." Since he's getting married next month, he probably won't be playing around these parts for several months -- especially since he has a new record he wants to finish.
The album includes tracks like "That's Why I Hate the Replacements," "Learning How to Scream" and the Byrds' "5D (Fifth Dimension)." For now, Stamey just wants to finish it and hasn't given any thought to which label he'll put it out on. "I'm very interested in trying to make a good record," he says. "That part of it I find appealing. Lawyers do the other bit. I've never liked the 'rock-star business' and am less interested in it than ever right now. "I like records, more than songs. It's sort of like some people like plays and some like movies -- I like movies. I like the otherworldliness of making records."
Showtime for the Stamey Big Band is tonight at 10:30 at the Brewery, 3009 Hillsborough St. Grover (featuring Easter's wife, Angie Carlson) opens the show. Tickets are $5. 834-7018. Stamey