The dB's website had some interesting, if not exciting, information for any hard-core dB's fans. After the legendary Rittenhouse Square EP (which involved Holsapple, Rigby, and Mitch Easter, while still in high school), there was a band which also included Holsapple and Rigby, as well as Stamey, called Little Diesel. They mostly gigged a lot, but at some point they did a homemade demo tape (mostly covers, i think there are 3 originals on it), which, after having been thought to be long-lost, was unearthed by Easter earlier this year. It has been spiffed up as much as possible at Stamey's studios, and is now for sale, i think only through Amazon at this point. There's a link at the dB's site to a promotional page for it, which includes the band's history, the few surviving photos, and a track list and song samples. But do not expect any resemblence to the dB's music, it's more of a historical artifact for hard-core fans.

Here we go. The Little Diesel album:



1. Barefootin'
2. Kissy Boys
3. Flamingo
4. American Ruse
5. Riot in Cell Block No. 9
6. Teenage Heartbreak Lament
7. Wishing Well
8. Anytime at All
9. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
10. I Got a Line on You
11. Substitute
12. Pictures of Matchstick Men
13. I Had Too Much to Dream
14. Irish Tankhead
15. Rebel Rebel
16. C'mon Everybody
17. Hollywood Swinging
18. Kissy Boys [1974 Mix]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J3EBLW/?tag=imwan-20

_____________________________


Amazon also still has the original out of print East Side Digital CD pressing of the Sneakers album Racket available through their third party dealers. It's pretty essential for dB's collectors, and power pop collectors in general. The Sneakers were the band which Stamey and Easter led immediately prior to forming the dB's.



1. Mark Peril Theme
2. S'il Vous Plait
3. Some Kinda Fool
4. Story of the Girl
5. Stuck on You
6. No Wonder
7. Quelle Folie
8. What I Dig
9. Perfect Stranger
10. I Will Understand
11. Be My Ambulance
12. Decline and Fall
13. Ruby
14. On the Brink
15. (Love's Like A) Cuban Crisis
16. Condition Red
17. Nonsequitur (Of Silence)
18. Driving
19. B&G Pies Commercial

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000008KVJ/?tag=imwan-20

Good news for power pop fans: Collector's Choice has put together a new Sneakers compilation, titled Nonsequitur of Silence. It includes all the tracks on the previous Racket comp mentioned by Linda, as well as two bonus tracks. Remastered (and partially remixed) by Mitch Easter and Chris Stamey. Nice booklet with new liner notes and photos.

I got an early promo; this is due in stores on 1/30.

I have the original "Sneakers" CD but will upgrade per the remarks in Jimbo's note.

DB's and Chris Stamey with Mitch Easter are true Powerpop idols in my book. They paved the way for many bands including REM.

Rick A.

Thanks Jimbo for the heads up; haven't been to their website for a while so this was news to me. Thrilled of the track they've titled it for; i had remarked to Will once (who co-authored it) what a great song i think it is; the middle section is like a tasty outtake from the Who Sell Out era. I also enjoy a cd with the original vinyl transfers of the Sneakers EP & LP, before any of the latter tinkering by Chris and Mitch. I enjoy both versions equally though. Looking forward to the new package and sound. Thanks again.

Jimbo FTW! Thanks ... I'll definitely get this for the two extra tracks over the previous collection, hopefully the sonic upgrade will be very noticeable too. I was happy enough with the remastering work they did for the Collectors' Choice reissue of the first two dB's albums, expecting more of the same for the Sneakers (although it says some tracks are remixed ... probably the remixes that were done in the '90s, of which only a few tracks were released).



This 21-track remastered (and occasionally remixed) reissue of Sneakers' seminal indie recordings sounds like a period piece from a particularly pivotal period in American rock. Rejecting the bombast and indulgences that had marked so much music of the 1970s, along with the bluesy bluster so often associated with its native South, the North Carolina band celebrated a mid-decade return to songs that were short, clever, and catchy. Led by Chris Stamey, who subsequently shared singer-songwriter roles with Mitch Easter, the band channeled the '60s influence of the Beatles and Byrds, but was even more inspired by Big Star, an early '70s Southern cult favorite steeped in Anglophilia. Stamey would soon enjoy a higher profile in the dB's and Easter in Let's Active, while both have continued to put their production stamp on plenty of music by other artists. From power pop to lo-fi indie rock, Sneakers showed the way. And if you're looking for the missing link between Big Star and R.E.M., it's right here.

1. Ruby
2. Condition Red
3. Driving
4. Nonsequitur (Of Silence)
5. Love's Like A Cuban Crisis
6. On The Brink
7. Story Of A Girl
8. What I Dig
9. Stuck On You
10. No Wonder
11. Some Kinda Fool
12. Decline And Fall
13. The Perfect Stranger
14. Be My Ambulance
15. I Will Underastand
16. S'il Vous Plait
17. Quelle Folie
18. Mark Peril Theme
19. B&G Pies Commercial
20. Decline And Fall (Fidelitorium Remix)
21. Love That Girl (Original Demo)

Lo-rez audio samples of all the tracks are available at Amazon's listing page:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IAZNC2/?tag=imwan-20

BTW, here's a treat for Rick ~ for both Ricks, I guess! (Rick W., I tried to send you this by e-mail but I wonder if it ever got there ...)

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y9vnIghFrUU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y9vnIghFrUU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Linda, yes, i did get that email, thanks. I had seen those videos before at their website, but it was fun to watch them again. A good performance that has been well preserved.

I can't recall the dates now, but i know that the original dB's did a reunion gig in NYC, either recently or soon to come, and the opening act for them was/is....Sneakers (with Samey, Rigby, Easter and others, perhaps another original member or two).

Okay, the Sneakers upgrade is out tomorrow ...

Now, this is a new release but we might as well keep all the dB's and related stuff together in one thread here on our Vaults board. Mitch Easter FINALLY has a solo album due out next month, called Dynamico.



No pre-order listings for it yet (betcha it gets delayed yet again), but one track is available for free download in its entirety, and it's a goodie:

http://www.queencityindie.com/mp3/Sudde ... 20Drop.mp3

This is his first album in about 18 years (!). For those unfamiliar, Mitch was the leader of Let's Active and has also produced many bands including R.E.M., The Velvet Crush, The Mockers and others.

Well, i got lucky on this one; a Newbury Comics had it in stock, so no waiting. The booklet is fairly extensive for a Collector's Choice issue, i was pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to hearing the remastering tonight.

And thanks, Linda, for the heads up on the new Easter cd. That should be a treat. Collector's Choice scored high again when they released the Let's Active catalog a couple of years ago. Gotta love those folks.

Now news comes out of Chapel Hill that The Mayflies USA have reunited to open for the dB's on their reunion tour. The Mayflies USA (there's no Mayflies UK, incidentally, the band just thought that using "USA" in their name would be cute ) put out a few discs at the turn of the millenium, two of which (Summertown and The Pity List) were produced by dB's member Chris Stamey, but they have a rougher pop sound than the dB's, more like Teenage Fanclub ...

Three Mayflies songs can be heard in their entirety at their MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/mayfliesusa

If you like what you hear, all four Mayflies USA releases are in plentiful stock at Amazon ~ if you use their third party dealers at the moment you could literally purchase their entire catalogue for $15 + postage, including their rare independently-released EP from 1997:

The Mayflies USA at Amazon

__________________________________


For completists, there's also a wonderful Mayflies track hiding on the 2-CD Pop 'Til You Drop power pop compilation from 1999 which doesn't appear on any of their own albums. This comp is dirt cheap even in New condition (only $5.98) and also included the first appearance of Mitch Easter's song "Sudden Crown Drop":



Disc: 1
1. Make Me Susan - The Mayflies USA
2. B Street Wander - Maki
3. Romance - Ho-Hum
4. Fire - Ashley Stove
5. When I Was Broken
6. Sudden Crown Drop - Mitch Easter
7. Rock, Scissors, Paper - Gumption
8. Girls With Glasses - Kenny Howes
9. Sinker 99" Remix - The Boy Wonder Jinx
10. Red Mopar - Gerty
11. Cursed Mirror - Superchunk
12. Coming in the Mouth of America - Cry Baby Cry
13. Steal Your Keys and Crash Your Car - Flesh Vehicle
14. Kamikaze Pilot
15. Sweet, Sweet Six-Nine

Disc: 2
1. Some Kinda Tragedy - Superdrag
2. Simon (The Bird With the Candybar Head) - Elf Power
3. Madison Ave.
4. Put That Damn Gun Down - Noah's Red Tattoo
5. Understanding Is over-Rated - Dynamic Truths
6. Stu - Who Hit John
7. Ultra Wrong - Put-Outs
8. Genius Boy - Jack Logan
9. Lie to You
10. Magic 8 Ball - Gladhands
11. Terza Rima
12. Driller Killer - Doleful Lions
13. Vanity Girl
14. Tooth Under Your Pillow - Nine Minute Snooze
15. Always on My Mind - Star Collector
16. Wrong About Winter - Rodeo Boy

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00001OH44/?tag=imwan-20

Hallelujah, the Mitch Easter solo album actually came out!



To some Mitch Easter might be best known as the guy who produced R.E.M.'s classic album, Murmur. To others he's best known as the front man for '80s new wave outfit Let's Active. The band's fruitful career included consistent touring and the release of four albums on IRS Records, one of which broke the Billboard Top 200. In addition to R.E.M. he's also produced albums for Helium, Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) and Velvet Crush, among others. The 90s saw Mitch's production work eclipsing his performing, but now he's back in action as a bandleader with new songs, new guitars and new energy. The resulting album, Dynamico, is a collection of fourteen glittering gems with signature Mitch Easter sounds and playing.

Audio samples and a complete tracklisting are available at Amazon ...

CD Album:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NJWTEI/?tag=imwan-20

MP3 Album:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TPXL0C/?tag=imwan-20

And he's playing a tiny club in Los Angeles tonight.
I'll report back about it.
I'll even give him his own thread.

Oh please do! You lucky guy!

Reviving this thread with some new dB's-related news.

First of all, GodsComic's review of the Mitch Easter gig appeared here:

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=258967

And now, word comes from the Collectors' Choice label that they'll be reissuing the 1991 album by Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey entitled Mavericks on January 15th, 2008, remastered and with 6 bonus tracks:



1. Angels
2. I Know You Will
3. Here Without You
4. Close Your Eyes
5. Anymore
6. I Want To Break Your Heart
7. She Was the One
8. Geometry
9. The Child In You
10. Lover's Rock
11. Taken
12. Haven't Got the Right (To Treat Me Wrong)

BONUS TRACKS:
13. Hollywood Waltz
14. I Knew You Would
15. Bonus Track 1
16. Bonus Track 2
17. Bonus Track 3
18. Bonus Track 4

So far the last 4 bonus tracks are unidentified, but audio samples of the entire album are available at Amazon's listing page:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VBJD74/?tag=imwan-20

Also worth mentioning here ~ this album got kinda lost in the Christmas threads last year, but it's a treasure trove for dB's collectors and power pop fans in general ...



Amazon.com
This is the gift that keeps on giving--the Yuletide album that Chris Stamey and the dB's originally released as a vinyl EP in 1986, later expanded into a CD, and have now updated as a 21-cut extravaganza of holiday cheer (and occasionally bittersweet reflection). It's like a family album of a musical clan that keeps extending itself, now encompassing the likes of Marshall Crenshaw (with a soulful "Lonely Christmas"), Don Dixon (with two cuts including a live, finger-snapping "I Saw Three Ships"), and Whiskeytown (a previously unreleased Ryan Adams/Caitlin Cary collaboration, "Houses on the Hill"). Most of the material is original, covering a territory that extends from punk, new wave, and power pop through alt-country, though Peter Holsapple delivers a surprisingly straightforward "O Holy Night" and Alex Chilton does Mel Tormé proud with "The Christmas Song."

Product Description
There a lot of modern rockers who consider this to be THE great Christmas album of the last 25 years or so, and if your taste runs to the Southern-based "jangle pop" practiced by such folks as Big Star, R.E.M. and the dB's, you're probably one of them. Originally released as a 7-song LP in 1986, and as a 17-song CD in 1993, this Chris Stamey-conceived holiday classic appears here on our Collectors' Choice Music label with six new tracks, including a song by Peter Holsapple, `Home for the Holidays', performed by the dB's; `Christmas Time Is Here'-Thad Cockrell & Roman Candle; `Lonely Christmas'-Marshall Crenshaw; two tunes by R.E.M. producer Don Dixon, `I Saw Three Ships' and' `Christmas Is Saturday', and an unreleased track by Ryan Adams & Whiskeytown, `Houses on the Hill'! And the album's older tracks are pretty darn cool, too: `Jesus Christ'-Big Star; `The Christmas Song'-Alex Chilton; `Christmas Time'; `Holiday Spirit'; `Feliz Navidad'-dB's; `The Only Law That Santa Claus Understood'; `Santa's Moonlit Sleighride'-Ted Lyons; `It's a Wonderful Life'-Chris Stamey; `You're What I Want for Christmas'-Chris Stamey & Cathy Harrington; `Snow Is Falling'-Chris Stamey & Mary Mac; `Sha La La'-Cathy Harrington; `Christmas Is the Only Time'-Wes Lachot; `O Holy Night'-Peter Holsapple; `Silent Nocturne'-Brent Lambert, and `Christmas Light'-Keegan DeWitt & the Sparrows. 21 tracks of Christmas harmony!

1. Christmas Time-The dB's
2. Home For The Holidays-The dB's
3. (It's Going To Be A) Lonely Christmas-Marshal Crenshaw
4. Jesus Christ-Big Star
5. Holiday Spirit-The dB's
6. Christmas Time Is Here-Thad Cockrell & Roman Candle
7. Houses On The Hill-Whiskeytown
8. The Only Law That Santa Claus Understood-Ted Lyons
9. I Saw Three Ships-Don Dixon
10. Christmas Is The Only Time-Wes Lachot
11. Christmas Light-Keegan DeWitt & The Sparrows
12. Santa's Moonlight Sleighride-Ted Lyons
13. Sha La La-Cathy Harrington
14. The Christmas Song-Alex Chilton
15. Christmas Is Saturday-Don Dixon
16. Felex Navidad-The dB's
17. Holy Night-Peter Holsapple
18. You're What I Want For Christmas-Chris Stamey & Cathy Harrington
19. Silent Nocturne-Brent Lanbert
20. It's A Wonderful Life-Chris Stamey
21. Snow Is Falling-Chris Stamey & Mary Mac

Audio samples of all the tracks are available at Amazon ...

CD Album:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IAZNDG/?tag=imwan-20

MP3 Album:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QR1P74/?tag=imwan-20

One more bit of dB's release news. Their 2005 charity recording of "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" has now gone into general release and can be purchased at a higher bitrate through Amazon than through the dB's own website:



The dB's are offering their newly recorded, previously unreleased version of the Motown classic "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" to help raise money for the displaced musicians of New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina is a disaster of such epic proportions that it would be pretentious to write about in the context of the website for a rock band. Suffice it to say that New Orleans IS the home of American music. Period. Not "was," either.

Not one but two members of The dB's have been made homeless by Katrina. Peter Holsapple and his family are fine, but their home is almost certainly beyond salvaging. Jeff Beninato is also fine but had to evacuate; his second-floor apartment may or may not have escaped damage, he doesn't know yet (and may not for a long time).

They don't need immediate financial help, but many New Orleans musicians do. Jeff Beninato met with some great people at Chase Bank in Chicago and, in conjunction with New Orleans Director of Music Development Scott Aiges, has set up the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund. Donations to the fund will go directly toward getting struggling musical artists back on their feet. It will provide money for food and shelter to those without, and hopefully replace musical equipment that was lost.

"What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"
performed by The dB's

Peter Holsapple: lead vocal, piano, organ
Gene Holder: electric bass
Will Rigby: drums
Chris Stamey: guitars and harmonies

strings and additional Leslie organ, Brandon Bush

Initially recorded by George Cowan at Water Music, Hoboken, NJ
Produced and mixed by Chris Stamey at Modern Recording, Chapel Hill, NC
Mastered by Brent Lambert, Kitchen Mastering
Executive production by Jefferson Holt
An Orange Sound Production (c) (p) 2005

1. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted (for Hurrican Katrina relief (radio)) 4:00
2. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted (for Hurricane Katrina relief (CD version)) 3:58

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QR1APQ/?tag=imwan-20

(BTW, I think they meant "full version" rather than "CD version" for the second track. AFAIK this recording has never been available on physical disc.)

From the Christmas release, the track by Wes Lachot, Christmas Is the Only Time, has to be one of the most beautiful and picture-perfect pop songs ever. I think he used to do engineering or something for Stamey, and have looked high and low for any subsequent recordings by him for years now, to no avail. Maybe he just figured he's quit while he was ahead; cause this tune is per-fecto. Any power pop fanatics who haven't heard this track yet, you're missing out big time.

Wes Lachot is a producer/engineer and owns a recording studio in Durham, NC. You can find him in the credits of quite a few power pop albums (The Velvet Crush's, for example) but I don't believe he's actually ever released any material himself except for that one Christmas song. He's like the North Carolina equivalent of Tennessee's Brad Jones.

This album is terrific. Everytime I see it used, I buy it for a friend.
Now with it being remasterd and bonus tracks here I go again.

Hopefully we will hear news of their reunion album very soon! I am been waiting very patiently.

Rick A.

This was a great re-issue last year, but be sure to hang onto your previous CD issue from 1993. Do the math -- was 17-song CD, now 21 tracks, with SIX new tracks! They dropped several songs for this new issue, including the Syd Straw one.

Incidentally, if you look at the back cover of the previous CD, only 16 tracks are listed, because O Holy Night was a hidden track appended on to the end of Feliz Navidad.

Happy birthday to me, this is coming out on my birthday in a few weeks! I can't wait, the original was terrific, and I was fortunate enough to catch Peter and Chris performing much of this material live on Deidre O'Donohue's S*N*A*P, on KCRW well before the CD was released.