Chris Stamey | |
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Born | December 6, 1954 70) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States | (age
Genres | Rock, power pop, jangle pop |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1977–present |
Labels | [1] |
Website | chrisstamey |
Christopher Charles Stamey (born December 6, 1954) [2] is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. After a brief time playing with Alex Chilton, as well as Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, Stamey formed The dB's with Peter Holsapple.
Stamey was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. [3] He grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, [4] and graduated from R. J. Reynolds High School. [5] He attended the University of North Carolina before transferring to New York University, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy.
After moving from Chapel Hill to New York City, Stamey played with the Erasers, then as Alex Chilton's bass player. [6]
In 1977, Stamey founded the independent New York City record label Car Records, which released the 1978 Chris Bell single with the tracks "I Am the Cosmos" and "You and Your Sister". [7]
Stamey recorded and released two critically acclaimed albums with The dB's, Stands for Decibels (1981) and Repercussion (1982), which were initially released only in the UK, [2] before leaving the band to pursue a solo career. [8]
In 1991, Stamey and Holsapple reunited to record the album, Mavericks , which led to live concerts in London, England. [3]
In 1996, Stamey moved back to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and opened the recording studio, Modern Recording, with former dB's producer Scott Litt. [2] He has worked as a producer and sound engineer for various artists and recording projects including those by the alternative country group Whiskeytown.
In 2004, Stamey released the album Travels in the South, quickly followed by V.O.T.E. 2004, enlarged as 2005's A Question of Temperature featuring the group Yo La Tengo as the album's backing musicians.
In July 2009, Stamey and Holsapple released their second album as a duo entitled Here and Now, which was promoted by a follow-up concert tour. [9]
In 2012, Stamey reunited with the dB's to complete Falling Off the Sky , their first new studio album in 25 years and their first in 30 years with the original 1978 line-up.
On February 5, 2013, Stamey released the solo album Lovesick Blues on Yep Roc Records, followed by Euphoria in 2015.
Stamey was the driving force behind a group of musician-friends performing Big Star's Third album live in the US, the UK, Spain, and Australia, on a series of occasions between 2010 and 2016, resulting in a live double CD/DVD recorded at Glendale's Alex Theatre in 2016 and released in 2017. On the record, he performs vocals and guitar on I Am the Cosmos, the Chris Bell single he had released on his Car Records label some 40-odd years earlier.
On June 12, 2021 (Record Store Day), Stamey and Holsapple released Our Back Pages on Omnivore, an album of acoustic arrangements of songs by The dB’s.
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". In its first era, the band's musical style drew influence from 1960s acts such as the Beatles and the Byrds, pioneering a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" according to Rolling Stone. Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in Rolling Stone's lists of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album Stands for Decibels is acclaimed as one of the great "lost" power pop albums of the 1980s.
Christopher Branford Bell was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.
Mitchell Blake Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontman of the 1980s band Let's Active.
Peter Livingston Holsapple is an American musician who, along with Chris Stamey, formed the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The band, with Stamey back in the fold, reformed with new material in 2005–2006.
Don Alan Dixon is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is considered to be one of the key producers of what is called the jangle pop movement of the early 1980s, including working with R.E.M. and The Smithereens.
Caitlin Cary is an alternative country musician and visual artist from Seville, Ohio.
Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne, Nick Lowe, Paul Weller, Mandolin Orange, Steep Canyon Rangers, Jim Lauderdale, Dave Alvin, Tift Merritt, Chuck Prophet, Robyn Hitchcock, Alejandro Escovedo, Aoife O'Donovan, Chatham County Line, Los Straitjackets, Amy Helm, Gang of Four, The Apples in Stereo, and Ian McLagan.
Jonathan Patrick Wurster is an American drummer and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling.
Stands for Decibels is the debut studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released January 15, 1981 by Albion Records. The album was commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed.
Repercussion is the second studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released in 1981 by Albion Records. Like its predecessor, Stands for Decibels, the album was commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed.
Roman Candle is an indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, composed of Skip Matheny, Logan Matheny and Timshel Matheny. They have released three studio albums, several touring EP's, toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, and played in various other bands / live acts. Roman Candle was founded in 1997 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band, who all attended UNC-Chapel Hill, recorded and performed there for 10 years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2008.
Tres Chicas are an alternative country group from Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Mayflies USA are a Chapel Hill, North Carolina–based rock band signed to Yep Roc Records. The band is a classic example of power pop, as their songs featured catchy melodies, vocal harmonies, and prominent guitar riffs. Their style was influenced by older bands such as The Beatles, Big Star, and also more contemporary groups like Teenage Fanclub and Velvet Crush.
Thad Aaron Cockrell is an American singer-songwriter. He has released five solo albums, along with a collaborative album with Caitlin Cary and two albums with LEAGUES. Cockrell often writes emotional songs with the intent of inclusion.
Alex Chilton was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Recordings is a part of Omnivore Entertainment Group LLC, which also incorporates sister companies Omnivore Music Publishing and Omnivore Creative, which provides A&R and art direction/design consulting for recording artists, artist estates, and other record labels.
Mavericks is a collaborative album by the two original singer/songwriters of jangle pop band the dB's, Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey. It was originally released in 1991 on Rhino Records and was re-released on January 15, 2008 by Collectors' Choice Music. The reissue featured six previously unreleased tracks. The album is noted for having a more acoustic and slower sound than Holsapple and Stamey's work with the dB's.
"My Friend the Sun" is a song by the British rock band Family. It was written by Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney for the band's 1972 album Bandstand. The single did not make the UK Singles Chart.
Michael Abbott Holland, is an American songwriter, musician, and producer whose music career began with the alternative rock band Jennanykind in the 1990s and early 2000s. His music and other recordings, with Jennyanykind, The Holland Bros. and solo, have appeared in films such as Desert Saints, The World Made Straight, and the Jody Hill film The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, and series such as Apple TV+'s Dickinson, F/X's Baskets, and HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. Holland also appeared with his twin brother Mark in The Righteous Gemstones Season 1 Episode 3 as musicians at a church performing their production of the old hymnal The Old Country Church. Holland's songs have been recorded and performed by artists such as Dean Wareham, Dean & Britta, and Leftover Salmon.