Will Rigby | |
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Born | March 17, 1956 |
Genres | Jangle pop, guitar pop |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1970s-present |
Labels | Bearsville Records, IRS Records, Egon Records, Diesel Only Records |
Will Rigby (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician known for being the drummer of jangle pop band the dB's, [1] a band he formed along with Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, and Gene Holder in the late 1970s. [2] He has also performed with many other artists and has released two solo albums.
Rigby was a member of the dB's from the band's inception. He performed on several of the dB's albums, including Stands for Decibels , Like This , and The Sound of Music . [3] When the band reunited in 2012, Rigby wrote and performed lead vocals on the song "Write Back," which appeared on Falling Off the Sky . This song was the first song Rigby contributed to a dB's album. [4]
In addition to his work with the dB's, Rigby has also performed with numerous other artists, including Steve Earle, Cheri Knight, and Freedy Johnston. [5] He also toured with Murray Attaway and Matthew Sweet after the dB's broke up, [5] and also performed with the Shams on their album Quilt . [6]
Rigby's solo debut, Sidekick Phenomenon, was released in 1985, [5] followed by Paradoxaholic in 2002. [7] Sidekick Phenomenon was recorded in the dB's rehearsal studio after hours, and contains covers of Merle Haggard and Hank Williams songs as well as originals. [2] Paradoxaholic was more planned out than its predecessor, [5] and was described by Andrew Marcus as "a beat-heavy, quirky guitar pop album." [8] Rigby also released several singles during the early 1990s, including "The Room's Still Spinnin'", released on Bob Mould's Singles Only Label, [9] and "Ricky Skaggs Tonight", released on Diesel Only Records in 1990. [5]
Rigby has been described as "a rare rock drummer with a sound of his own beyond mere beat-keeping." In 2002, Rigby reacted to this quote by saying, "If that’s true, I’m glad", arguing it applied more to his work with the dB's than to his solo work. [5]
Rigby was married to singer-songwriter Amy Rigby; the two later divorced. [2] Rigby has been married to Florence Dore, musician and author, since 2004. [10] [11] [12] He has two daughters: one with Amy Rigby and one with Dore. [13]