Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby are founding members of the highly influential indie rock band The dB’s. The group’s 1981 debut album Stands For deciBels was hailed by Pitchfork as one of the 100 best albums of the 1980s and will be reissued in multiple formats on June 7 via Propeller Sound Recordings. (This will mark the first time that the record has been available on vinyl in the United States.)
The group’s second effort, 1981’s Repercussion, will be available in multiple formats this fall and will see the group, rounded out by Chris Stamey and Gene Holder, will perform live for the first time since 2012 after the release of Falling From The Sky.
After the dB’s initially disbanded in 1988, Holsapple became a touring member of R.E.M., recorded and performed with the group Continental Drifters, and later toured a multi-instrumentalist with Hootie & the Blowfish. He has recorded as a solo artist and made albums with his dB’s bandmate Stamey.
Rigby has performed with a variety of artists including Freedy Johnston, Matthew Sweet, and Steve Earle. He has also recorded under his own name, releasing the single “Little White Box” earlier in 2024 and the acclaimed solo album Paradoxaholic in 2002.
In this conversation, Holsapple and Rigby recall their formative years in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, relocating to New York City, and the enduring appeal of the dB’s.
Host/producer/editor: Jedd Beaudoin
Digital producers: Karlee Cooper, Beth Golay, Hugo Phan
Production assistance: Fletcher Powell
Theme music: Torin Andersen
