#Chris Stamey

[joanofarc]

hang around in your head, doleful lions (1998).

you bring me up, and you break it down, but we could go for a swim i'll never know when you come around tonight at the holiday inn 'cause all i ever wanted to do was hang around in your head

[nedison]

Lucky find yesterday... and look at how damn adorable the custom sleeve from the Singles Only Label is, with its little doodles and care suggestions.

[bandcampsnoop]

3/20/23.

Hot on the heels of the fantastic Hollow Hand release, Curation Records is releasing the 3rd album from Those Pretty Wrongs (Los Angeles, California). The band is mostly comprised of Jody Stephens (Big Star) and Luther Russell (worked with Jakob Dylan, and released several solo albums).

I loved those first two Those Pretty Wrongs albums. On our initial post of them back in 2019 we mentioned Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet as reference points. Those certainly remain on "Holiday Camp" (due at the end of March). But it should be mentioned that Mitch Easter (Let's Active) and Chris Stamey (the dBs) play on this album.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Square Roots 2024: 7/13-7/14

Big Star Quintet's Jody Stephens

BY JORDAN MAINZER

One of this year's Square Roots headliners is calling it quits after their upcoming album and current tour, and another hasn't really been a proper incarnation of itself for a decade and a half. Nostalgia be damned, this past weekend, both X and Big Star Quintet beat the heat and sounded as good as ever. Okay, my in-person experience with X is limited to Riot Fest 2017, I never got to see Big Star, and otherwise, all I have are each band's multiple live albums to wonder what they might have been like in their heyday. Hindsight aside, X's cowpunk momentousness and Big Star Quintet's glorious sky-high rock and roll rendered them the unabashed standouts of a weekend that featured guitar music heavyweights new and old.

X's John Doe & Exene Cervenka

X has released only one song from their final record Smoke & Fiction (Fat Possum), and they did perform a few new chuggers during their Saturday night headlining set. But from the moment Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, D.J. Bonebrake, and touring drummer Craig Packham entered the stage to Link Wray's "Rumble", you knew their focus would be the past: "You're Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not", "In This House That I Call Home", and "Because I Do". Yes, Zoom whipped out his saxophone and Bonebrake his vibes; Cervenka and Doe's contrasting vocal timbres gave the whole set an rousing feel, as if the sonically diverse voices in the crowd were meant to shout along with them. They did, to the stuttering "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", and some of the more musically inclined, limber set goers perfectly air-drummed Packham's choppy thwacks on "Los Angeles". If X is truly leaving us, they're at least still having a blast.

Big Star Quintet's Chris Stamey

Big Star Quintet, meanwhile, may have only one member of the original power pop quartet in drummer and vocalist Jody Stephens, but they feel more Big Star than, say, the current Beach Boys feel like the Beach Boys. (I know, that's not a high bar to clear.) But at least two of the members have direct connections. Jon Auer (The Posies) was part of the reformed Big Star from 1993 until 2010, when the deaths of Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel effectively ended the band. Chris Stamey briefly played bass for Chilton in the late 70s before embarking on his own musical career with The dB's. And while R.E.M.'s Mike Mills (who participated in a Chilton tribute concert during SXSW 2010) couldn't join the Quintet in the Chicago area, not one, but two members of Wilco (bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone) rounded out the lineup and provided a wonderful local connection to boot.

Big Star Quintet's Pat Sansone

The Quintet was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Big Star's sophomore masterpiece Radio City, but on Sunday night, they didn't adhere to any self-imposed rules and play the album front-to-back. Instead, before even mentioning Radio City or playing any of its songs, they started their set by banging out 9 (!) straight from Big Star's debut, #1 Record, switching off lead vocals and instrumentation. Stirratt unleashed a feverish falsetto on "In The Street", immediately answering the question of who would sing "September Gurls" when the band inevitably played it last. Sansone and Auer gorgeously harmonized on the ripping rocker "Don't Lie To Me", while Stamey provided some welcome quietude on "Give Me Another Chance" and "Watch the Sunrise". The band itself was in sync, but not stuffy, deft enough to tackle the funk-to-stadium rock breakdowns of Radio City's "O, My Soul", loose enough to adhere to the snappy ramshackle spirit of the harmonica-imbued "Life Is White".

Big Star Quintet's Jon Auer

When Stephens sang, though, it felt a little bit like time stopped, and not because he brought the house down or anything. (His voice does remain strong!) He dedicated "The India Song" and "Way Out West" to Hummel, stating, simply and heartbreakingly, "He was a close one to me." And when the rest of the band stepped up to the microphone with acoustic guitars in hand, and it was clear they were to play the beloved "Thirteen", Stephens admitted, "I remember being 13, don't you? I was really uncomfortable with myself, but it makes for a great song!" Here was the last remaining connection to one of the greatest bands in American history, still vulnerable, reminding you that no matter how old you get or how long certain songs and records have been around, the emotions never die.

Sansone

Lydia Loveless

Oh, I'll throw in a bonus weekend standout: the great Lydia Loveless, less than a year removed from their sixth LP, Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again (Bloodshot). The record is classic Loveless, heartbroken, all while dealing with the trials and tribulations of life both regular ("Toothache") and time-specific (pandemic isolation). Their high and lonesome twang pervaded each song, save for Nothing's "Poor Boy", during which Loveless belted, showing off their vocal chops. "Sex and Money" proved to be the cheeky live anthem you knew it was going to be the first time you heard it. At the same time, Loveless continued to give their previous album Daughter its due. (Introducing "Wringer", Loveless quipped that it was "from Daughter, which came out in 2020, which means it was very successful...everybody was out doing stuff, money burning holes in their pockets.") From the prickly guitar strums of "Say My Name" to the deliberate drum beats of "Don't Bother Mountain", the latter of which saw Loveless switch to synth, their performance of the Daughter songs showcased that it's Loveless' most thematic and instrumentally diverse album to date. That's not a small feat, with a catalog as deep as theirs.

Loveless

Loveless

[whatsthesound]

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey, “In Spain” (2021)

Only learned the other day that there’s a version of Our Back Pages with bonus tracks, inc this one, which is strikingly different from the original.

[mymelodic-chapel]

Pylon- Chomp (Post-Punk, New Wave) Released: April 1983 [DB Records] Producer(s): Chris Stamey, Gene Holder

[musiconspotify]

Chris Stamey

The Great Escape (2023) … another winning collection …

#ChrisStamey

[julio-viernes]

Sneakers (Chris Stamey y Will Rigby pre DB´s) en "The Perfect Stranger" de su minielepé "In The Red" de 1978. Pura anglofilia sesentera, en canciones como ésta o en "What I Dig", parecen mucho más una banda UK que de Carolina del Norte.

[guessimdumb]

Chris Stamey & the dBs - If and When (1978)

Impressive b-side to Chris Stamey’s (I Thought) You Wanted To Know, and the first time the name dBs appears on a record - both Gene Holder and  Will Rigby are credited.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Cara Lee • From The Word Go • When We're Alone • The Seduction • It's Alright • Big Time • Of Time And All She Brings To Mind • In The Dark • If You Hear My Voice • 27 Years In A Single Day • Incredible Happiness

Spotify (unavailable in US) ♪ YouTube

[wub-fur-radio]

Pop Rock Ist Nicht Tot²

Wub-Fur once again makes the case that pop rock is not dead and invites you to join us for an hour of compelling audio evidence for that bold proposition. Featuring the musical testimony of Sheer Mag, Jacuzzi Boys, Teenage Fanclub, Dignan Porch, Liz Phair, Chris Stamey, Anton Barbeau, Swansea Sound, and a dozen more bands that are not averse to adding a little shooby dooby doo wop to their rock.

Apologies to E. Ludwig & John Hinde Studios, M, the Kinks, Anne-James Chaton, and Wild Billy Childish.

Our first Pop Rock Ist Nicht Tot mix, released 2 years ago this week, can still be heard here.

▶︎🎶 Listen on Mixcloud

Running Time: 1 hour, 7 seconds

Tracklist

Intro: Fanfare from “Pop Musik��  (0:07)

All Lined Up (3:39) — Sheer Mag | Philadelphia, PA

Many Multitudes (2:22) — Strange Magic | New Mexico

Free Ride (2:46) — Liz Phair | Chicago, IL

Anything (3:40) — Frankie Rose | New York, NY

Shapes (2:25) — Bong Wish | Boston, MA

Love You More (2:16) — Chime School | San Francisco, CA

Ways to Wear My Hair (2:26) — Monnone Alone | Melbourne, Australia

Waiting on the Radio (4:00) — Anton Barbeau | Berlin, Germany

The Pebble in My Hand (3:17) — The Salt Collective | Paris, France

See You in Hell (3:29) — U.S. Highball | Glasgow, UK

Pictures (2:00) — Dignan Porch | UK

Interlude: Yes it’s #1, it’s Top of the Pops (0:07)

Ami Spécial (3:12) — Special Friend | Paris, France

Realize (2:49) — Chris Stamey | Chapel Hill, NC

Gonna Have to Tell You (1:52) — The Lost Days | California

Back to the Light (3:02) — Teenage Fanclub | Glasgow,UK

Rather Blue (2:45) — Jacuzzi Boys | Miami, FL

Paradise (3:14) — Swansea Sound | Swansea, UK

Absolution (4:07) — Forest Bees | Berkeley, CA

99.5 (2:52) — TV Girl | Los Angeles, CA

Better Days (3:37) — Zack Keim | Pittsburgh, PA

Outro: Pop Is Dead, Shooby Dooby Doo Wop (0:04)

All tracks released in 2023.

💚 🎸 🚫 💀 ✳️ 🎸 🚫 💀 ❇️ 🎸 🚫 💀 ✳️ 🎸 🚫 💀 💚

[earcandle]

ECP0951 Radio City 50th Anniversary Tribute, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, SF, 10/6/24

In 1974, the brilliant underdog power-pop band Big Star released their second album, Radio City. On October 6, 2024, an all-star band gathered on the Swan Stage at San Francisco’s annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park to pay tribute to this landmark album as well as other classics by principal Big Star songwriters Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. We joined them in progress.

The players were a who’s-who of indie rock and power-pop royalty: Jody Stephens (sole surviving member of Big Star) Mike Mills (REM) Chris Stamey (The dBs) Jon Auer (The Posies) Pat Sansone (Wilco)

Ear Candle Productions is a small music label, video production, and eLearning website. We also have a free, 24/7 global Ear Candle Radio program designed to bring creative ideas to the worldwide public at large.

The owners of Ear Candle Productions are the creatives, John Bassham (AKA J Neo Marvin) and Debra Nicholson Bassham (AKA Davis Jones). We live in San Francisco. Come visit our website, check out our YT, Bandcamp, Ear Candle Radio, Internet Archive, and other pages at https://earcandleproductions.com

[noneofthisisreal]

Big Star's Third refers to a series of tribute concerts built on Big Star's 1975 album Third/Sister Lovers. Regarded as a "lost masterpiece," and described as "the soundtrack to a nervous breakdown," the material from Third/Sister Lovers was first played live and fully orchestrated in December 2010, when two dozen musicians performed it at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina. Since then, Big Star's Third concerts have taken place in the United States, the UK, and Australia. Although the performers rotate from show to show, a core group of musicians, including Jody Stephens, Big Star's original drummer, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Chris Stamey from The dB's, and Mitch Easter of Let's Active have been involved in the majority of the Big Star's Third shows

[funkqs]

The Summer Sun | Chris Stamey

[daggerzine]

Chris Stamey- The Great Escape (Modern Recordings)

You can’t mess with or top Chris Stamey. Come on, he was in The Sneakers and the dB’s. Probably heard/heard of Big Star way before you, heck he played with Chilton for a while when he got to NYC and he released a Chris Bell 7” when no one else wanted to. He’s pals with Mitch Easter and the guys in REM and is a published author (I really enjoyed his book). So yeah, he guys resume’ is a mile long. He’s a lifer musician who is still at it and deserves the utmost respect.

This new record? It’s really good. The songs just come and flow and if there is any filler on here I haven’t heard it. The first few songs, the opening title track and the even better “Realize” both add some twang to the tunes (at least partially due to pedal steel player Eric Heywood) while by song three he tackles an old Alex Chilton song on “She Might Look My Way” done most beautifully. Elsewhere, the more spare “I Will Try” is among the best cuts on here as is the countrified “Dear Friend” (where he gets some help from folks in Chatham County Line) and don’t miss the terrific “Back in New York” which points wistful eyes toward his favorite of cities (and that song is offered here in both acoustic and electric versions).

If you haven’t heard him ever or it’s been a really long time then give this record a shot. It’s real easy to like (probably a lot like Chris himself though I have never met him).

Ok, sermon (or soapbox rant) over.

www.chrisstamey.com

www.chrisstamey.bandcamp.com

[animeraider]

Okay my friends, here it is, Radio Free California Episode 2328. An eclectic and wild week for new music featuring GROUPLOVE, The Ceys, FIFTY FIFTY, John Batiste, The Breeders, Spoon, Yi, Baroness, Chris Stamey and much more. Enjoy!