It goes without saying Chris Stamey is one of my favorite songwriters/musicians.  Having fallen under the spell of The dB’s from 1981 onward, the band he formed in New York in 1978, I’ve followed Mr. Stamey’s career and have enjoyed every album he’s released, both with The dB’s and solo.  He’s also the driving force behind the (incredible) “Big Star Third/& Friends” live performances that have appeared sporadically over the last 8 or so years.  Now Mr. Stamey has written his autobiography and it’s not your typical story.

In many ways, the manner of Mr. Stamey’s book, A Spy In The House Of Loud:  New York Songs & Stories (a clever play on a classic dB’s track that ISN’T a Chris Stamey song) is comparable to his songwriting style; it’s measured and thoughtful; it has imagery and flow with a mixture of intellect and very sophisticated yet never pretentious humor.  It’s a book that’s warm, fun and deeper than what you may expect.  It’s not one of those “I was born in…” stories that just tell a direct (and sometimes, flat) tale.  This is a compendium of Mr. Stamey’s life in conjunction with songs and experiences – the how, when and where he wrote some of the more-beloved tracks in his formidable canon.  While Chris Stamey (or The dB’s) are not (criminally) a household name, he’s had many experiences from the time he began playing in bands with his childhood friend, the equally-legendary Mitch Easter, as they grew up in North Carolina.  His tales, musical travelogue and experiences go from his leaving home to moving to New York in 1978, where he immediately began working with one of his idols, Alex Chilton and being right in the epicenter of the New York punk movement.  His friendship with Richard Lloyd of Television led to the debut release from “Chris Stamey & The dB’s” and the start of a remarkable band.  While in those earliest days of living in New York, he also released (on his Car Records label) the only solo record from Big Star’s Chris Bell, “I Am The Cosmos”/”You And Your Sister”.  Those first few years were enough of a wild ride in reading about it; Mr. Stamey’s descriptions allow a very clear picture in your mind.

As the various songs and stories unfold, you cannot help but gain a new (or in my case, greater) appreciation for his work.  And if you’ve never heard his songs, you have sorely missed out on 40 years of quality pop construction.  Never lightweight but never overbearing, the music of Chris Stamey is a marvel.  As is this book.  So it would stand you in good stead to pick this book up, read it and then seek out Mr. Stamey’s catalog.  It’s very easy to embrace it all.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A Spy In The House Of Loud:  New York Songs & Stories is currently available

https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/stamey-a-spy-in-the-house-of-loud

Go-go. To people of my generation, it meant young women in cages or on platforms dancing intensely to 60s music. But if you are from the Washington, DC area, go-go means something else entirely to you. For you, go-go is a combination of funk and R&B that became popular in DC in the mid-70s. Many regional bands were part of the go-go scene but it is undeniable that Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers were the musicians who laid the groundwork for the music that became a sensation. In fact, Brown is known as the “Godfather of Go-Go.”

Brown grew up in poverty with an absent father in Gaston, North Carolina before moving to Washington, DC with his mother when he was six-years-old. By the time he was 15, Brown had dropped out of school and was living on the streets, making some money by shining shoes. He got into real trouble when he got into a fight and the person he was fighting died. Although Brown claimed self-defense, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for murder.

It was in prison that Brown first got his hands on a guitar and started learning to play the instrument. When he was released, he moved back to Washington and began to perform at parties while making money at odd jobs like bricklayer and sparring partner at area gyms. Brown’s music career began in earnest when he began to play with groups like the Earls of Rhythm and Los Latinos in the 60s and he continued performing until his death in 2012, achieving enormous popularity in the DC area.

Brown’s recording career began with the 1972 Soul Searchers album We the People which was followed by Salt of the Earth two years later. But it was the third Soul Searchers album, Bustin’ Loose, that really put the band on the map. The album was released in 1979 and sold 500,000 copies, earning a Gold Record. The title single also attained gold status and topped the R&B chart for four weeks while crossing over to Top 40 success on the Pop chart. You can recognize parts of “Bustin’ Loose” in Nelly’s 2002 smash “Hot in Herre.”

Brown continued releasing albums right up until his death and beyond with 2014’s Beautiful Life. His influence on bands like the Soul Rebels Brass Band, Junk Yard Band, Rare Essence, and Trouble Funk is undeniable. Local promoter Darryl Brooks said, “He was a symbol of D.C. manhood, back in the day, because of the authority that he spoke with. He just spoke from a perspective that black men could understand.”

Brown was accorded numerous honors and awards during his lifetime including a National Heritage Fellowship in 2005. It is the highest honor that the United States awards in traditional and folk arts. Brown was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011 for the song “Love” which he recorded with Jill Scott and Marcus Miller, and that same year he was honored at a National Symphony Orchestra concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building.

It’s a little difficult to be completely objective after watching New Wave:  Dare To Be Different, the story of WLIR radio, from Long Island.  I listened to the station religiously – found at 92.7 on the FM dial – from October, 1982 to December, 1984; these were important years – not just for me, but for what was known as “new wave” music.  The immediate post-punk era didn’t have a radio home (an occasional track or specialty show on the major FM stations in New York had to suffice, as college radio focusing on this new music was in its infancy as well); WLIR was a godsend as WPIX radio changed its brief punk/new wave format.  WLIR was an almost immediate successor and I was one of the lucky ones in my neighborhood of Staten Island who were able to pick up the signal and marvel at these wonderful new sounds.

New Wave:  Dare To Be Different has been a few years in the making, first annouced around 2011 or so; now, the completed documentary has premiered on Showtime and it’s a warming, detailed story of this small station in the Long Island town of Hempstead and how they managed to revolutionize the music industry by breaking a number of these new bands – especially those from England – while taking a surprising share of ratings away from New York City’s bigger, powerful radio stations.  Interviews range from the various on-air personalities, and the station manager, the now-legendary Dennis McNamara, as well as musical luminaries as Joan Jett, U2 manager Paul McGuinness, Billy Idol, Nick Rhodes and others.  The station had a free-for-all, lighthearted atmosphere, while taking the music very seriously; they would send station personnel to the airport to pick up import records before they even reached record stores; premiered new releases almost as quickly as they were pressed and available – in many ways,  it was guerrilla radio, but in the best, most passionate way possible.  The success of the station led to new wave-oriented clubs in Long Island; a devoted audience listened as well as went to these clubs – this was the “underground” now in the light.  The filmmakers spoke to former listeners/fans and their recollections of the station were so similar to mine, it brought back a flood of memories and emotions.  The most salient point about this movie is that in reality, without WLIR’s championing of these bands – and subsequently, the record labels – MTV would never have had the impetus it had.  While WLIR, in the incarnation depicted, went off the air in 1987, the memory is indelibly burned into its listeners with love.

Because I loved WLIR, I enjoyed this documentary to no end.  But the fact is, it’s well-made, linear and a complete story.  Most importantly, if you want a glimpse into a very important time in radio broadcasting and music, you should not miss it.  If you’re like me, it’s going to make you want to dig out some of your old records and smile in remembering what it was like to hear a number of those songs for the first time on WLIR, 92.7.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

New Wave:  Dare To Be Different is showing now on Showtime and Showtime On Demand

www.dtbdthemovie.com/