It makes sense that since Peter Holsapple has long been the go-to guy for musicians such as R.E.M., Hootie & The Blowfish, John Hiatt, Indigo Girls, the Troggs, Juliana Hatfield and too many others to name here that when he needed assistance on his first solo album in 21 years that he would turn to, well, himself. Game Day (Omnivore) is a solo record in the truest sense of the word, as the dB’s co-founder pretty much did everything himself on the LP. Holsapple will being guest editing magnetmagazine.com—for the second time—all week. Grab some beer and some pizza: It’s game day.
Holsapple: By now, many of you have already bought this book by my longtime friend and guitar partner in the dB’s, Chris Stamey. You can stop reading here, then, if you want.
But if you haven’t, you really want to read A Spy In The House Of Loud, not just because it’s a great story of a remarkable era of New York and music. It’s also a really well-written book, thoughtful and honest and smart, a lot like its author. There’s a great warmth to Chris’ storytelling that makes this book particularly endearing. And it’s not like “you feel like you’re there” but more like you’re sitting around with Chris and he’s telling you the stories almost in confidence. It’s a comfortable voice and the tales aren’t particularly tall—they’re just human and entertaining and informative.
There are no chandeliers being swung from, no television sets through hotel windows or any of that rock-star stuff—you can get plenty of that from Hammer Of The Gods, and really, most of us did that already. But there are wonderful recollections of a different side of the music business from star bands to behold in A Spy In The House Of Loud.
