4 ARTS The Michigan Daily Friday, September 25, 1987 Page 8 dB's endure long and rocky By John Logie Being a dB isn't easy. It's much much easier to be a Simple Mind. Record labels don't collapse on you. Band members on the order of Chris Stamey and Gene Holder don't leave at inopportune moments. Fans don't ask too much. But the dB's can't be. Simple Minds because they don't have simple minds. . dB's leader Peter Holsapple has watched less talented bands shuttle past his band, but he isn't worried. "When people are ready for us they will catch on to us. If it takes people a while, maybe it's because there's substance there...there's a lot to absorb. We're not the most obvious group in the world, although sometimes it sounds like we could be. I think that it takes... careful listening to get into a dB's record, and that's great. We like to promote creative listening." The dB's have just released their fourth album, The Sound of Music, and like its three predecessors, the record has received critical raves. The band's new record label, I.R.S. is in a far better position to promote the band than the late greats Bearsville and Albion. Holsapple is hitting the road with drummer Will Rigby, his friend and bandmate for twenty-three years, bassist Jeff Beninato, known to many as "the guy who replaced Stamey" but praised by Holsapple as having developed into a lynchpin of the band, and new member Harold Kelt who Holsapple describes as "a double threat - he plays both guitar and keyboards, and he's really really good." The result will undoubtedly be an intensification of focus on Holsapple, who has had to overcome an initial discomfort with center- stage. "You could say I was more a sheep than a leader - more sheep than shepherd. It took me a while to grow into the position of leader of the band, which I am now. Chris's departure was tough on everybody, but it seemed like the right time for him and for us... I guess I feel more natural in a songwriting or studio situation, cause when I'm out playing live people... you know, tend to look." Holsapple's talent as a performer and songwriter belies his uncertainty. Though he describes himself as "just one of those guys who's banged on folk guitar for all his life," he has become more than a banger. In addition to rootsy rock, The Sound of Music features surprises like the affecting ballad, "I road Lie" and a stunning country-tinged duet with Syd Straw, "Never Before and Never Again." But Holsapple also can come up with the bent sarcasm of "Bonneville," an ode to the great salt flats. Holsapple has been playing guitar for the past 23 years, starting out by learning Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music on a Silvertone purchased for him by his mother, much as Elvis Presley's mother purchased the budding King an el cheapo guitar. The King lurks on The Sound of Music album coi'er, making appearances on Holsapple's shirt and on the wall, in glorious blue polyester, because Holsapple is fond of the Pelvis. "I think everybody loves Elvis, no matter where you are. South, West, East, everybody realizes as time goes by what a great singer he was, what a great interpreter of songs, what a great performer... We have a tape of Elvis's greatest shit, which is pretty amazing. It's all sorts of bad songs from the movies.., like "There's No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car," "Dominick the Impotent Bull," "He's Your Uncle Not Your Dad." The chain between the two Sound of Musics is virtually unbroken. Holsapple took a short break, when a girlfriend told him he should quit the music business. Eventually he came around. Why? "I hated the girl, man. After a year and a halflI hated the girl. I had to do something. My fingers were aching. I was dying to play. I was going nuts. Yeah, yeah, yeh." And perhaps this is the most important thing about the Peter Holsapple and the dB's. He can't stop. The dB's are returning to Rick's tomorrow night, and Holsapple is genuinely excited by the prospect... "Please let the folks in Ann Arbor know that we're really glad we're coming back." Holsapple said, "we've always had fun there, we have some good friends there... free John Sinclair!" Dash Riprock are scheduled to open for the dB's at 10 p.m.; tickets are $5. * Will Rigby and Peter Holsapple of the dB's are the only two remaining of the band's original line-up. The dB's will play at Rick's tomorrow night. The Ambassador Program Needs You! VOLUNTEER FOR MINORITY RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES " Campus Visits * Phone Contacts e High School Visits * Special Projects ' MASS MEETING Wed., Sept. 30 7:00 p.m. Undergraduate Admissions Office 1220 SAB Why Settle For Anything Less Than The Best? The Michigan Ensian yearbook, recipient of an All American rating from the associated Collegiate Press, nearly doubled its sales figures last year. Find out why - Order the 1988 yearbook. Here's your chance to answer some questions about your future. The National Security Agency's Professional Qualification Test (PQT) can tell you if a career with us is right for you. For many people, it's proven just right. At NSA, we process foreign intelligence infor- mation... safeguard our government's communications. . . and secure our nation's computer systems. Our critical missions provide a myriad of opportunities. Anyone interested in opportunities in the following areas should take the test: Computer Science, or a Slavic, Near East or Asian language, you can schedule an interview without taking the test. Just see your Placement Office.) Registration for the test is free. Pick up the PQT bulletin at your placement office, or write to NSA. Do it soon. Registration forms must be received by October 9. The test will be given October 24. The PQT'is your opportunity to prove what you can do with intelligence. Give it a try. It may be your personal answer to professional questions. 10 _.. .. II I DI lrt q'.'atMt7 Tntonatinn a [a