About this Event
On the heels of our sold-out 2 night engagement with the reunited dB's, Wild Honey Backyard shows welcome back dB's founder Peter Holsapple to celebrate his new record THE FACE OF 68. Wild Honey Foundation's ongoing effort to aid autism familes and Wild Honey's George Bailey Fund to help our family artists in short-term financial need will benefit from the net proceeds. Gates are 330pm, music starts at 4pm. We gather in tough times to celebrate the strength of our progressive musical family.
Peter Holsapple Finds a Rock ‘n Roll Reflection in ‘The Face of ‘68.
- By Hannah Means-Shannon
On April 18th, will release new solo album, via Label 51 Recordings. It follows 2018’s solo album Game Day, but also finds its place among his many collaborative projects, such as with Chris Stamey and with The dB’s, whose recent reissue program was followed by a tour. Holsapple’s long career playing with bands like R.E.M. and Hootie, not to mention his own Continental Drifters, has led to a versatility that means he could easily choose from among many genres for songwriting. This time, in a particularly exciting development, he’s made a Rock album.
The album’s title reflects on Holsapple’s age at the making of the album, 68 years old, and he follows that directness in the songwriting on the album, speaking openly about the perspective that years may bring to ideas of life and death, marriage, and memory. Combining those themes with a rocking, irrepressible energy makes the album that much more approachable and even anthemic. To build this sound, Holsapple worked with Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) on bass and Rob Ladd (The Connells) on drums, and they worked with Producer Don Dixon (R.E.M., Smithereens). I spoke with him about the album’s first track to be revealed, “She and Me” (premiering exclusively on Glide), and about his goals in making The Face of ’68.
I’ve been following your work for years, and as a Rock fan, I was really excited to hear this was a Rock record and then dive in.
Yes, this is a Rock record, and it’s exciting to make a record like that. It took a lot of years to get the confidence to make a record like that. I kind of got to do the one-man vaudeville show with Game Day, and before that, I did a record that was made in fits and starts. This time out, I’ve been able to find a label with incredible enthusiasm. This is a really good record and I’m really proud of it. People who are listening to it are giving me great feedback and commenting on how complete it sounds.
I’ll say something kind of general: I really like the way that you reflect on time and life perspectives throughout the album, too. I think that’s one of the things that you allow yourself to do, and I think that’s meaningful. You’re very direct about that.
Thank you for noticing that. I was recently thinking that when I was 20 years old, I wrote about girls and having fun, Rock ‘n Roll, and stuff like that. Now, I’m about to turn 69, and I’m writing about friends dying, or not having the time that I once had, or reflecting on a long marriage. That’s a different perspective. It has to be. If your life’s changing, your subject matter is going to have to change, too. The one thing that I’ve striven for is to always make it authentic and only release stuff that I think is good.
You know we’re here partly to talk about “She and Me,” and it’s one of those songs that we could do a whole interview about. What can you tell me about how it was written?
The thing about “She and Me” is it had a whole different set of lyrics at one point. It’s not that they were not for publication, but they were a little too inside baseball. I lived with them for a while and I realized that. There’s the thing about serving the song, so I went back and realized that aside from “She Won’t Drive in the Rain Anymore”, I really hadn’t written any songs about my wife. Then these lyrics kind of shook out when I started playing the song again. I had to go to my longtime professional proofreader friend, Will Rigby, also known as the drummer for the dB’s. I said, “She and me. Is this so ungrammatical as to be cringeworthy?” He said, “No, it’s a song title! It’s fine.” I worry about stuff like that.
https://glidemagazine.com/309590/peter-holsapple-finds-a-rock-n-roll-reflection-in-the-face-of-68-shares-new-track-she-and-me-song-premiere-interview/
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Wild Honey Foundation Backyard Amphitheatre, 1167 Kipling Avenue, Los Angeles, United States
USD 23.18 to USD 44.52
