PHOTO: BOB ADAMEK PHOTOGRAPHY | Since singer/songwriter Alex McMurray (pictured above) began playing a regular show every Monday night at Chickie Wah Wah, he has welcomed a number of local co-conspirators as well as a couple of nationally known luminaries including fellow singer/songwriter Pat McLaughlin. But this Monday represents a watershed moment in the weekly series when Peter Holsapple joins him on stage.
Holsapple has a long career going back to 1970 despite the fact that he is only 61 years old. For locals, his tenure in New Orleans was marked by numerous performances and one band, the Continental Drifters, that exists larger in our imaginations than any other so-called supergroup.
For fans with a longer frame of reference, it’s probably his song, “Amplifier,” which was released in 1981 when he was a member of the seminal power pop band, the dBs. That tune came out during a period when pop music was in transition, and for fans of a certain age it displayed a wry lyrical focus missing from much of punk and new wave (with certain exceptions including Elvis Costello).
For fans focused on more mainstream sounds consider this—Holsapple was essentially the Ian “Stew” Stewart (Rolling Stones) for R.E.M. during the period between Green (1988) and their breakthrough album Out of Time (1991). He was a critical part of the group’s touring band and played bass as well as acoustic and electric guitars on six songs on Out of Time including the big hit “Losing My Religion.” Later, he toured with Hootie and the Blowfish.
McMurray, of course, is no slouch performing in a number of local bands and writing richly textured songs. During a recent interview on WWOZ he expressed a small amount of incredulousness about Holsapple being on the gig. But suffice it to say, he will hold his own and listeners should expect a stellar evening.
