Dig (band)

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From English Wikipedia @ Freddythechick
Dig
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1991–1999
  • 2004–2008
  • 2016–present
Labels

Dig is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, they achieved success with their 1993 album Dig, which featured the charting single "Believe". The band then released the album Defenders of the Universe in 1996. It was followed by their third album Life Like in 1999, in which they then disbanded that same year. They reunited briefly from 2004 to 2008, and again in 2016.[1] Scott Hackwith (lead vocals/guitars) and Jon Morris (guitars/backing vocals) are the only members to stay in the band for its entire run, although the current lineup also consists of original guitarist Johnny Cornwell.

History

Formation, major label signing, and mainstream success with Dig (1991–1994)

Dig formed in 1991 within Los Angeles, as vocalist Scott Hackwith had previously produced for The Ramones and had worked in the studio for various bands.[1] Hackwith and drummer Anthony Smedile formed the band together, and they then recruited Jon Morris on guitar and backing vocals, Johnny Cornwell on guitar, and Phil Friedmann on bass. The band utilized the four guitars in order to emphasize their shoegaze influences.[2] The band released a demo EP in 1992 titled Runt on the independent label Wasteland Records.

In 1993, Dig signed with Radioactive Records and issued their first full-length album that year, the self-titled Dig.[2] It was produced by Dave Jerden, who was well-known for producing '90s albums by bands such as Alice in Chains and Anthrax. The album peaked at No. 153 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 6 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts. The single "Believe" was played regularly on MTV's Buzz Bin and it had reached No. 19 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and at No. 34 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.[1][3] Although "Believe" was the band's hit song, the record labels had done an unlikely move, and issued four other singles from the same album, although they all failed to chart in the United States.[4] Overseas in the United Kingdom, Dig had fared a bit better on the UK Singles Chart, as "Believe" peaked at No. 83, "Unlucky Friend" peaked at No. 96, and "I'll Stay High" peaked at No. 97, all in 1994. The single "Unlucky Friend" had featured four tracks recorded by Dig while on Mark Radcliffe's FM radio show while they toured the UK.[5] The band toured with the likes of Prong and Blind Melon to promote the album.[2]

Towards the end of 1994, Dig released the promotional Soft Pretzel EP, which included three original songs and also a Pink Floyd cover, "Fearless". Also in 1994, the band's song "Curious George Blues" was exclusively recorded for the soundtrack to the movie Airheads. The following year, their cover of the "Theme From Fat Albert" was included on the compilation Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits. They also recorded another exclusive song, "Hu Hu Hu", for the soundtrack of the movie Virtuosity.

Initial lineup changes and Defenders of the Universe (1995–1997)

From the beginning of 1995 until the middle of 1996, the band had not gone on any tours due to their prior exhaustive schedule; however, in 1996, they released their second album, Defenders of the Universe. The album was almost entirely mixed by Tom Lord-Alge, a mixer with hundreds of credits to his name.[6] The album and its touring cycle had guitarist Cornwell replaced by Dix Denney, and drummer Smedile replaced by Matt Tecu.

Unlike Dig's previous album, none of the songs charted, and the album itself had not charted either. The band also played dramatically less shows as well. The following year, Dig's record label parent MCA had shifted them from Radioactive Records to their other imprint, Uptown Records.

Life Like and disbandment (1998–1999)

After the label shift, the band released their third album Life Like in early 1999. Sylvia Massy took over mixing duties for the entirety. The album was recorded as a four-piece, since guitarist Denney left the band and both Hackwith and Morris handled guitar duties. Other changes in the lineup included original bassist Friedmann replaced by Jay Nicholas, and drummer Tecu replaced by Gene Trautmann. For the touring cycle, bassist Nicholas was replaced by Rob Redick, and guitarist Joel Graves was added into the band, to round out the five members; however, with a lack of support from the band's record label and only sporadic shows being played, the band was dropped from Uptown/MCA in July 1999, and the Uptown label itself officially went defunct later in the year. After the small touring cycle, new bassist Redick joined Candlebox and new drummer Trautmann joined Queens of the Stone Age. Original guitarist Morris had stepped away as well, and it signified the end of Dig.

First reunion (2004–2008)

In 2004, the band reappeared, and played sporadic one-off shows. The lineup included frontman Hackwith, original guitarists Morris and Cornwell, second drummer Tecu, and new bassist Jamie Carter; however, when 2007 rolled around, Tecu was replaced by Dave Stedronsky and Carter was replaced by prominent Rocket From the Crypt member Pete Reichert. They recorded the first new Dig song in years, titled "No One's There", and it appeared on a Poison Tree Records: Road to Nowhere compilation, alongside bands such as Fu Manchu and The Dwarves. Afterwards, various sessions of recording commenced; however, nothing ever surfaced.

Second reunion and increased activity (2016–present)

In 2016, the band was revived yet again to play a singular show in West Hollywood. Along with Hackwith, Morris, and Cornwell, new bassist Marcus Blake and new drummer Charlie George had joined the lineup. After another period of only random updates, the band launched their own independent merch store in early 2020 and had started recording again, but with new bassist Tommy Black joining the band.[7] In November 2020, the band announced a new album with an unknown release date, posting a sample on their official social media outlets.[8] The album's first single, titled "Nothing Is Forever", was released in January 2021 with an accompanying music video. The second song, "Treatment", was released the following month with a music video as well.[9]

On March 10, 2023 former guitarist Denney (who appeared on Dig's second album Defenders of the Universe) died at the age of 65.[10] Dig returned to a live setting in July 2023, and the lineup changed again with the additions of Ernesto Mora on bass and Matt Bennett on drums.

Members

Current members

  • Scott Hackwith – lead vocals, guitars (1991–1999, 2004–2008, 2016–present)
  • Jon Morris – guitars, backing vocals (1991–1999, 2004–2008, 2016–present)
  • Johnny Cornwell – guitars (1991–1995, 2004–2008, 2016–present)
  • Ernesto Mora – bass (2023–present)
  • Matt Bennett – drums (2023–present)

Past members

  • Phil Friedmann – bass (1991–1997)
  • Anthony Smedile – drums (1991–1995)
  • Dix Denney – guitars (1995–1997); died 2023
  • Matt Tecu – drums (1995–1997, 2004–2006)
  • Jay Nicholas – bass (1997–1998)
  • Gene Trautmann – drums (1997–1999)
  • Joel Graves – guitars (1998–1999)
  • Rob Redick – bass (1998–1999)
  • Jamie Carter – bass (2004–2006)
  • Pete Reichert – bass (2006–2008)
  • Dave Stedronsky – drums (2006–2008)
  • Marcus Blake – bass (2016–2020)
  • Charlie George – drums (2016–2023)
  • Tommy Black – bass (2020–2023)

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:09/01/1991 till:07/09/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors = 

 id:Vocals  value:red       legend:Vocals
 id:Guitar  value:green     legend:Guitar
 id:Bass    value:blue      legend:Bass
 id:Drums   value:lightorange    legend:Drums
 id:album   value:black     legend:Album
 id:ep   value:gray(0.50)    legend:EP
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:01/01/1992 ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:01/01/1993

LineData = 

layer:back
color:album
width:2
 at:08/13/1993
 at:07/16/1996
 at:01/12/1999
color:ep
width:2
at:06/06/1992
at:05/04/1994

BarData = 

 bar:Hackwith text:"Scott Hackwith"
 bar:Morris text:"Jon Morris"
 bar:Cornwell text:"Johnny Cornwell"
 bar:Denney text:"Dix Denney"
 bar:Graves text:"Joel Graves"
 bar:Friedmann text:"Phil Friedmann"
 bar:Nicholas text:"Jay Nicholas"
 bar:Redick text:"Rob Redick"
 bar:Carter text:"Jamie Carter"
 bar:Reichert text:"Pete Reichert"
 bar:Blake text:"Marcus Blake"
 bar:Black text:"Tommy Black"
 bar:Mora text:"Ernesto Mora"
 bar:Smedile text:"Anthony Smedile"
 bar:Tecu text:"Matt Tecu"
 bar:Trautmann text:"Gene Trautmann"
 bar:Stedronsky text:"Dave Stedronsky"
 bar:George text:"Charlie George"
 bar:Bennett text:"Matt Bennett"

PlotData= 

 width:11 textcolor:green align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Hackwith     from:09/01/1991  till:07/01/1999  color:Vocals
 bar:Hackwith     from:09/01/1991  till:07/01/1999 color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Hackwith    from:03/01/2004  till:03/01/2008  color:Vocals
 bar:Hackwith    from:03/01/2004  till:03/01/2008  color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Hackwith     from:09/01/2016 till:07/09/2023  color:Vocals
 bar:Hackwith     from:09/01/2016  till:07/09/2023  color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Morris     from:09/01/1991  till:07/01/1999 color:Guitar
 bar:Morris    from:03/01/2004  till:03/01/2008  color:Guitar
 bar:Morris    from:09/01/2016  till:07/09/2023  color:Guitar
 bar:Cornwell     from:09/01/1991  till:06/01/1995 color:Guitar
 bar:Cornwell    from:03/01/2004  till:03/01/2008  color:Guitar
 bar:Cornwell    from:09/01/2016  till:07/09/2023  color:Guitar
 bar:Denney     from:06/01/1995  till:06/01/1997 color:Guitar
 bar:Graves     from:11/01/1998  till:07/01/1999 color:Guitar
 bar:Friedmann     from:09/01/1991  till:06/01/1997 color:Bass
 bar:Nicholas     from:06/01/1997  till:11/01/1998 color:Bass
 bar:Redick     from:11/01/1998  till:07/01/1999 color:Bass
 bar:Carter     from:03/01/2004  till:10/01/2006 color:Bass
 bar:Reichert     from:10/01/2006  till:03/01/2008 color:Bass
 bar:Blake    from:09/01/2016  till:02/01/2020 color:Bass
 bar:Black     from:02/01/2020  till:02/01/2023 color:Bass
 bar:Mora     from:02/01/2023  till:07/09/2023 color:Bass
 bar:Smedile     from:09/01/1991  till:06/01/1995 color:Drums
 bar:Tecu     from:06/01/1995  till:06/01/1997 color:Drums
 bar:Tecu     from:03/01/2004  till:10/01/2006 color:Drums
 bar:Trautmann    from:06/01/1997  till:07/01/1999 color:Drums
 bar:Stedronsky     from:10/01/2006  till:03/01/2008 color:Drums
 bar:George    from:09/01/2016  till:02/01/2023 color:Drums
 bar:Bennett    from:02/01/2023  till:07/09/2023 color:Drums

</timeline>

Discography

Studio albums
EPs and singles
  • Runt EP (1992, Wasteland)
  • "Feet Don't Touch the Ground" (1993, Wasteland)
  • "Fuck You" (1993, Radioactive)
  • "Believe" (1993, Radioactive)
  • "I'll Stay High" (1993, Radioactive)
  • "Unlucky Friend" (1994, Radioactive)
  • Soft Pretzel EP (1994, Radioactive)
  • "Whose Side You On?" (1996, Radioactive)
  • "Live in Sound" (1999, Universal)
  • "Nothing Is Forever" (2021, Cassette Recordings)

References

  1. ^ 1.0 1.1 1.2 John Bush, Dig at Allmusic
  2. ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Struyk, Jeffrey (March 21, 1994). "College Band Dig Tours With Blind Melon". The Current. p. 4. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Chart, Billboard.com
  4. ^ Discogs Entry, discogs.com
  5. ^ "Dig". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  6. ^ Tribune Interview, defgav.com/dig
  7. ^ "Official Dig Merch". Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Dig's Sample for New Album (video). Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Dig's Video for "Nothing Is Forever" (video). Retrieved January 21, 2021.[dead YouTube link]
  10. ^ "Flea Mourns the Death of Dix Denney". SinusoidalMusic. March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.

External links

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