Dig (band)

Dig is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California.

History[]

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] The other founding members were Jon Morris on guitar, Johnny Cornwell on guitar, Phil Friedmann on bass, and Anthony Smedile on drums. After releasing a demo EP in 1992 titled Runt, they signed with Radioactive Records and issued their first full-length in 1993, the self-titled Dig. 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 would peak at #153 on the Billboard 200 and at #6 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The single "Believe" was played regularly on MTV's Buzz Bin^[1] and was their lone charting hit, reaching #19 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart^[2] and #34 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.^[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.^[4] In 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.

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.^[5] The album and its touring cycle had guitarist Cornwell replaced by Dix Denney, and drummer Smedile replaced by Matt Tecu. Unlike the previous album, none of the songs charted, and the album itself had not charted either. The following year, Dig's record label parent MCA had shifted them from Radioactive Records to their other imprint, Uptown Records.

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.

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; although, nothing ever surfaced.

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^[6] and had started recording again, but with new bassist Tommy Black joining the band. In November 2020, the band announced their first new album in 22 years for 2021, posting a sample on their official social media outlets.^[7] 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.^[8]

Members[]

Current members[]

• Scott Hackwith – vocals, guitars (1991 to 1999, 2004 to 2008, 2016 to present)
• Jon Morris – guitar (1991 to 1999, 2004 to 2008, 2016 to present)
• Johnny Cornwell – guitar (1991 to 1995, 2004 to 2008, 2016 to present)
• Charlie George – drums (2016 to present)
• Tommy Black – bass (2020 to present)

Past members[]

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

Timeline[]

Discography[]

Studio albums

• Dig (1993, Radioactive / MCA)
• Defenders of the Universe (1996, Radioactive / MCA)
• Life Like (1999, Uptown / Universal)

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[]

External links[]

• Official Dig Facebook
• Dig Fansite