The Dig — made up of Brooklynites Emile Mosseri, David Baldwin, Erick Eiser and Mark Demiglio — harness NYC’s buzz in their sound. “There is a specific energy to NY that can find its way into your music. A nervous energy or kinetic energy that’s hard to describe,” Mosseri says. It’s an energy that’s somehow transmuted from Mosseri and Baldwin’s childhood friendship, traveled on to their debut album, Electric Toys (2010) to 2012’s Midnight Flowers and two EPs, Tired Hearts and You & I, in 2013. The Dig’s cheeky garage-pop musings are available this year on the set Bloodshot Tokyo; Mosseri gives us the lowdown on it.
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Hometown: Erick grew up in Southern California. Mark grew up in Denton, Texas and David and I grew up an hour north of the city. The Dig formed in the big apple so as far as the band goes, NYC is our hometown.
Homebase: We all live in Brooklyn. Erick and David live together in a house in Bushwick. Mark’s in Ridgewood and I’m Williamsburg in the belly of the beast.
What’s The Dig’s origin story?
There are three of us that formed the band. David, Erick and I met in Boston when we were 15-year-old twerps and have been writing music and playing in different bands together ever since. David and I met in 6th grade and I wanted to play in a band with him cause he had long bleached blonde hair and I thought he was cool. I was wrong! (Just kiddin, he’s ok.)
Why are you called The Dig?
The short answer and main reason is that we thought it sounded cool. Longer answer is that we were surrounded by that word at the time we named the band. It was a weekly magazine in Boston, a movie about Brian Jonestown Massacre, a construction project … so we stole it.
Describe your music to someone who's never heard you before.
That’s the toughest question in the book. I’d say I’d say we’re a rock & roll band with synthesizers that sing old school songs on top of reimagined soul and dance beats.
When did you fall in love with music and the idea of making it?
Neither of my parents were musicians but they loved music and turned me on to a lot of good tunes. My first album was Simply Red’s A New Flame. “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” was my first favorite song. Started falling in love the Beatles and Hendrix and eventually got swallowed up and spit out by the whole Phish thing.
Who are The Dig’s biggest musical influences?
Neil Young, The Kinks, and Parliament are a few of our biggest influences.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
Jeez louise, there are so many. Dave Friedman, UNKLE, Anderson Paak, Benji Hughes, to name a few.
What's your favorite concert story?
We played Bend, Oregon a few years back and right after our set a dog walked on stage and took a shit on Erick’s pedalboard. I’m guessing he wasn’t a fan.
Why is your album called Bloodshot Tokyo?
Bloodshot Tokyo is named after a song we wrote a couple years ago. Bloodshot Tokyo isn’t a direct reference to anything particular, more of a state of mind or a lifestyle. In the song Bloodshot Tokyo is a place that chews you up and spits you out. It’s a place that represents fun and excess and the uncut thrill of being alive, but it’s not truly real or sustainable. We thought it would be a colorful name for the record.
If you were a hashtag, what would you be?
#funboys
Do you have a Myspace-related story as a musician?
When were starting out we had a song called “Marianne.” We thought it would be a good idea to message girls named Marianne on Myspace with the song as a strange early version of targeted advertising. Ended up paying off when a super sweet girl named Marianne that worked for the Onion responded and gave us a free ad page in the magazine. We’ve met a lot of cool people through Myspace. We've stayed at fans houses on the road that reached out to us through Myspace. We’re big-time Myspace fans for life!
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from Myspace - Editorial http://ift.tt/2kPr8Uf
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