Thursday, November 19, 1998
Dig fills niche with unique rock, punk sounds on album
MUSIC: Band on campus to promote ‘Life Like,’ entertain UCLA
audience
By Michelle Zubiate
Daily Bruin Staff
Forming a rock group has its perks. Besides being able to name
your group after your dog, you can also find yourself dining with a
tattooed freak named "Puzzle Man" in the middle of a frozen Dallas
on Thanksgiving. And as rock band Dig sees it, every job holds its
share of rewards and downfalls.
Thursday in Westwood Plaza, Dig will perform for the UCLA
audience and demonstrate all that they’ve learned from experience
and hard work since they formed in 1993.
Frontman Scott Hackwith incorporates many observations from life
into his music.
"I began the band when I was involved in art directing and
formed interests in writing music for film," Hackwith says. "I
began to find members and form the band around the songs I
wrote."
Hackwith describes his music as "straight rock n’ roll" but many
critics describe it as a more industrial sound mixed with some punk
and surf rock.
Hackwith, however, admits that English influences play a part,
including new bands such as The Verve and Oasis as well as old ones
such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
"I just write about the things going on around me and the things
that happen to me," Hackwith says.
"I don’t have a gloomy life so my music isn’t always dark. It’s
just a slice of life. Sometimes its upbeat and sometimes it can be
cynical."
Hackwith also doesn’t see his band as affiliated with any
stereotypical genre. He does not have a standard image to represent
any member of Dig’s audience.
"We have a wide range of fans," Hackwith says. "We have people
who are just kids to those anywhere in their late 30s.
"Our fans aren’t like those of bands like the Ramones where
every single fan is 26 and looks exactly the same."
Hackwith says that the band’s appeal helps when touring with a
wide variety of bands, from Garbage to Juliana Hatfield to Rage
Against The Machine. Every concert holds a different experience
when the audience is different.
"Sometimes the 12-year-old Blind Melon fans were much more
accepting of us than the hard-core Ramones fans," Hackwith
says.
In addition to the usual shows, Dig also played for television
shows such as the now-canceled "Jon Stewart Show" and "Late Night
With Conan O’Brien."
"At first I freaked out," Hackwith explains. "I thought the
sound was going to be horrible, and I wondered how the audience was
going to be.
"But the sound was good, and we had a lot of fun."
Dig anticipates their newest album release, "Life Like," to come
out in 1999.
They want this album to have the opportunity to be heard and
appreciated since it incorporates all their work and effort.
"It was a long process and took a lot out of us," Hackwith says.
"I want it to be the type of album that I look back at when I’m old
and know that we did our best. I’m really proud of it and more than
anything, I want it to have a chance."
Dig enjoys the life in the music biz along with all its ups and
downs. The bands admit touring can be hard, and that they can get
homesick or tired, but in general, the different events that
surround them make it all worthwhile and lend a helping hand in
shaping their music and their future.
"Someday I would like to start writing soundtracks for movies,"
Hackwith says. "That’s something I’ve always wanted to get into.
But for now, I think we just want to be rock ‘n’ roll stars."
Hackwith’s dog was the inspiration for the band’s name and could
be a metaphor for the band’s spirit.
"Dig (the dog) is still alive and kicking and having a good
time."
BAND: Dig will be performing at Westwood Plaza Thursday at
noon.
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