Dig (band)

Dig formed in 1991 within Los Angeles, as vocalist Scott Hackwith had operated his own home studio and also worked at Propaganda Films. 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.{{cite news |url=https://irl.umsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=current1990s |title=College Band Dig Tours With Blind Melon |last=Struyk |first=Jeffrey |work=The Current |page=4 |date=March 21, 1994 |access-date=February 13, 2023}} 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. 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.[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=dig|chart=Mainstream Rock Tracks}} Chart], Billboard.com 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.[https://www.discogs.com/artist/137515-Dig Discogs Entry], discogs.com 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/31240/dig/ |title=Dig |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=November 23, 2021}} The band toured with the likes of Prong and Blind Melon to promote the album.

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.

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.[http://defgav.com/dig/digarticles7.html Tribune Interview], defgav.com/dig 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.

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; however, 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 and had started recording again, but with new bassist Tommy Black joining the band.{{cite web |url=http://www.digbandmerch.com |title=Official Dig Merch |access-date=February 13, 2023}} In November 2020, the band announced a new album with an unknown release date, posting a sample on their official social media outlets.{{Cite AV media|title=Dig's Sample for New Album |url=https://www.facebook.com/digtheband/videos/667319487311286/ |access-date=November 17, 2020 |type=video}} 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.{{Cite AV media|title=Dig's Video for "Nothing Is Forever" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muL0YWfRfW4 |access-date=January 21, 2021 |type=video}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}

On March 10, 2023 former guitarist Denney (who appeared on Dig's second album Defenders of the Universe) died at the age of 65.{{cite web |url=https://sinusoidalmusic.com/2023/03/14/rip-dix-denney-news-flea-mourns-the-death-of-dix-denney-an-exceptional-artist-and-pioneer-of-punk-music/ |title=Flea Mourns the Death of Dix Denney |date=March 14, 2023 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=SinusoidalMusic}} 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. In May 2025, Dig released a split-single with the band Inspired Flight, which featured the Dig song "Sunset & Embery". Dig's first full-length album since 1999 was also given a release date for August 2025, with "Sunset & Embery" on the tracklist.{{cite AV media notes |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DJMfnMWpcrd/ |title=Sunset & Embery Credits |type=liner notes |publisher=Den of Wax |access-date=May 3, 2025}}

• 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)

• 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)

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;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)
• "Treatment" (2021, Cassette Recordings)
• "Sunset & Embery" (2025, Den of Wax)

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.facebook.com/digtheband Official Dig Facebook]
• [http://defgav.com/dig/ Dig Fansite]

{{Authority control}}

Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles

Category:Rock music groups from California

Category:Alternative rock groups from California

Category:Musical groups established in 1991

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1999

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2006

Category:American grunge groups

Category:American shoegaze musical groups

Category:1991 establishments in California