Up until this interview I was unaware of The Dig’s music, which is a shame because now that I have discovered their brand of indie dream-pop I don’t know how I ever lived without it. The New York quartet consisting of David Baldwin (Guitar, Vocals), Emile Mosseri (Bass, Vocals), Erick Eiser (Keyboards, Guitar), and Mark Demiglio (Drums) play some straight up fantastic and ethereal music. Last year, The Dig released a really great six song EP called You & I that I highly suggest you spend sometime with. All six songs on the album are quality and the EP as a whole is a captivating listen from start to finish. The Dig has been out on the road promoting the You & I ever since it’s release opening up for bands like Portugal. The Man, The Walkmen, The Lumineers, and The Joy Formidable. This time around The Dig are gearing up for a lengthy 25 date headlining tour across The States. So before the band no longer has access to Wi-Fi 24 hours a day I got in touch with Eiser to get more info on my new favorite Rock and Roll, Dream Pop band.
Emile Mosseri and David Baldwin grew up together in New York playing in different bands together, one of which was a Rage Against The Machine cover band. Later on in high school they met me (Erick Eiser) at a music program in Boston and we started a very quirky, but fun project with about 10 people in it. Later the three of us moved to New York City to form The Dig . It was here in NYC that we met Mark Demiglio. Coincidentally we had played with his brothers band The Demigs in Denton, Texas before we’d even met Mark… It was all meant to be.
There was a big failed construction project called The Big Dig in Boston going on at the time we lived there and there was a documentary called Dig about a band called The Brian Jones Town Massacre that we’d all seen. The word Dig was floating around and we thought The Dig sounded right for us.
We recorded You & I in Peter Katis’s studio with Greg Giorgio in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We basically lived in Peter ‘s house for two weeks and did nothing, but work on the EP. We were able to go into a smaller room filled with synthesizers after midnight and continue to work into the wee hours of the morn. We felt that immersing ourselves in the project without other distractions was the best way to get something great.
It’s been almost a year since You & I was released, have you guys been working on any new tunes?
We’ve been writing a lot recently. We’re trying to get as many songs and music written to choose from to eventually make an album. Just recently we went up to Connecticut to write some tunes and we also ended up coming up with an idea for a horror movie called “The Kayak Killer”. We were on a lake so it made sense then. The Kayak killer paddles around slicing the heads and chopping the limbs off unsuspecting innocent lake dwellers….It’s a work in progress…
I think the sound develops naturally. We all love to play with synths and guitars and experiment with pedals and effects. Through doing that we just kind of arrive at a sound and continue to evolve.
The video was shot in Fire Valley State Park in Las Vegas. It was really just a spur of the moment type of thing. Our good friend Charles Gibson who works in film was traveling with us taking live footage of our shows and after a show in Las Vegas we thought it would be cool to try and shoot something in the desert. We got word of how beautiful Fire Valley was and just went out there and had fun.
You guys have done some extensive touring this year with some pretty big name acts, any memorable shows or moments?A guy threw his plus sized white underwear bottoms at us on stage…
Both are great experiences. Opening for bands is great because you make new fans and we’ve met some of our closest friends on opening tours. But, I think headlining is more gratifying and reflects what you’ve been working towards.
Pippi Longstocking
Well on the road David sleeps in the latest, but Emile takes the most naps. I will say that Mark and David are the best at staying awake for overnight drives, I’m not sure what they do to keep each other awake…
No offense to Mr. Diesel, but I think Ronald would make for a better tattoo
I’ve been listening to a band called La Femme. They put out an album called Psycho Tropical Berlin not too long ago and it’s great.
We have a couple music videos on the way, keep an eye out for those. Mainly we ‘ll be writing and working towards releasing a full length album.