The Diggs are Timothy Lannen (guitar/vocals), Robert Haussmann (bass), and Charlie Schmid (percussion). They are a Brooklyn-based band with a melodic Mid-nineties indie rock sound. Their sophomore LP Ctrl-Alt-Del was recorded at Stratosphere Sound, a studio in the West Chelsea neighborhood of New York City owned by ex-Smashing Pumpkin James Iha and Fountain of Wayne’s Adam Schlessinger. It was produced and mixed by Rudyard Lee Cullers (Ryan Adams’ Rock N’ Roll, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Isis EP) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Oasis’ Definitely Maybe) at Masterdisk.
The Diggs formed in late 2003 in Mineola, a town near the north shore of Long Island. Lannen and Haussmann were roommates at the time looking to keep momentum after a band they were in together broke up. They formed The Diggs the day after their former band dissolved. Together they recruited a high school classmate of Lannen’s named Erik Dose to play drums. During Dose’s brief tenure with the band, they produced a demo/EP called Parahora in the kitchen of their apartment with his equipment.
After Dose left the band, The Diggs started rehearsing with their former band mate Jim Mansfield who agreed to play live until they could find a permanent drummer. The Diggs played their first shows in May 2004. Off the strength of the demo, Universal Records sent an A&R rep. to their first gig at the old Luna Lounge and their second show at Trash Bar in Brooklyn was a bill with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
The Diggs continued to rehearse drummers until they were introduced to Charlie Schmid through a friend of a friend. He immediately clicked and joined the band in September 2004. During this time, Lannen and Haussmann relocated to Brooklyn (Bushwick and Carroll Gardens respectively). They continued to write songs and play shows in Brooklyn/NYC. Then in November 2004, they began to record a new EP titled Orange in Huntington, NY with producer Phil Jimenez (ex-Wheatus). A couple of their friends decided to start a record label called Sugarspun Records and signed The Diggs in March of 2005, releasing Orange in May. By June the rest of New York really started to take notice. After a sold out show at The Delancey with Ghostland Observatory in late June, The Diggs were suddenly the toast of the blogosphere. Their EP piqued the interest of Fabtone Records in Japan. Fabtone wanted to put out a full length, so The Diggs returned to Jimenez’s studio and recorded their debut LP Commute which they completed in October 2005. Fabtone began distributing the record in January 2006.
Commute was well received by Time Out New York, The Village Voice, MSNBC.com, and The L Magazine, as well as countless blogs. The record was full of swirling dream pop epics and anthems about frustration and anxiety. The record charted on KEXP radio in Seattle in February and March of 2006 landing them an in-studio performance for the station that May. The Diggs went on to share bills with The View, Midlake, Jeremy Enigk (ex-Sunny Day Real Estate), The Most Serene Republic, Annuals, Pela, Field Music, and Amusement Parks on Fire to name a few.
Ctrl-Alt-Del expands on the aesthetic laid forth by Commute while refining their big sound with leaner and more concise arrangements. The tone of the record is frantic and at times haunting. However, there is a glimmer of hope embedded throughout, where disillusion is broached with nostalgia, and angst is juxtaposed with optimism. The result is twelve cinematic songs about redemption.
Buy it on Amazon HERE and iTunes HERE
MSNBC Feature on The Diggs
Buy Our Debut LP Commute on iTunes
Buy Our Debut LP Commute from CD Baby
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