Before there was indie, death metal or disco, there was rock and roll. No matter how much things change, some things stay the same. Some bands still plug in and go, and sing songs about fast cars, whiskey, broken hearts and loud guitars.
Enter the Dig-Its.
If a rock and roll evolution exists that preceded all the genres of today, this old school punk band from Huntington would be near the big bang. If you’re like them, you’ve asked yourself “WTF happened to rock ‘n roll?”
Their answer: Nickelback.
The band (Mean Jean: vocals, Sex Viper: guitar; Bore Fang: lead guitar; Harshbringer: bass; and Bob Caution: drums) has been together in one form or another since 2004. They’ve taken stage names if you didn’t notice.
After starting with Viper and Caution in a garage, they added Caution’s cousin Mean Jean and after some lineup changes, they’re better off than they were four years ago. “I think we’re a lot tighter than we were,” Viper said over the phone. “Joey [Bore Fang] has added a lot to the band.” The band practices in his dining room, a converted rehearsal space, “at least once a week,” Caution said. But due to the members being spread out between Charleston and Huntington and work and school “it seems less and less often lately,” Caution lamented.
The Dig-Its have booked a special Tuesday night show at the Blue Parrot with Tel Aviv, Israel’s own Monotonix. But the rare thing is not just the Tuesday show, or an Israeli band coming to town. It’s the Dig-Its doing a show at a bar.
They’ve recently cut out “the bar scene” and have been doing house shows. Three friends invited the band in and “They have a room in the back and they just throw you in there. They get touring bands from out of state to come in. It’s just donations; they pass a can around,” Caution said.
“It depends on the owner,” Mean Jean said over the phone, talking about area venues. “Some seem to know how to take care of bands. Then, there are some that are not so friendly.” “It really depends on the venue,” Sex Viper added. “The Parrot has been good to us. A lot of the other bars, especially in Huntington, they’re a little shady. They’ll take money at the doors and not give it to the bands. Others will cancel a band’s show and not bother to inform them.”
The Dig-Its have done some cool benefit shows in recent months. They’ve helped raise money for victims of the Emmons Apartment fire in Huntington, and they did a benefit show for Little Victories no-kill animal shelter. “I’m a social worker; I’ve always liked helping people,” Viper admitted. “For me, it’s great to give back to the community. And, I love Little Victories,” Mean Jean added.
The band is getting ready to record the follow-up to their eponymous 2006 “Green Album” as I call it. A notable friend and local musician has offered to record the band. “Bud Carroll has invited us to come in,” Viper said. “We’re gonna take our time and hopefully have it done by Christmas.”
But what do the Dig-Its have against radio rockers like Nickelback? “A record company will throw a bunch of guys who’ve never met together. They do a record and they’re millionaires. For them it’s just a job and it’s not from their heart,” Caution asserted. “They’ll do the same thing until people won’t buy it anymore then move on to the next thing,” Viper said.
The next thing for the Dig-Its is Tuesday’s show. “We all really enjoy playing together and we enjoy what we do,” Harshbringer noted. The singer summed up the band’s attitude thusly: “We play more for the love of music than trying to make money.”
