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"Biography", exclaimed guitarist Rich Oeffinger, "why the hell would anybody want to know all that boring stuff? The most exciting thing about us would have to be the music!!" True, maybe, but there are loads of people who are interested in all sorts of minutia when it comes to bands and musicians. For instance, what type of amplifiers does the guitar player use? (Sovtek Mig 60 and a Vox AC30). What was the bass players first bass? (A Washburn). Is the drummer married? (Yes). However, vital statistics like these don’t tell you the whole story of the band. In a way, Rich would be right; the music is the most important aspect of this, or any, band. But a little back story never hurt anyone, right?
Digby was formed in 1999 by five mates from school. Actually, three went to one school and the others to another. And, they weren’t actually mates when they were in school. It was in college, and through mutual friends that they found themselves in the same room one day, making music together. The first proper gig as Digby came in December of 1999 at a bar called Gerstles Place. "Gerstles has kind of been Digbys home bar, for lack of a better term," says bass player Ben Schneider. "We played there all the time, but it’s not like we slept there or anything." The following month, they released their first CD to their local Louisville, KY market entitled "Laughing at the Trees". It received both critical acclaim and radio play, and quickly established themselves as one of the top bands in the area.
The next couple of years saw them expand their following throughout the region. In 2003, they released another CD on a new record label. Label X was formed that same year, and Digby was the flagship band. "Go Digby" was released to a much broader audience throughout the entire mid-west and southern regions. "This record was really fun to make, it was the first time we actually went away to a studio and did nothing but make music," says drummer Mark Book. This record also garnered rave reviews and expanded them into broader markets and venues. Radio stations throughout these areas started putting Digby into their regular rotation.
By 2004, things started rolling for Digby. They were picked up by the national record label, Toucan Cove. The new label wanted to distribute "Go Digby" to the entire nation, but there were some brand new songs the guys had just written that they wanted to be included. So in the summer of that year, the band released "Falling Up", their first nationwide CD. Keyboardist John Shiner said "We recorded five new songs and put them with the best songs from Go Digby to make the best possible record we could. The new songs really fit in better than the ones we took out, so it worked out for the best."
Falling Up took Digby to places they had never been. Tours throughout the country, playing for thousands of people everywhere from New York City to Wausau, WI. During this time, they also made a video for the albums debut single, "Too Late." The video, with its spy/femme fatal theme, was picked up for rotation by VH1 and still has a spot on the channels website.
Currently, Digby is in the studio recording their follow-up. This time, the band was charged by Todd Smith (Label X president and producer of both Falling Up and Go Digby) to produce the CD themselves. "This time, we are in complete control, so if it flies, or crashes and burns, it’s all on us," lead vocalist Paul Moeller told me recently. "We were very pleased with our last efforts, but are very excited to try something all on our own," said Rich. The band, along with engineer Kevin Ratterman, is recording above a funeral home in Louisville’s West End. "It’s made for a somewhat eerie vibe to the recordings, so a lot of it is much darker and heavier than what we’ve done before."
"Or maybe it’s because we don’t know what we’re doing," adds Ben.
The recordings from the "Funeral Sessions" are to be released in a trilogy of EP's; The first, "What's Not Plastic?" will be released in Nov., 2007 with the following two 3-4 months a part. The complete trilogy, appropriately titled, "The Wake In The Streets"
