from The Daily Bruin

Thursday, November 19, 1998

Dig fills niche with unique rock, punk sounds on album

MUSIC: Band on campus to promote 'Life Like,' entertain UCLA audience

By Michelle Zubiate

Daily Bruin Staff

Forming a rock group has its perks. Besides being able to
name your group after your dog, you can also find
yourself dining with a tattooed freak named "Puzzle Man"
in the middle of a frozen Dallas on Thanksgiving. And as
rock band Dig sees it, every job holds its share of
rewards and downfalls.

Thursday in Westwood Plaza, Dig will perform for the
UCLA audience and demonstrate all that they've learned
from experience and hard work since they formed in
1993.

Frontman Scott Hackwith incorporates many
observations from life into his music.

"I began the band when I was involved in art directing and
formed interests in writing music for film," Hackwith says.
"I began to find members and form the band around the
songs I wrote."

Hackwith describes his music as "straight rock n' roll" but
many critics describe it as a more industrial sound mixed
with some punk and surf rock.

Hackwith, however, admits that English influences play a
part, including new bands such as The Verve and Oasis as
well as old ones such as The Rolling Stones and The
Beatles.

"I just write about the things going on around me and the
things that happen to me," Hackwith says.

"I don't have a gloomy life so my music isn't always dark.
It's just a slice of life. Sometimes its upbeat and sometimes
it can be cynical."

Hackwith also doesn't see his band as affiliated with any
stereotypical genre. He does not have a standard image to
represent any member of Dig's audience.

"We have a wide range of fans," Hackwith says. "We
have people who are just kids to those anywhere in their
late 30s.

"Our fans aren't like those of bands like the Ramones
where every single fan is 26 and looks exactly the same."

Hackwith says that the band's appeal helps when touring
with a wide variety of bands, from Garbage to Juliana
Hatfield to Rage Against The Machine. Every concert
holds a different experience when the audience is different.

"Sometimes the 12-year-old Blind Melon fans were much
more accepting of us than the hard-core Ramones fans,"
Hackwith says.

In addition to the usual shows, Dig also played for
television shows such as the now-canceled "Jon Stewart
Show" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."

"At first I freaked out," Hackwith explains. "I thought the
sound was going to be horrible, and I wondered how the
audience was going to be.

"But the sound was good, and we had a lot of fun."

Dig anticipates their newest album release, "Life Like," to
come out in 1999.

They want this album to have the opportunity to be heard
and appreciated since it incorporates all their work and
effort.

"It was a long process and took a lot out of us," Hackwith
says. "I want it to be the type of album that I look back at
when I'm old and know that we did our best. I'm really
proud of it and more than anything, I want it to have a
chance."

Dig enjoys the life in the music biz along with all its ups
and downs. The bands admit touring can be hard, and that
they can get homesick or tired, but in general, the different
events that surround them make it all worthwhile and lend
a helping hand in shaping their music and their future.

"Someday I would like to start writing soundtracks for
movies," Hackwith says. "That's something I've always
wanted to get into. But for now, I think we just want to be
rock 'n' roll stars."

Hackwith's dog was the inspiration for the band's name
and could be a metaphor for the band's spirit.

"Dig (the dog) is still alive and kicking and having a good
time."

BAND: Dig will be performing at Westwood Plaza
Thursday at noon.