Thepunkguy

The Diggs, a three piece from New York City, fall somewhere between beautifully crafted britpop and Dischord dissonant 90’s rock. Here is an interview with the Vocalist and guitarist, Timothy Lannen for The Diggs.

Can you tell me who’s in the band and what roles they play?

Robert Haussmann plays bass. Charlie Schmid plays drums. And I (Timothy Lannen) play guitar and sing.

How long have you been together?

The Diggs have been together since the autumn of 2003.

How did you guys meet?

Rob and I were in a band together just before The Diggs. We met Charlie through a friend of Rob’s sister and he was right for the part.

What have you released so far? Where can I find it?

We’ve released a full length titled Commute on Sugarspun Rercords (U.S.) in December of 2005. It is currently being distributed in Japan through Fabtone Records. You can purchase it through iTunes (worldwide), CD Baby, and obviously at shows.

We also released an EP called Orange which Sugarspun Records put out in May 2005.

Where’s the name come from?

Rob came up with it. We just liked it for its simplicity. There’s no real story behind it or inside joke.

What do you guys do to pay the bills? Any prostitutes amongst you?

Charlie just graduated Queens College with a degree in performance. He takes alot of classical gigs and teaches drum lessons to make rent. Rob is a Dog Trainer and is kind of like Beast Master with telepathy and all. I work Monday through Friday from 6:45am to 3:00pm, at Blue Spoon Coffee (located on Chambers St between Church and Broadway).

And we are all whores.

Tell us about your writing process:

I write words and melodies and a good deal of the music, with ideas of what Charlie and Rob should be playing on their instruments.

They always come up with something better though, and the song goes from mine to ours. It’s never boring or predictable.

If you could turn anyone on to a local band or friends of yours, who would it be? Why/?

Aloke (www.alokemusic.com) is insane live. Check out their video on myspace. I also really like the songwriting in Heads up Display. The Mugs are really good too. We’re doing a show with them at Magnetic Field on July 8.

What records have you been listening to the most recently?

“8 Ball” by Underworld. Anything by The Verve. And the new Phoenix album It’s Never Been Like That is a total pleasure.

How important is design for you guys? Packaging, shirts, websites?

I’m bored by any other aspect of what we do other than obviously the songs and performance. Rob, who is an artist, and Brian Berger (from Sugarspun Records) handle the design aspects of our operation like the album art and web design. As we go along i guess we’ll make T-shirts and stuff but I don’t really care about it from a personal standpoint.

What has been your best experience for you as an artist / band so far?
Favorite NY thing…

I love that people we don’t know are coming to shows. That it’s not just our friends and family showing up for support (also known as sympathy).

Shows coming up?

We’re opening for Midlake (myspace site here) (Editor’s Note: Please check this band out, they are also great) at the Mercury Lounge in NYC this coming Tuesday (June 20) and as I mentioned before we have a gig at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn on July 8.

Is it about Art? Getting Laid? Saying Something? Or free drinks?

Well I can tell you right off the bat that none of this has ever been about proving anyone wrong or overcoming obstacles. It’s about this being a choice we all made when we were all kids. That we were going to be hyper-involved with music for the rest of our lives even if it hurt us very badly. It sounds dramatic and it totally is. This will be our nine to five. It has to be. It’s good enough.

In a sense I’ve dared music to destroy my future.

Any last words on why people should check out the Diggs?

All three of us are attractive and put forth an intense live show.

The Diggs on the web:

The Digg’s Website

Be their MYSPACE friend here

Hear them here:

The Diggs – Stagg (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
The Diggs – Trouble Everday

CHECK OUT LAST WEEKS INTERVIEW HERE