Digging In

Gigs, Shows, Festivals, and Battles

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Today is Milwaukee’s long-awaited East Side Music Tour. If my Twitter and Facebook streams are any indicator, all of Milwaukee will be there. Sadly, I won’t be there for various personal excuses, but it’s honestly one of the most exciting things to happen in the local scene since it’s inaugural appearance last year. Seriously, do go if you’re not like me and stuck at work on a Saturday with several house hunting and upcoming wedding errands to take care of. I did debate hopping on the bike to catch a show or two, but alas, it’s a ticketed event. This got me thinking about the various ways that local shows are run, and why some work and some should be avoided at all costs.

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Digging In

CAGED System vs. Pentatonic Scales

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I’m hoping by now you’ve read Ivan’s great post about the history and importance of flatpicking. Though a seasoned musician, it’s a relatively new topic to me and one I’ve been looking at a lot lately. Recently, while hoping to improve my acoustic and bluegrass guitar soloing chops, I searched around for some tips on scales and chord shapes to use. In doing so, I found such a travesty of misguided music theory and wildly unmusical thinking, I just had to share.

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First Impressions

Outlier Syndrome

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those-who-dig-logo-finalI have a problem when discovering new music, and I know I can’t be the only one. It’s somewhat traumatizing, sometimes embarrassing, and ultimately disappointing. Does anybody else out there suffer from Outlier Syndrome – liking the first tune you hear from a band then realizing none of their other songs sound like that? If so, please read on. If not, it’s because I just made it up right now, but please read on anyway. Read more…

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The Dig Sessions

Dead Horses on The Dig Sessions

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The Dead Horses have been taking the Midwest by storm. They have a diverse range, mixing everything from catchy ballads to hard-picking traditional arrangements into their live shows. Their self categorized genre is “folkgrass” and they were kind enough to drop by the Dig Session Studios (ok it was the back room of a Milwaukee bar) and play a few songs for y’all.

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Digging In

But He Don't Sound British – Accents and Singing

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Ah music, the international language. It transcends political and economic boundaries, it harkens on universal themes, and does a lot of other things someone who describes themselves as #blessed would say. All feel-good melting pot analogies aside, have you noticed that music actually does manage to nullify one huge indicator of our backgrounds? That’s right, nearly everyone sings without an accent. Why is it that you don’t realize a singer hails from the UK until you hear them speak instead of sing into the microphone?

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News

6 Million Dollar Violin Stolen

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Multiple MIlwaukee-area news sources are reporting that the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Frank Almond,  was robbed late last night of his $6 million violin. The violin, a 1715 Stradivarius named “Lipinski”, was dropped by Almond when two men approached him after a performance at the Wisconsin Lutheran College. One source reports the assailants using a Taser, while another does not provide detail about weapons. It is possible that the attack was not random.

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Digging In

The Diphthong Song

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those-who-dig-logo-finalThis is about the diphthong song. Depending on your knowledge of grammar and/or lingerie, that’s either a very sexy or very confusing title. Or both. The song I have in mind is now 4 decades old, started as a country tune, but received a huge lift half-way through its lifespan and became one of the biggest singles of all time. Read more…

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