January 7, 2014
| Steve
Hello Dig Nation! After a few months away, I’m back and ready for the next phase of the Dig. You’ve probably already noticed our new design. Thanks to Ivan for that – also thanks for the great series of recent posts to get us going again. Things will probably look different in the year ahead, but Dave, Ivan, and I are excited about keeping Those Who Dig going and growing. First, though, a quick look back on the year that was is in order. I have a series of 2013 recap posts planned for the next week or so and I’m starting today with The Year In Dig.
Let’s start with my 12 favorite things I wrote this year, in chronological order:
I am proud of those posts, but in looking back, I have to admit it wasn’t exactly a complete year. Before our relaunch, neither Dave nor I had posted since the end of September. But we still managed to pack a lot into 9 months, including…
Digcasts Two new ones came out in 2013: Dave put out Digcast 9, an interview with Colin Sorgi, and Digcast 10 was my 3rd NYC-focused roundup podcast.
Those Who Dig Presents After the success of the Sandy benefit in November 2012, we kept the momentum going with three more shows in the first quarter of the year.
- In January, I presented The Soft Collapse, Chase King, and Los Encantados at Union Hall.
- In February, Dave put on what many in attendance (or at least me) considered the event of the year, the Home Brew Hullabaloo in downtown Baltimore. It featured multiple home brew stations, several bands, and even a few burlesque dancers.
- In March, I presented Digcast 10 participants Beat Radio, The Pine Hollows, and Hey Anna at Muchmore’s. We had a lot of fun doing these shows, and hopefully they won’t be the last ones we do.
New & Diggable
- I had the pleasure of being part of a new venture called the Brooklyn Headsets. It was a live performance series shot on the roof of an apartment in Brooklyn with a great view of the city. I interviewed the acts after they played. We released four episodes, featuring John Brodeur, Chaos Chaos, Los Encantados, and Field Mouse.
- For the first time, we premiered a music video – and then did it again the next day. Tuff Sunshine’s “All Hail the One That Got Away” and Jamie Block’s “Show You Mine” appeared on Those Who Dig before they were anywhere else. Jamie also wrote a guest essay “How We Listen” that’s worth a read.
A lot of our focus and energy shifted because, personally speaking, it was a big year for both of us. The biggest news is that Dave moved west to Portland after nearly a decade in Baltimore. Once there, he had no trouble getting connected right into the local scene, offering several album, show, EP, and song reviews for Portland acts like Jacob Miller, Widower, and Bryan John Appleby, just as he had done for the Charm City in the first part of the year. Also, Dave shared a new Episodes in Virtuosity on Chopin and waxed philosophic on the Sirius Quartet, Laura Gibson & clarinet, and Elvis & atonality.
For me, I was taken away from TWD by a cool opportunity to become the music editor for a local blog about my neighborhood in Brooklyn called Greenpointers. I had to spend time getting started there, but I know I’ll be able to still post on Those Who Dig on a regular – if far less frequent – basis. All told, I wrote 118 posts in 2013. This includes the highlights above, 29 weekly roundups, 23 show previews & reviews, 17 track reviews (plus 2 more linked in the top 12), 6 miscellaneous posts, and the following:
Interviews with:
Scenes & Songs, etc
Lists
Album Reviews (interviews with * have album reviews too):
EP Reviews (interviews with ** have EP reviews too)
Thank you all for being part of it. Looking forward to 2014! Stay tuned for more best of 2013 coverage.