With eight or so years between releases and non-stop touring winding down to occasional gigging, Clearlight was mistakenly categorised as a comeback album with the band often referred to in the past tense. While saxophonist Rick Roberston and co. are busy with their countless other projects, DIG is still a passion of theirs that has never ceased travelling along, even if the speed has slowed. “We never really stopped at all,” Robertson says. “Whenever we have played, I mean, we don’t do gigs that often, but when we do it’s exciting and we’d recreate some of the older material to keep it fresh. We just decided it was time we wrote some new material – we were tired of playing the older stuff – so Clearlight came about. I guess the main drive for gigging is that we still really enjoy playing together and we still feel as though we have something to say as far as music goes. We’re all creative musicians and we’re always trying to write new things but we all also write with different outfits in mind. For example, I have two other outfits I manage and write for and I find that some of the material I write obviously works best with the DIG lineup. I know that the beats that Terepai (Richmond) is going to come up with are gonna be the right thing for a particular progression or I’d love to hear Alex Hewetson’s bass lines, that sort of thing. We’re pretty good friends too, it helps to get along together.”
That old chestnut of being good friends is the explanation du jour when bands discuss successful longevity. The fact is it’s true – the combination of skill and compatibility are equal and essential ingredients for a thriving outfit. “There’s been times when we’ve been touring constantly and things get a little tense,” he begins. “One year we did 220 gigs, so anyone can get on each other’s nerves. We’re like a family, we know each other’s strong points and we know it’s gonna work musically. Really, the hardest part is getting everyone organised because we’re all so busy.”
While DIG have worked with guest singers, rappers and instrumentalists in the past, vocalist Laura Stitt has played an integral role on the latest album and in the live environment. “She’s a very talented singer,” he says. “She’s a lot younger than the rest of us and she plays in a band called Uncle Jed which Terepai recorded drums on for their album. He liked her singing, came to us, and said that we should try this girl out. We wanted a vocalist to write with us, and that’s exactly what she did. She came up with a bunch of lyrics, we gave her a structure for the tunes, and she contributed the lyrics and melody. It’s strong and innovative, she has a unique way of singing, she sits between jazz and pop.
“We’re used to bringing people in to the band in that we have invited singers to work on the project from the first album so we’re okay with it. For her, it was probably a bit daunting because she was a fan of the band years ago when she was a teenager but she’s quite professional, she’s a fulltime musician and she’s pretty easy going. We liked her professional attitude and that’s how we treat it. It’s not a club or anything. She gets her own room on tour; she gets treated a bit special.”
Even though DIG have retreated from the days of 220 gigs a year, they still have that reality in their history and the hours they’ve clocked up on stage are monumental. Keeping things fresh for both themselves and their loyal audience is an important focus for the band. Each and every member drives the idea of being as innovative as possible. “It comes from all of us,” he explains. “I suppose, well considering myself to be a jazz-trained musician, we use a lot of improvisation and that’s the challenge – playing new and interesting solos. It’s not just for the audience, we’re listening to each other in the band as well and if someone’s not pulling their weight, somebody will say something. The physical part is harder to stay on top of, you’re often physically tired. It’s a full time job this work and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. You can only do that for a number of years, that sort of intense touring. We can’t do it now, obviously, we’re only playing a handful of gigs this year, we’d play more if we could organise getting everyone in the same room a bit better but still, that level of intensity is from before, like B.C., you know?”
BY KRISSI WEISS
