Diggs Dynamite

Wow.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times in my life that I have encountered something new and felt that punch in the gut, electrifying giddiness that is the "this is perfect for me!" sensation. Today I did, and it's name is Diggs Dynamite. [An embarrassing side note--I'm about 3 years behind the times on this.]

First, I'd like to state that I am not a stalker, nor do I have any stalker tendancies such as tracking down the object of my desire and harrassing him/her with copious emails/phone calls/electronic taps/etc. NOR am I the kind of person that follows the music industry and can spout off any random tidbit about roadie posse habits, times played in hometown, or walls destroyed while staying at Hotel X. Seriously, I could care less as long as I liked a song and the group wasn't comprised entirely of asswipes.

(Will I become a stalker after this blog--not likely; I have a life. I'll still never learn the lyrics to half the songs I love, and I'll still sing (badly) the words I do know, and I'll still be too concious of privacy issues to do anything except ask for an autographed CD if I make it to a concert. Plus, as a stalker, one tends to accumulate a lot of paraphernalia and crap, and honestly, I just don't have the closet space in the new apartment or the time to carve out a shrine. Geez.)

But today I finally managed to track down someone who is an old friend of my current Urban Family and whom I have met once about a year ago. In tracking him down, I found the bands' website and have fallen in love with their music. As of today I have a favorite! If you haven't seen/heard/know of Diggs, do yourself a favor and follow the music link I have for them under Support These People! . . . I highly recommend 'Smile' to start, and then follow that up with a CD purchase if you can figure out how/when/where from the website (I couldn't, not without making a trip to NY or LA).

[Note: his most recent tracks can be found here, but it's harder to navigate through.]

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So, why Diggs for me? Dunno, but there are any number of factors that contribute . . . if one could try to explain the punch and giddy feeling. And I suppose it's not so much that I love the music (which I do--was smitten after the first couple bars of Hey Emergency), but that I also feel a connection to the lyrics and the emotions that came from this Friend of Friends. (Note: I'm trying to maintain privacy here, not be mysterious or cute. Really.)

1. The Meeting: sure, he's a cool guy, but that's not it. Here was someone who, as told to me, had one of those 'difficult' childhoods and some pretty insane journeys to become the person I met. I wasn't sure what to expect, whether I should bring my best table manners or be prepared to punch out his lights if he took a wrong verbal turn. He'd traveled 3000 miles to support friends who'd lost a son, and whom he hadn't seen or spoken to in years. So for that alone, he's got my respect.

2. The Bio: That 'difficult' childhood . . . could have been me. Had either of us stayed in/around the area, we probably would've run into each other at a) the police station, b) principal's office, c) juvie hall, or d) suicide watch floor at the hospital. The insane journeys . . . not so much since a single Tylenol will send me to the hospital on a bad trip (no experimenting here!), but I've had my own and can relate to every sense of not being where you belong even with your own family and friends, of struggling to be and find what fits 'you' when it would be so much easier to conform to expectation, and the determination to keep doing what you most want. . . and still coming out a decent person for all the crap you endured and/or did to yourself. It feels a kind of connection with someone I don't know.

3. The Music: Well, if you haven't caught on that it suits me and that I love it, then you haven't been paying attention (or got bored and stopped reading long ago). Slacker. Just to hear every sorrow and hope and fear and anger and joy expressed through another's words (and set to great music) . . . amazing. I am so acutely jealous, and stunned, and proud that he's doing this with his life.

4. First Impressions and Beyond: (see also 1.) He's got my support--he's willing to work hard for what he wants, we've got stuff in common, he's not an asswipe, AND he looks better in eye liner than I do (@#@%^&!). Plus, you know, the music. So, loyalty earned. Now if we can just get Diggs to play around DC sometime my week would be complete. . .