Getting to Know… D.I.G | Interview 🎤

For the 105^th interview on The Musical Hype in our ‘Getting to Know… series,’ we get the lowdown on Bengtsfors, Sweden power trio, D.I.G.

“We try to sound as huge as possible!” Yep, that’s the spirit of rock n roll right there! 🤘 D.I.G may only be a trio – a power trio to be precise – but they pride themselves on the ability to produce a gargantuan sound, nonetheless. Again, 🤘! The Musical Hype is grateful and honored to have the Swedish collective – Fredrik Bergqvist, Björn Holmström, and Jonathan Lindström – as the interviewees for our 105^th interview. So, without further ado, here is Getting to Know… D.I.G: Interview #105!

Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with D.I.G, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Well we might look like a classic power trio, and of course that is a big part of our sound, but we try to sound as huge as possible! The feedback we get especially after a gig is “wow – I can’t believe it’s just you three guys!” and that being said, we never use any backing tracks or anything on stage! That gives us the freedom to jam or rearrange songs on the spot. Depending on what we feel like or what the audience reacts to.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did D.I.G form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on? 

Me (Fredrik, bass player) and Björn (guitars/vocals) have played music together for many years in different groups.  D.I.G started when Björn wanted to play some songs on his birthday party and we decided to just keep going. In the beginning, it was purely for fun and an excuse to practice our recording skills but the more we played, and Björn brought more and better songs, we started to get quite serious. It’s still great fun of course but we get more and more focused on our music.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now? 

As I mentioned in the beginning, it was just for fun. We are all adults (technically at least) with families and mortgages and stuff so we still have both our feet on the ground and maybe don’t plan for world domination and the biggest arena tours. But to be able to at least have our music as a part income would make me a happy man! But if that doesn’t happen, we will just keep on playing as long as we can afford it!

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential? 

Through the years I have been listening to a lot of different music. When Nirvana came along, they were the perfect band for me to realize I can play in a band to as a young teen. Then older stuff came along – Cream, Zeppelin, Sabbath and many more, and, of course, more and more metal.  Björn loves prog rock, grunge, and much more. Johnathan is our meat and potatoes guy who is almost obsessed with AC/DC. Altogether the things we listen to is very broad and that is why we sound as we do.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative. 

Um… yeah…you find yourself in some strange situations very often… When you realize you have been left at the wrong house where the band are supposed to sleep at three in the morning in basically the middle of nowhere. Drunk, tired, and sweaty!  Drunk ladies that try do dance some of our ‘more weird’ songs and falling in a great heap!  Björn scaring away pensioners by turning up his amp. The list goes on and I hope it will get longer!

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special? 

It just gets better and better. We are evolving for every new song and recording.  Our latest experience was to record drums in a real high-end studio which was new to us.  So, our latest stuff is almost always the most fun to play live. We always have some new songs in production and we usually try them out live before releasing them if we get a chance.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits? 

Johnathan Is probably one of the world’s most dedicated Phil Rudd (AC/DC) aficionados/stalkers.  Björn is one of the greatest beer drinkers you will ever meet! If he is thirsty watch out.

Closing things out, what is you/your band currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.   

Our latest single “in the blink of an eye” of course! We made a really cool video for it! Please check it out!

As [aforementioned], we have a couple of more songs in the pipeline that we are really excited about. Hopefully one will be released in the early fall! And we will release new music as long as people listen to us!

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.  

Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, D.I.G, The Musical Hype