charlie woodley - vocals, guitar
michael martin - guitar, b vox
clint gascoyne - drums
brian dougherty - bass, b vox

.....as the music business changes and once again becomes more about the music than the business, an increasing number of bands are taking a d.i.y. approach to their craft. self-financed recordings and self promotion have helped countless artists find success without the influence or interference of major label "suits". bands like digger phelps have released their own cds, set up their own recording studios and run their own websites, while websites like cdbaby.com and myspace.com have enabled musicians to distribute their music and reach fans all over world.

.....digger phelps was formed in 1997, originally as static, shortly after the dissolution of charlie woodley and clint gascoyne's band, count 210. up until then charlie had shared lead vocal and songwriting duties, but at michael martin's insistence he took center stage with clint (drums) and mark kunycky (guitar) from count 210 and michael (bass). shortly after rehearsals began, mark left and michael moved to guitar. writing sessions continued and soon the bass position was filled by janet zappasodi (isabella), but she swiftly departed for greener pastures. she was replaced by dave nemec, who also helped digger phelps (by then known as bender) by engineering their first recording session. early songs like "all being equal", "no problemo" and "race to fall" showed the band in an aggressive light while the emotional "it's only me" and the epic "whitewash" revealed their dynamic side. the 9 song dem os was recorded in less than 12 hours in april of 1998 before dave left to pursue other interests a few months later. carl archer, who was in a band with charlie and clint called happysad years before (and who michael actually replaced in happysad), joined as digger phelps' new bass player in july of 1998. in october of that year they released an ep of material from the dem os sessions called neon stars. "all being equal" from the dem os sessions was featured on the main man records compilation, die young, stay pretty in 1999.

.....with a solid lineup finally in place, digger phelps began gigging regularly and writing more material in 1999. by the beginning of 2000 they were ready to enter the studio for their first proper album. they recruited andres karu (currently in the wonder stuff) to sit behind the board and sessions for the untitled project began. over the course of the next year digger phelps spent their spare time (and money) recording songs like "waiting for the palms", "warm december", and "after hours". in early 2001 the sessions were complete and they released another ep, work in progress, under the name naked underneath. songs from the recent sessions were included as a preview for the proper album.

.....by the middle of 2001 digger phelps had their first official album ready to go but decided to test the waters and contact their fan base to see who would be willing to preorder the cd to help finance the manufacturing. within a few weeks they had enough interest and enough money to send their latest project to the plant. in december of 2001 see you in may was released on digger phelps' own label and made available worldwide via cdbaby.com. "saint of the saint" from the cd was chosen as a single (with "(love theme from) static" and "houselights" as extra non-album tracks) and sold exclusively at shows throughout 2002. a second main man records compilation, full blast, was also released in 2002 with digger phelps' previously unreleased ode to janeane garofalo, "counter girl".

.....2003 started with the release of kiss this in february, a main man records tribute to kiss, which included digger phelps' cover of "c'mon and love me". in may of that same year carl decided to move to seattle and brian dougherty (myrtle strange, dargis, frankenstein 3000, skeeter) was recruited to take his place. more shows were played and more material was written over the next few months as digger phelps prepared for their second full length cd.

.....during 2004 "slow it down" was recorded at the band's home studio, dubbed big ed's audio farm, and released on main man records' 3rd compilation, happy meal, in 2005. preproduction for digger phelps' next album, falling over backwards, began in early 2006. also recorded in their home studio, the cd is planned for release later in the year. also set for release in 2006 is symposieum, a tribute cd to the posies, including digger phelps' contribution, a cover of the posies' "please return it".

.....digger phelps have enjoyed a nearly 10-year career as a self-sufficient unit and show no signs of slowing down. perhaps it's due to the fact that they're not a product of a major-label machine, or it could just be that they love the music they play and have found a way to continue to create and release it.