Digitata is a tease!

Digitata threatens final performance at the Uptown tonight

By Amber Schadewald

Wednesday, Jul. 8 2009

Original posting @www.CityPages.com

Photo by Colin Crowley, courtesy of www.myspace.com/digitata

The satisfying combination of heavy electronic pulses and feather-light vocals have long made local band, Digitata, a stage favorite and sure bet when it comes to pleasing the musical senses. In May of 2007, the intensely electric trio released their sophmore effort, II Daggers, and filled Minneapolis with darkly exciting tracks, perferct for wizards and light-footed-dancing. After two years of silence, Digitata has finally released a brand new EP, Art Work Pays: nine tracks that promise to ignite a little magic in your nervous system. But with new material and a city of ecstatic fans, drummer Drew Christopherson taunts Gimme Noise with the news that tonight’s show could possibly be their last….maybe?

Photo by C-Rocka, courtesy of www.myspace.com/digitata

In preparation for the Uptown show, Tuesday night found Christopherson away from his drum set and in the work shed, full of paint and inspiration, screen-printing by hand each and every copy of Digitata’s new EP. How many exactly?

“Just a run of 500,” he says casually.

A busy band of musical minds, each of Digitata’s three members are currently active in another band: vocalist/keys Maggie Morrison is awe-inspiring frontwoman of Lookbook, Ryan Olson is a member of the hard-hitting Buliding Better Bombs and both Olson and Christopherson are a part of Mel Gibson and the Pants. Scheduling band practice couldn’t be more impossible, not to mention tour dates, shows and personal lives. It’s easy to see why Digitata took a break. Thankfully the break has come to an end with Art Work Pays. (Read the City Pages album review here.)

Stepping away from his work, Christopherson agreed to answer a couple questions about Digitata’s current state and where they’re going from here.

Gimme Noise: With all of the other projects you three have going on, why start up Digitata now?

Drew Christopherson: This spring we decided we should write a bunch of music and so we did. In April we started writing and in a month we had enough to record. It had been so long since we had recorded together, so we picked a weekend, shut ourselves in and within four days, finished with nine songs. It was a thrilling experience.

GN: What made the process so much faster this time around?

Christopherson: We usually labor over post production stuff, messing with the possibilties of our recorded sound. But this time we wanted to catch a more live quality in the recording. It’s not that we cared less, but we were looking for a more spontaneous aspect. Four of the songs hadn’t even been written until we went into the studio.

GN: Where did the inspiration for this new music come from?

Christopherson: I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we just hadn’t played together in so long. It was like, “Let’s get the band back together!”, (he says in a slighty cheesy, older man voice and chuckles).

Photo by C-Rocka, courtesy of www.myspace.com/digitata

(Then out comes a comment that takes the reporter off guard…)

Christopherson: We didn’t know what we were going to do when we started practicing again. It’s been a great experience and everything, but I’m not sure if we’re going to continue.

GN: Wait, what? Do you have any other shows planned?

Christopherson: No, we do not have anything else planned at the moment.

GN: I’m confused and sad. Let me get this straight: You guys just put out a new EP and got everyone all excited and now this could be the end? Why? Why? (I say this two more times in my head).

Christopherson: It’s a touchy subject with a lot of personal issues at heart….and I probably shouldn’t say for sure. Maggie has Lookbook, Ryan and I are planning another project for the rest of the summer and we’re just focusing on the fall. I don’t want to say this is the last show forever…becuase the truth is, I really don’t know as of yet.

GN: (Will you at least call to say goodbye?)

Christopherson:: It’s all step by step. We just want to make sure we know what we really want to do, so we can really focus and not find ourselves in the place we did two years ago (super pressed for time, confusing schedules, conflicting chaos).

GN: (Deep breath)

Christopherson: We really haven’t discussed it completely. It’s been a whirlwind of fun, writing and recording. It’s been a return to form of so many years ago when all we wanted to do was play locally, write good songs and put out good records: before all the hang-ups and worrying whether or not we could tour and make money. Once we stopped worrying, it became fun again.

Whether it’s the perfect marketing ploy or the unfortunate truth, catch the extended set toinght:

Digitata…all night!
@ The Uptown Bar & Cafe
3018 Hennepin Ave, http://www.uptownbarandcafe.com/
9PM
FREE

Intended for Lavender Magazine: Lez Night Rundown

Booby Trap dance extravaganza

Minneapolis’ only lesbian bar has been closed for six months and nothing permanent has taken its place. Is anyone else out there completely astounded by this fact? Anyone? Bueller? Boobs?…
I knew somebody was listening.

As weird as it may sound, lesbians are up and coming; a rapily-growing presence and with undeniable marketability in the U.S. In the previous few years alone we’ve watched The L-Word retain record ratings on Showtime, a gay lady wedding on “All My Children”, Ellen’s talkshow hit home with housewives across the county, a lesbian relationship on the sickly popular “Grey’s Anatomy” and Tila Tequila’s “bi-sexual” carnival on MTV.

All of this dyke exposure is great, even when it’s Tyra Banks talking about “straight” girl crushes; it’s grinding down the subject’s once-incredibly-taboo reputation and starting conversations on the left and right. And not only are people just discussing the action, women are giving in to their desires and/or curiosity and giving women their own shot at love (or lust). Lesbians just may be the new black.

So how does Minneapolis fit into all of this lesbian, bi-curious, girl-on-girl action? According to a few random Google searches and zero completely-reliable sources, Minneapolis is home to the second-largest per-capita GLBT population in the U.S. Not to mention, the Twin Cities is known to have one of the best lookin’ gay lady populations in the country, which is of course an incredibly biased opinion.

Gay women are all over this damn city and that’s evident enough on a daily trip to the grocery store or walking around the lake. We have plenty of softball teams and rugby clubs to go around, but when darkness falls, where my ladies at? Why is the Twin Cities’ lesbian nightlife scene totally lackluster? While the media and entertainment industry is finally catching onto the appeal of women with women, Minnesota is moving in the opposite direction in terms of making a solid presence in our city. In the land of 10,000 lesbos, why is there not one 24/7 lez bar?

DJ AJent Orange totally has a monopoly on all the lez event DJ opportunties

That time of the month
Pi survived a mere year-and-a-half in its bleak legion setting, appeasing the grungier bike dykes and singles needing to mingle. A couple pool tables, an awkwardly spacious dance floor, stiff drink prices for not so stiff drinks and the top 100 dance hits managed to trump the scene during its run with little to no competition. I understand Pi had a loyal fan base, but when cornered, a lot of these patrons were quick to offer lengthy criticisms. Dive bars are great and it’s obvious Pi or something like it, has its place in the Minneapolis lesbian scene. The key element is variety and that’s exactly we’re missing.

Women need choices—whether you and your girl want a chill evening with wine, you’re looking to avoid an ex, in the mood for some sweaty dancing or a quick beer after work, it would be ideal to have places where each of these activities could be achieved. At this point, no such options exist on a daily basis, and the few ‘women’s nights’ we have scattered throughout the month aren’t very diverse in their offerings. A multitude of these monthly lesbian events have been popping up around the city since Pi’s exit and unfortunately even these nights can’t seem to grasp what it is that women really want.
Here’s a summary of what’s out there now:

VIntage whores at the extinct Dollhouse

The Dollhouse
The Dollhouse sold itself as the premier lesbian lounge night dedicated to the 1940s pinup scene; classy, sexy and a little bit naughty. The Dollhouse featured burlesque dancers, a do-wop band and hot lady DJs all in a beautiful lounge setting at The View. Track jackets and typical tasteless lesbian dress were few and far between, replaced with heels, suit coats and obvious consideration into both looking and feeling good. Sadly, The Dollhouse bit the dust in April.

The low key, lounge attitude was a nice a change of pace to the dirty, gay bars in the city and there was finally an opportunity to combat the lumberjack dyke stereotype and challenge what it means to attend a lesbian event. The Dollhouse had so much potential. The eight-dollar cover pushed people away (lesbians are commonly accused of being thrifty) and the inconsistent entertainment was a turn-off, but otherwise, Dollhouse’s failure isn’t easily explained.

Lady legs at Boob Fest.

Booby Trap
“Booby Trap” is still relatively new, but thus far it’s future seems bright and sweaty. The monthly Saturday event is held at The Bolt Underground, a large basement with a long bar, comfortably sized dance floor, bad ventilation and a stage perfect for half-naked go-go dancers, a.k.a. The Booby Trap Girls. Ladies pack the place, ready to dance and taunt the “Booby” girls with tips. Talking with a new woman probably isn’t going to be your number one priority at this wild event, but grinding, PDA and getting drunk will all fit nicely into the Booby package. There isn’t a dress code, meaning it’s a mixed bag of unimpressive casual. In reality, this event is no more than a heightened version of the Townhouse’s Wednesday night dance party, with an added bonus of hot girls on stage, less boys and a younger median age.

Twilight
Yes it’s still going, every second Friday of the month at the Kitty Kat Club in Dinkytown. The seven-dollar cover is an added blow to the expensive drinks, but the atmosphere is prime. The DJs play predictable music, but women flood the dance floor regardless, packing the small space nip to nip. The incredibly plush Kitty Kat Club has a comfortable arrangement of couches and intimate seating areas to get closer or bond with friends. Another mixed bag of attire, I’d suggest you dress to impress and give your future wife an unforgettable first impression.

Townhouse
Wednesday is rumored to be ladies’ night and coincidentally, “The Original Cheapie Night.” If you’re trying to impress a new interest, buying her one-dollar drinks at the Townhouse won’t do it. If you’re trying to seduce a new interest, buying her lots of one-dollar drinks may work by the end of a long night. Lots of gay boyfriends tend to show up on Wednesday nights as well, meaning the lady count isn’t spectacular— but neither is the décor. Wear anything— sweatpants have been spotted on occasion.

pasties!

Lure, Queer Candy and Diva Riot
Lure happened a couple Thursdays at Trocaderos this Spring and featured a DJ and rap performance. Queer Candy was a super sexy burlesque/drag cabaret at Rumors and Innuendo in St. Paul. Diva Riot was apparently some sort of evening at Rumors and Innuendo as well. All promised to be regular events. Bueller?

So sadly, that’s about it….
Some Fridays, sort of Wednesdays and one Saturday a month are the nights you have to choose from, but the types of events on the list all seem quite similar: cheap liquor, dancing and loud DJs. On the off nights, maybe you hit up the regular ol’ straight hangouts or the boy’s gay bar selection, carving out a little section for you and your friends. But wouldn’t it be great if we just had a scene of our own?