Marie’s last show of the 2009 US tour was back home in L.A. She played to a sold out crowd at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. It was a 10 song set and our friend Albert was able to get some great videos of all of it!

Lots of Digbyholics were at this last show to show their support for Marie. We’d like to thank Andy, Albert and Keshia for all being our last “Confessions of a Digbyholic” story-tellers. We hope that you guys have enjoyed these and we look forward to doing something similar in the future!

Andy

It’s been such a pleasure to watch Marie Digby’s career grow at the pace that it’s been going. I still remember about 5 years back watching the commercial clip of Marie playing the piano and singing “Miss Invisible” when she was a contestant (and eventual winner) for Pantene Pro-Voice. I instantly fell in love with the song and went to the computer right away to cast my vote. If my memory serves best, it was a very white background, about a 20 second clip of her singing the chorus while playing the piano, and a number and website where you can cast your vote. Keep in mind, this was LONG before i-tunes came out on the market and I was still young back then, but I was on a frantic search to try to find this song so I can “download” it. Guilty as I may be, but that was the first and only time I have ever “downloaded” one of her songs. I purchased both of her US albums (still on replay while I’m driving) and a few of her shirts that I got autographs on.

All right, so where were we? Ah yes, the experience at her show on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at St. Rocke’s in Hermosa Beach. Prior to the show, I was actually very bitter because all 4 people that I was planning on coming to the show with flaked out. I was planning on just selling all of the tickets to some hopeful Marie Digby fans who couldn’t buy the tickets (Yes, the show was sold-out. Congrats Marie!) due to my bitterness of not having anyone to go to the show with. But thanks to some encouraging words by her lovely fans, the Digbyholics, and finding a person, and new friend, Michael Nguyen, I decided to go. Who cares if my original posse couldn’t make it? I bought the tickets a month in advance and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

I get to the venue at around 7:30PM, meet up Mike, buy some drinks to kill time, before the show finally gets started. The first band (so sorry but I don’t remember the band’s name) played about a 30 minute set. Once they ended, we decide to start making our way towards the stage since it started to get crowded. Turns out that I end up being right in the front, being this close.

Alpha Run eventually took the stage around 9PM and it was a very pleasant surprise. The lead singer of the band reminded me of Kings of Leon with a Texas flavor to it. There was the lead singer/pianist, guitarist, violinst, and celloist.

Marie Digby eventually took to the stage with people in the crowd cheering her on. She looked so drop dead beautiful, but I couldn’t help but notice that she looked very fatigued. Me personally, I can’t stand long road trips because I get very restless. So her being in the tour bus for as long as she has been, the ups and downs that the tour may have brought, as well as other unmentionables that she may have gone through during that time, it’s very understandable.

Needless to say, she was in high spirits and performed magnificently! From singing with a fan that knew the lyrics to all of her songs (turns out that the guy actually works for her dad), a random fan buying her a shot of God-Knows-What, drinking a cup of water in which no one knew who it belonged to, her noticing me up in the front with the Christmas cup filled with Hershey’s Almond Kisses (which is her favorite, so take notes Marie fans!), singing an original Christmas song that she wrote, and sharing with the audience some intimate details on her personal life that she went through that inspired her to write some of the songs, all of the bitterness that I felt leading up to the show just disappeared. The grand finale of the concert was her singing “Say It Again” and the whole crowd sang along with her. The overwhelming emotions she felt while the crowd was singing along to this beautiful song was very apparent through her simple, yet beautiful, smile. When it comes to performing, singing, and connecting with her crowd, she’s a Pro’s Pro.

Finally got to meet her after all of the fans got their chance to say hi, take pictures, receive autographs, and it was very pleasant! I got to meet her Father, Mother, her youngest sister, Erina, and of course, Marie. I felt so touched that when she was signing my shirt, she remembered who I was as well as my name. Maybe it’s because I came to her filming or the fact that this was my 5th time going to her show this year, who knows? She said she’s good at remembering faces so I’ll leave it at that. Coming from a person who meets thousands of people a year, to me this was a big honor. She let me in on a few details about her upcoming movie and the experience behind it (which I thought were hilarious, but outta respect, I’ll keep that portion private), the whole touring experience, etc. I can’t wait to see her perform again! Thank you Marie, for being you.

Andy Kim

Albert

This past night me and a friend of mine got to once again see another live performance by the lovely, personable, and talented Marie Digby! This time she was performing at “Saint Rocke” in Hermosa Beach, California, which is roughly an hours drive away from where I live. I haven’t been to that venue before and if you’ve been reading my concert posts in the past, that means that parking is always a little bit of an adventure for me in new places. We got there a little after 9PM, and as soon as we entered the designated parking location for the venue, it was already full. To top it off, I had to do a 3-point turn in that small road to get out, because it becomes a one way street past that parking lot. Using the GPS I had as a guide, we decided to investigate the neighborhood for local non-meter parking. The first place I looked was that residential area where that one way street was behind the venue, and it had non-meter street parking available. The signs said “No Parking Wednesdays,” but it was Thursday, so score! We were roughly half a mile away from Saint Rocke, but it’s okay, and walked down hill to the place.

By the time we got in the venue, opening act “Jane Carrey” was already performing, so I apologize to her for not really seeing her set. My friend’s cousin was already there with her friends, so we went to look for the table that they were sitting at. For the most part we really were just waiting for Marie Digby to get on stage, so we just chatted, had a drink, snacks, etc… Saint Rocke isn’t really primarily a concert venue either, it’s a combination of that, a bar, and a restaurant. There were people who weren’t even there to see the concert, so I’m pretty sure that there’s going to be background chatter and noise when the bands are playing, which I’m hoping won’t be too much of a distraction (more on that later).

The following act got on stage and it was another band I’ve never heard of; “Alpha Rev.” At first the jokes about “they sound like Coldplay or The Fray” is a little too obvious, but upon really listening to the band, they actually weren’t bad at all. In fact they were pretty good. Since we were at our table in the far corner of the venue, we weren’t really directly looking at the band at first, and we didn’t even know who was singing. Turns out it was the guy behind the piano, which somebody pointed out looked like actor Joel McHale in one particular angle that we saw. Alpha Rev did a cover of Tears For Fear’s “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” which sounded great. Overall, I liked their sound.

From that point on, I decided that I’m going to get closer to the stage as I had it in my mind that I was going to get all of Marie’s songs on video. Sure that meant that I was going to have a lack of photos to take and if you click on the link below this post, you’ll see that there definitely weren’t a lot of good shots at all (sorry). Another thing is that I’m going to be closer to the speakers, so I’m hoping the my camera’s mic handles that well. Speaking of sound, sure enough the background chatter became a little bit of an issue, but not as much as these two drunk girls who talked a lot during Marie’s performance (which is obvious to hear on my videos).

Marie got on stage about 11PM, which admitedly was later than scheduled, but whatever. She seemed genuinely excited to be there and announced how this was the last show of this tour of hers. One of the best things about going to a Marie Digby show is how she interacts with the fans so well, and I love the stories she tells us about how her songs came about or her experiences during this tour. At one point she talked about how she started drinking shots during the tour and somebody in the audience offered a drink for her, which to her surprise she actually got that drink and did the shot on stage. Go Marie! At one humorous moment, Marie almost did the Little Mermaid song “Part of your world,” which I kinda wish she actually did the whole song. Overall, it was another great memorable Marie Digby concert.

After her set ended, me and my friend got in the line to meet her. We had two goals to do that night, one was to get another “action pose” with her like last time, and the other was to give her gifts (as it is X-Mas). Almost about an hour since we got in line, it was finally our turn to meet her. To my surprise, she actually recognized our faces and gave us a hug (I love how friendly she is). We did our new action pose, which was us doing a kung-fu stance, which I thought turned out pretty well. We gave our X-Mas gifts to her, which she really appreciated. My friend got his copy of her Japanese album signed, and after chatting a little bit, we ended our meet & greet. Me and my friend stood outside, as we wanted to wait around for the Digbyholics interview that I thought was going to happen (it never did). However, while we were outside, I was able to chat with Marie’s sister Naomi, who is a really cool lady. The meet & greet line already ended at one point, but the Digbyholics and us were still there, just hanging out with Marie, her family (sisters, mom), and her entourage. Before Marie left, I quickly handed her my snowman necklace that she told me looked really cute earlier during the meet & greet, and she seemed genuinely surprised and thankful for that last second gift of mine. We all said our good byes, and by 2AM, me and my friend were on our way home.

We love you Marie, hope to see you again real soon!

Keshia

hellooooo fellow digbyholics! this is a long story so bear with me on this one.. haha.

i arrived at saint rocke around 4:30 and i had already seen marié’s bus was there, but my boyfriend kevin was getting hungry so we went to the dominoes across the street. we had planned to meet up with ken, jaymie, and ulysses so we just hung out til about 6 or so. jaymie had arrived at 6 and ken arrived at 7. from there, ken went inside to the venue to speak to the saint rocke manager to try to get us inside for the digbyholics interview (which i apologize we were unable to get!!), and the interview was supposed to take place before the show started (which was why we had arrived so early). the manager called marié’s manager, and told ken that marié had gone home after her sound check. i was freaked out! i had curfew to make so i was getting nervous that we wouldn’t get a chance to talk to her at all.

well i’m 19 so unfortunately i wasn’t able to get into the hermosa beach show. ken was in the works of coming up with a plan to sneak me and jaymie into the show, but security was pretty strict so we didn’t get to go inside at ALL. ken and ulysses decided to head inside and in the meantime, jaymie, kevin and i decided to stick it out and see if we could catch marié. she entered through the front door, so as she passed us i said a quick “hi marié!” and she said “hi guys!” and then she saw jaymie and gave her a hug and said “hi jaymie! thanks for coming!!” then we went back into the car just to hang out since it was freezing outside. we got to hear a bit of the show thanks to ken, who called us so we could listen in on what was going on. when her show was almost over, the three of us grabbed all of our gifts and waited yet again in the front. marié got back on her bus for a quick bathroom break after her show and on her way she said hi to us again and told jaymie she would be right back.

then came the meet & greet. it was around 12 when she started meeting the fans, and i was feeling pretty good about seeing her before i left since ken and ulysses said the line was pretty decent. we waited until ken and uly got to the front of the line, bought us our merch, and (again thank you so much to ken!) who got a whole bunch of stuff for me signed!! i felt really bad since we were kind of holding up the line, but at the same time i was so happy i finally got to talk to marié after waiting for such a long time! we then gave her our gifts: jaymie gave enseymadas (sp?), kevin gave her an owl city cd, and i gave her a scrapbook that i made. she loved all the gifts which made me really happy! we took quick pictures with her and we let her get back to the other fans who had waited in line. it was about 12:45 and i still wanted to talk to marié for a bit so i waited around a little longer. i noticed on the side that marié’s sister erina was talking to kevin about something, so i went to see what was up. erina loved the pictures that camila had sent over to give to marié, and she was nice enough to print copies for all of us as well! kevin goes to ucla and so he and erina started talking about school and how all three of the girls went to elementary and high school pretty close to ucla. then what surprised me was papa digby came over and chatted with us as well!! he told us about marié and how she really has the greatest fans ever, and that he was really sorry we were unable to get inside the show. he then told us that next time when we see him, he’d try to sneak us inside and pretend we were marié’s cousins!

finally the meet and greet line died down, and i was about ready to leave. i wanted to say bye to marié, but right when i was about to she ran back into the venue looking for something or someone. i was kind of in a rush to leave so i just called her name and was like, “hey marié!! sorry but i have to go now, thank you so much for everything!” and she was like “wait! i want to give you a hug!” and ran back and gave me a quick hug, thanked me for coming, and told me to drive home safely. she was so sweet like always and that really made all the waiting worth it. we then said goodbye to erina, papa digby, and did a quick hi/bye with naomi and went home. i was really scared i would get in trouble for coming home late, but i have to admit, all the trouble i went through was well worth it. i can now see why marié is such a sweet and humble person.. she gets it from her amazing family who supports her in everything she does. thank you so much to the digbyholics who were so much fun to hang out with! but most of all thank you to marié for being an amazing person!

Marié made a quick stop in Phoenix, AZ to play a show at the Rhythm Room. She played a 10 song set, and we would like to thank usunuvabich for recording the whole set for us!

Thank you to Robert who sent us a write-up of the show and his experience!

I got to the venue at around 2 P.M. to meet Marié before the show.  I waited around two hours before the bus arrived.  Marié got off the bus fifteen minutes later and said she remembered me when I met her almost a year and a half ago when I met her when she opened for Gavin DeGraw.  I couldn’t believe that she actually remembered meeting me (considering it was awhile back).  I then asked her to sign my items and she had no problem signing everything that I had.  I had some album advance covers and some covers from her singles that she had never seen before.  She signed a total of fifteen different CD covers for me.  I also had some photos, CD’s without covers, two bookmarks, a magazine from Japan, and some posters.  Marié commented on the photos pointing out where they were taken and wrote different things on some of the photos.  I asked her about her movie “Feel” and she said it might be released on YouTube in February and the trailer should be coming out this month.  She also stated that they are talking with ABC and that it could possibly be released on an ABC network.  She also said the Phoenix show was almost cancelled before of the low pre-sale ticket sales.  There were not more than fifty people that attended the concert.  I also was able to get two photos taken with Marié, was able to get them developed, and was able to get them signed after the show.

The show was amazing.  It was definitely the best show I attended all year.  I really enjoy Marié’s acoustic sets because you get an even better feel on how great a musician Marié is.  I also enjoy the stories that she tells that go along with the songs.  She sings with so much emotion and you can really hear her emotions when she sings her songs.  I have met many musicians over the past couple of years and Marié is the nicest and humblest person I have ever met.  She takes the time to meet with all of her fans and really appreciates all of her fans.  Not only am I a fan of Marié because of her music, but most importantly I am a fan because of the person that Marié is.

Thank you Marié for taking the time to sign all of items and for being so nice.

-Robert

Marie’s 3rd to the last show in Casbah, San Diego. Unfortunately we just found one video from that show but Marie looks incredible stunning.

Marie Digby performing “Feel” live in Casbah, San Diego

I was thrilled to hear that Marie was in town. I really enjoyed her sweet voice as it was flowing to my ears. I can see her open up as she was singing which made me feel the lyrics even more. What I liked about her is that she seemed real and not vain as she asked her band members if there were any boogers in her nose. Her music really filled my appetite that night. It felt real good to here Stupid for U in person. I hope she comes back to San Diego soon. – Lester Laynes

After seeing Marié Digby at the Hotel Café in Hollywood back in November I was excited to hear she was scheduled for a show in San Diego. I must admit I have become a Digbyholic…her music is so good…and she is such a likeable person.

The show was at the Casbah, a downtown San Diego landmark. After a terrific opening acoustic set by Alpha Rev, Marié was finally in the house…at 11pm no less!! She commented on how surprised she was to see so many people here for her on a Sunday night at 11pm…”Don’t you people have to work in the morning?”…hey we are Digbyholics after all.

She jumped right in with a great set list that included the opener “Avalanche”…from there it was the Digby sound all the way. The night included “Breathing Underwater”, “Feel”, “Sanctuary”, “Bring Me Love”, “Stupid For You”, “Dear Friend”, “Love With A Stranger”, and ending with “Say It Again”. She had the crowd singing along on a few tunes and was very impressed by our vocal abilities. She even shouted out to those of us with the cameras to sing too!

At one point she commented on the cold weather and how it was causing her nose to run…going so far as to ask her backup keyboardist Stan, “Do I have any boogies running down my nose?” In front of a live audience no less! Oh Marié

As always she sounded great…her voice never falters…and I personally prefer her in this raw, acoustic form. I believe that is where she really shines. After the show I hung out to talk with her, get autographs, and photos. She remembered me from the Hotel Café…kind of like an old friend. My daughter sent me with a gift to give Marié. It was a necklace with a peace sign…Marié liked it and wished my daughter could have been there.

I also had the chance to meet her parents who were also there…very nice people. I told them they must be very proud to have such a talented and beautiful daughter. Overall a great night…thanks to the Digby’s! – Michael Scalise

Marie Digby had a short but interesting interview with Starry Magazine. Make sure to read EVERYTHING

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) It is singer/songwriter pop with a lot of heart!

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) I’d say Portishead, Zero 7, Sade, Jimi Hendrix, Aaliyah and Radiohead.

Q) How did you come up with the title Breathing Underwater for your album?

A) Breathing Underwater is one of the songs on the album and I felt it was the appropriate title for the entire album because it represents trying to accomplish the impossible for me. That’s how it felt to make this album!

Q) What is your favorite song on the album?

A) It depends on the week, but this time it’s “Feel.”

Q) How much hand did you have in the production of the CD?

A) I’m always very hands on when it comes to all aspects of my career. I love being involved in the songwriting, production, packaging…I feel that they all need to be in sync and the only way to do that is to have creative input in all of it.

Q) What can people expect from a live Marie Digby concert?

A) People can expect to see a combination of new and old songs from my first album Unfold. I’m also a bit of a story teller so you can expect to hear the inspirations behind certain songs.

Q) Over 12 million people have viewed your acoustic version on YouTube of Rihana’s song “Umbrella.” How does that make you feel?

A) I keep thinking there must be some major glitch in the YouTube view counter! All joking aside, I’m truly grateful that people have found it interesting enough to watch that m any times and to share it with their friends.

Q) Why will people want to take their time to pick up your album?

A) It is very honest and autobiographical. I hope that it’s relatable to everyone.

Q) What can people go online to learn more about you?

A) The most up to date are http://www.twitter.com/mariedigby, http://www.youtube.com/mariedigby and http://www.facebook.com/mariedigby. They can go to http://www.digbyholics.com for an amazing fan site.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do what I love more than anything in life. I hope to keep making music that will inspire you and move you.

Source: Starry Magazine

Hopefully someone could scan a physical copy of the magazine for us and will be posted here too! Btw, be a fan of Digbyholics’ Fan Page on Facebook

You may be more familiar with her as the girl who performed the amazing acoustic version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” on YouTube. However, this multi-talented artist has an album that has gone gold, has had numerous songs featured in hit T.V. shows such as “The Hills”, “One Tree Hill” and “Smallville”, has recently completed her second album “Breathing Underwater”, just wrapped an online movie, and has begun touring nationally. In the midst of her hectic schedule she took some time with Mami to talk about her whirlwind year.

When did you first discover your love for music?

When I was 3 years old, my mother took me to see the Broadway musical “Cats”. I was really young, but I remember sitting there mesmerized through the entire show. That night, as soon as I got home, I taught myself how to play the songs I have just heard. I instantly knew from an early age that music moved me unlike anything else.

What did you do to be heard by the public prior to being signed to a record label?

I played every single open mic in the Los Angeles area. I made a schedule for myself with the different locations on different days of the week and just went religiously. I was eventually offered to play small shows at all those venues.

Did you know what to expect when signed to a record label?

I had interned at a record label for 6 months so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from being signed. I knew it most definitely did not mean that you could just relinquish all responsibility and expect the label to do everything for you. I knew it was an amazing opportunity and the real work began upon being signed.

You’ve recently released your second album titled “Breathing Underwater”. It’s an incredible compilation of songs. How long did it take you to write all the material?

“Breathing Underwater” was actually written, recorded and produced in a matter of two and a half months. It was a very short period of time and there were many challenges. I was also recording a Japanese album during that time which made it even more difficult!

You’re songs are very heart felt, very personal. Who inspired you to write the song “Feel”?

“Feel” was inspired by the experiences I had with someone where I felt I was talking to a wall. I give so much of myself to people I care about and it’s hurtful when the other person doesn’t do the same. The song is a plea to just let me know you exist, and you hear what I’m saying.

You completed an online movie titled “Feel”. Tell us about the project.

The movie will be coming out next year! It’s a very interesting concept where instead of shooting a music video for one song off the album, I decided to do a movie based on the entire album. It is all improvisation about a love triangle. I can’t wait to share it with the world!

Did you encounter any challenges acting?

I think acting over all is a very difficult form of art. I was lucky as I just had to play myself. And since the movie was based on my album, the emotions were easy to capture in scenes. I would say the most challenging part was not being in my head while doing the scenes. You really have to be in the moment completely for it to come across realistically.

Will we be seeing you in other movies in the future?

If the right project comes along, I would definitely love to do more acting. But for the time being, I’m completely content just doing music!

What is next after your completion of your national tour?

I’ll be getting ready to release “Feel” the movie and probably recording new songs for a 2010 release.

Source : Mami Magazine