W. Michigan’s Roosevelt Diggs hits top note with ‘No Place Like Home’
Roosevelt Diggs has always sought to top its last recording project. It's new album “No Place Like Home” aims to do just that.
Like many bands, Roosevelt Diggs has always sought to top its last recording project.
But the popular West Michigan Americana group’s Jammie Award-winning 2023 album “Reverie” brought such acclaim and personal satisfaction that band members knew they faced a challenge when entering the studio to record the follow-up.
“‘Reverie’ was such a high mark for us,” noted guitarist and singer Levi Duddles. “We were really happy with the way that turned out and really, it couldn’t have been better.
“So, to come out with this one – and as the songs started to come together – we had to start to question: Is this better than ‘Reverie’? I think at the end of it, we’re all kind of pretty sure it is.”
Indeed, “No Place Like Home” – recorded at Kalamazoo’s La Luna Recording & Sound with some tracking at Grand Rapids’ Graham Tones Recording, and released on Oct. 16 – represents a new career milestone for the band which formed 18 years ago.
Boasting more elaborate song structures developed over several months of work, some tracks on the nine-song album didn’t settle into their final iteration until the band entered the studio.
“We put a ton of thought into these songs. Some songs continued to change right up until we were in the studio. For most albums, we continue to write until we have an album's worth of songs and then we go in to record,” said Levi’s brother and fellow singer-guitarist Logan Duddles.
“For this album, we had a few completed songs, but decided to put a line in the sand on recording a few months out. It pushed us to dig in and gave a freshness to the songs.”
The band – Reed City’s Levi Duddles (guitar), Sand Lake’s Logan Duddles (guitar), Grand Haven’s Jon Shears (bass) and Rockford’s Jeff Leitch (drums, banjo) – were joined in the studio for part of the album by producer/organist Joe Hettinga, mandolinist Jason Wheeler and fiddler Keala Venema.
Those guests will also join the band for an ambitious album-release show slated for Oct. 16 at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. The Revered Jesse Ray and Futuretime String Band will open the show. Advance tickets, $27.27, available online at pyramidschemebar.com.
“We’ve never put more thought into cultivating an evening like we have for this release show,” Logan Duddles said, adding that “multi-talented Michael Dause” will be running lights and visuals for the performance.
“We are planning some fun music collaborations, and a few surprises. On top of all that, we’re excited to release what we're considering our best album to date.”
The band’s devoted fan base likely will be out in full force for the release of Roosevelt Diggs’ fourth full-length affair, representing the upbeat, loving community that the group has cultivated over nearly two decades.
“All four of us are very close. We enjoy spending time together. It’s not a band of convenience. It’s a band of friends,” Logan Duddles said. “That’s kind of the foundation of the music and I think that’s part of the appeal, too, as far as our stage presence. We’re having a good time and it’s not a show.”
Added Shears: “We love being together and we love creating music and we love being able to share that music with the people who show up to our shows or show up to a campfire just to give us the love back.
“I get to play music with my best friends. There’s no place I'd rather be than on stage or anywhere playing music with these four guys and just share what we do and our love and feel that energy come back. It just keeps building. … I think everybody knows that we're there because we love to play music and share it with those who are around us.”
Indeed, one of Roosevelt Diggs’ biggest fans – Leitch – joined the band as its drummer in 2022 after watching the guys perform.
“I was honored and proud to be able to join the band. Aside from the music, just getting to know these guys and be with them each week and also just be a part of the songwriting process to see what these group of guys can do to create music together, it's incredible,” he said.
“It's an honor. It's one of the greatest joys of my life.”
The album title perhaps says it all.
“I think there’s comfort in home, whatever that is for you,” Logan Duddles suggested. “Whether that's Michigan or the group of people that you're around or your literal home, I think that everybody can connect and relate with the times where you're feeling out of sorts and all you want to do is just be back into that comfort zone.”
— Find more Michigan news and festival/concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
