Who are The DIFF?! You're gonna wanna know.

Stumbled across a new group through a post by one of the members of Frisbie. And by new, I mean really old and shrouded by the mists of raw and roll time. Apparently, back in the day when they were wee l'il rockers, Frisbie were heavily influenced by The DIFF, a band that, according to their Bandcamp page* “are a Boston-based rock band who had some regional success in 1980.”

The song on that page is a power-pop juggernaut titled “Tanya.” I played the track once, immediately bought it, then spent the weekend trying to figure out more about them. Did they ever release an album? EP? Anything other than this song? Was this song actually released in 1980?!

On one hand it’s refreshing to actually have to chase down info on a band for once. It so reminds me of how it used to be, jeez, oust little over a decade ago. To not have all the info about an artist at your fingertips suddenly feels thrillingly mysterious again!

There is zero about them online that I can find outside this track, and the Frisbie Facebook post.** I reached out to some folks who have blogged about obscure power-pop in the past and no one has ever heard of them. I even tried contacting the band through that Bandcamp page to beg for more material,  but haven’t received a reply. Probably because I’m coming across as a crazy man.

I will get answers though! The reason I’m even hearing about The DIFF is because they are playing International Pop Overthrow in Chicago on April 21 at Red Line Tap! And they’ll be playing on a pretty amazing bill stocked with Frisbie (musical) friends and family including Ravi/Lola, Paul Coady & The Edsel Brothers, The Joypoppers, Gerald Dowd, and Jason Batchko.

Give “Tanya” a spin and just try and tell me my enthusiasm is unfounded.



*OK, despite the claim “there is zero about them online” there is clearly one thing about them online. But this Bandcamp page is it.

**Also note, naming your band "Frisbie" ain't exactly easily searchable online, so maybe Steve and the guys took more pointers from The DIFF than just their music.