Dan Layus says the alt-rock band is tired of playing it safe and copying their influences

Dan Layus is tired of playing it safe. Those outside of Augustana, the alt-rock band fronted by Layus that also includes Jared Palomar, Chris, Sachtleben and Justin South, might not recognize such comfortable, secure measures, as Layus details the band’s first two albums, but it’s clear that Augustana’s latest moves forward toward a sound that Layus believes is riskier but worth the effort.

Then again, Layus has nothing else to lean on, so he might want to at least think about some level of security. His last job, a four-day stint at McDonald’s, didn’t quite pan out (“I had to get the hell out of there”), but luckily for fans of a killer hook, Augustana’s a prime day job for a songwriter like Layus.

SSv: The common response to the new disc among my friends is about the different direction, and I have to say that the first cut really sets that tone. You agree?

Dan Layus: That’s definitely the direction we were going. To put it straight-forward, I think we played it pretty safe on the last couple of records. I don’t want to bash those album because I like them, but we put ourselves in a corner to do the cute thing instead of going all out and trying something new. There’s a lot of things that factor into those decisions and the production and the writing of a record, obviously, but on this one we had a bit more freedom, a few more years and more experience under our belt. So that’s definitely what we were going for is something large.

SSv: ‘Large’ is such a good word for that first encounter with the new album with “Steal Your Heart.” Was it obvious that was going to be the lead track?

Dan: When we first wrote it and demoed it out, in my mind it was done. That was it. That was ‘the one.’ That was the song I’d been trying to write and produce and make a tip of the spear sort of introduction to who we are for about six or seven years. The second it was done, I thought, ‘This is it. Everyone has to be on board with this.’

It took a while. It took a long time, actually, to have everyone be on board with this. It took a while, but once it was mixed and mastered, it was really satisfying to see the label especially feel like they’ll take a chance on something a bit more risky. Fifty people may hate it, and 50 people may love it, but I think we have a better chance taking a risk than playing it safe, you know?

SSv: I wanted to ask about that track, because it sounds like everything flows from that track. Was that the first song you wrote for this batch?

Dan: No, it was actually one of the last ones. [Laughs] We actually did about 10 songs with Jacquire King in the fall of 2009. That was the initial first stab at the record. There were a lot of things going on internally in the band and externally in the label with a lot of things changing. Some of the decisions that were made were only keeping five or six songs from recording with Jacquire.

Then we took somewhere between four to six months writing and demoing with all kinds of producers. We wanted to assess how much further we could take the record, and “Steal Your Heart” was a huge breakthrough — not only from the standpoint from the way it makes the record feel, but also who we are and where we’re going in our career as a band in the total scheme of things.

SSv: You said you had to get people on board with the song, but what does that look like?

Dan: Yeah, it’s a slow process. It’s something where we get something sixty percent done after writing for a day or two and then demoing it. We did that particular track with a guy named Sam Farrar, who was the bass player for Phantom Planet. He’s a really great and talented guy who is really good with sound and the production of the track. It just felt that we had nothing to lose. We’d lost half our record at that point, so if we were going to go down, we were going to go down swinging. The thought was, ‘Well, we don’t even know if this record is going to be put out, so let’s open the back door and do it unconventionally. Let’s try some new sounds and some new melodies.’ It’s funny because it feels like the most natural track on the record.

SSv: What is it about the writing process of that song that even allowed that to come out?

Dan: I would attribute a lot of that to Sam. Having him in the room and providing instruments around us that we don’t normally use was helpful. Typically we have couple guitars, an organ, a piano and some drums. You can really get locked into a box with that set-up, so it was really important to have a different perspective, at least sonically. He brought that to the table, so it felt like the minute we started that song, it shaped the melody and harmonies and it all really came together. It so was so inspiring and, to this day, it’s my favorite writing experience.

SSv: You’ve spent a lot of time with Counting Crows of all bands over the years, and it seems you’ve gone beyond common touring partners to some kind of strong musical friendship.

Dan: Well, I grew up basically obsessed with Counting Crows for as long as I could remember. From elementary school to junior high to high school to college. On our first record, all we wanted to do was basically sound like Counting Crows. [Laughs] We were so young at 19- or 20-years-old. I didn’t know how to do anything, so I just wanted to sound like Counting Crows. That’s where everything started, so it’s grown from there.

They kind of took us under their wing, almost as their little brothers or something. I think we’ve done three or four tours with them the last five years. I feel like it’s summer camp every summer that we go out. We’ve done some really interesting tours with them where we sing their songs and they sing with ours and we play for three hours straight of us just playing with each other’s music.

I think something that we’ve learned from them not just musically but from a career standpoint is that it’s been 20 years and they still have a massive audience. They can go out every summer and do their thing. They can do anything they want, and I think there’s something really special about that. It’s really inspirational, and I hope we can do the same thing in 20 years. That’s certainly the goal.

SSv: At what point did that become the goal? Or when did you start talking in those terms of career?

Dan: Certainly when my wife and I had our daughter. [Laughs] It’s one thing to be 21 and have a record out and not doing anything. You’re not thinking any further than lunch time. Now I have two kids and rent to pay and health insurance and all of those things, so you start to realize you can’t just dick around. If I’m going to do this, I gotta do it 150 percent or else quit and go back to college. You don’t really have that much time.

So from a personal standpoint, it’s a nice little kick in the ass. As far as the band is concerned, I think there’s a natural conviction to always want to go bigger and better and have people listening. it’s just the most natural thing that I do and that I feel I can do. It’s really all I can do. My last job was McDonald’s. I worked for four days and said, ‘I can’t do this. I gotta make music, because I can’t do the drive-thru. I’m not even good at that!’ [Laughs] I’ve been fortunate enough to get this far and I really hope it keeps going.

SSv: You said the last two albums were safe, and I want to go back to that. What’s wrong with safe? And what do you mean when you say that?

Dan: Exactly. I don’t know that there’s anything wrong with that. Some people don’t see anything wrong with that. Maybe we weren’t being safe because we wanted to be, but because we didn’t know any different. I think it’s part of that maturing process and growing up and learning from mistakes, and maybe one of those is not pushing ourselves hard enough to find something better. You have to take the time to make the song or the record in its best possible form. I think that it’s certainly something we pushed through in this process. I don’t know if it’s any better or worse, but it was definitely more satisfying and inspirational.

SSv: If I could have talked to you before Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, would you have believed then that you had pushed through and worked hard to make it, or were you aware then of this ‘safe’ label you’re using to self-describe?

Dan: You know, I would have believed then that we would have worked hard enough and that we were going to have been as big as The Killers overnight. [Laughs] It’s just a young man thing, you know? It’s natural, especially in this business, to sign a big contract at 19 and think, ‘Yeah, this is how it works for everybody. Why wouldn’t it work this way?’

Then you do a lot of tours and have a lot of experiences and the years go by and you work and fail and succeed and all of that and you realize it’s not necessarily true. Before Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, I think we thought we were here. But you can’t really fault yourself for that. That’s part of the process. It’s embarrassing, but it’s part of the process. [Laughs]

SSv: When it comes to the Crows success and what you mentioned, they were born in that perfect time for the success they had. Do you almost feel as if Augustana was built for the same decade with the same radio possibilities and a mainstream call for that great pop/rock hook?

Dan: You know, I don’t really know. As far as record sales and things like that, so much of that is out of our hands and always will be. Personally, I love the Wild West of what’s become of music, at least online or whatever it is. I think it’s allowed a lot of people who would have never seen the light of day to be on the forefront of some exciting things. It’s changed the face and sound of music, so it’s a really exciting time.

Like I said, it doesn’t affect us as far as where we succeed or we feel like our career can always be moving forward is by working on the road and being out there and playing shows. That’s what we’ve always built our schedule and everything around is just playing every night and touring over and over. That’s certainly something we learned from the Crows as well.

SSv: Difficult with the family you mentioned to have to put yourself out there at that level like you’re describing?

Dan: Oh, yeah man. I don’t think it will ever get easier. Every year brings new challenges and they’re growing up. It’s really tough man, and we usually don’t get to bring ‘em out. We’re usually trucking it around in the van, so we don’t have to room for them. It’s like working on the docks and coming home from work and providing for my wife and kids. But, yeah it’s tough. Then again, you just have to do it.