Augustana
When
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Where
WVU Mountainlair Ballrooms
About the Band
“Are we gonna make it?” So goes the passionate refrain of “Mayfield,” the leadoff track from Augustana’s gold-certified Epic debut All The Stars And Boulevards. “Mayfield” explores a relationship teetering on the brink, but its questioning chorus could’ve been applied to Augustana itself—one of the most unique, unlikely success stories in music today. While Augustana has made it, their rise to become one of modern rock’s leading lights has proven circuitous. When the band (core members Dan Layus, vocals, piano, guitar; Jared Palomar, bass, keyboards, vocals; and Justin South, drums) released All The Stars… in 2005, stardom seemed assured. The album was filled with soaring, subtle anthems, brilliantly captured in the studio by renowned producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Rage Against The Machine). “Putting out the record followed a pretty standard plan: go with a single, and hope it connects,” explains Layus, Augustana’s principal songwriter. “It didn’t. But that was better for us in the end, because we had the chance to go out and play for two years.” And play Augustana did, via a series of prestigious support slots with the likes of Snow Patrol, Counting Crows, the Fray, Switchfoot, and the Goo Goo Dolls. “We never stopped working,” Justin South explains. “It really did feel like we were converting one person at a time!,” Layus exclaims with a laugh. Read more ...