First is an interview that Justin did with The Morning Call, from March 24th.

“It should be no surprise that Augustana’s debut
disc, ”All the Stars and Boulevards,” is musically diverse, with
lyrics like a travelogue.

Drummer Justin South, in a recent telephone interview from Norfolk,
Va., on a tour that Sunday brings the band to Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts, says the songs were written over four desultory years in various places nationwide as the band congealed…”

Read all here

And also came across an interview that Jared did with the Tulane Hullabaloo, released March 16th. Enjoy!

“Good things come to those who wait-and the boys of Augustana are no exception. The band is finally enjoying the sweet taste of fame now that their 2004 debut record, All the Stars and Boulevards, is getting serious radio play and critics’ nods. Their rise to success was slow, but this remarkable album’s poignant lyrics and beautiful piano notes will have you wondering, “What took so long?” The arcade spoke with vocalist and bassist Jared Palomar about travels, Tom Petty, and the band’s April 5 visit to New Orleans’ very own Parish at the House of Blues.”

arcade: The biography on your Web site says you’re from Illinois, San Diego, Atlanta, all over-is there a town where you all came together and consider home for the band?

Jared Palomar: [Laughs] The band’s home I’d say right now is southern California. The majority of us are in San Diego now, but yeah, we’re definitely from all over.

a: And where is home to you personally?

JP: I live in San Diego now, but I’ve lived everywhere-NewYork, Montreal, South Dakota, Indiana, Louisiana…where else?…Chicago, Atlanta…

a: How did you come together as a group?

JP: Somehow we all ended up in the same place at the same time. We came together in San Diego. We were taking classes, and two of us ended up dropping out and just started playing music together and that was it.

a: How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it?

JP: Umm…Americana rock, I would say.

a: How do you feel your music is set apart from other rock bands out there now?

JP: A lot of times people get caught up in fads, and the music trends are always changing and stuff. We’ve definitely tried to stay away from that and just write songs that are good for us.

a: Vh1 has recently named you an artist to watch for, and you’re headlining your own tour this spring (following a tour with the Goo Goo Dolls). But you have been around as an album-making band since 2004. What took people so long?

JP: I don’t know, I think we did things backwards to start off. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to play around a whole lot and build up a fan base from the beginning, but we put out a record and did some touring. I think the fruit of all the waiting has been this-Vh1, fans coming out, everyone’s been very supportive lately. It’s encouraging after a couple years to come out and do shows and see a ton of fans out there.

a: “Boston” has really emerged as the first hit single from the album, but there are ten other pretty awesome songs on there. Is there any particular song on the album that you consider a favorite?

JP: “Wasteland,” I’m a big fan of that. It’s one of my favorites. “Mayfield” comes off strong, too-that one’s really fun. We’ve had a few years to develop strong crowds, so we can see what they like and what we like.

a: Right now, fans can hear “Boston,” your first single, on the radio. What’s the plan for your next single?

JP: We’re going with “Stars and Boulevards.” Actually, a few radio stations are playing it already. And we’re looking at video treatments right now. We’re just trying to find something, as soon as we get some time. We’ve got to pick a director. All we need is about a day, I think, and we can get a video recorded. We’re really excited about it.

a: What made you select it as the next single?

JP: I love “Stars and Boulevards” as our single because I think it really encapsulates, in one song, what the whole album is about.

a: Tell me about the creative process behind the scenes. Who worked on what for this album?

JP: We’ve been writing on the road. Dan [Layus; vocals, piano and guitar] writes the prose for the songs, and we flesh stuff out together. It’s hard to write on the road, but we’ve done our best to find time at sound checks and stuff. It’s kind of crazy…oftentimes, we’ll pull out a song and try it out on the crowd. It’s good to play it live, our new material, and see how it goes over, how the fans react.

a: What comes first, the music or the lyrics? Or is that not an either/or answer?

JP: Usually, it all goes hand in hand, but the musical stuff definitely comes after we lay the groundwork. Dan writes these incredible lyrics, and then we all work together.

a: You’re constantly on the road, and even refer to your van as your home. How does the 24/7 closeness affect your relationships with your band mates? Does it ever get rough?

JP: It’s great, man. We’re all really great friends and stuff. We actually recently got to hop on a bus [instead of the van], and that’s been great. We finally have our own space and some time to sleep. Everybody is fairly respectful of each other’s space. It’s really good. It definitely taxes you being six inches from everybody, but on the bus we can breathe a little bit, which is nice.

a: Travel and American cities obviously have a huge impact on your album - you mention several city names and themes of driving, boulevards, etc.

JP: Yeah, the songs reflect the fact that they were written as we were traveling. A couple were written in San Diego, some in L.A. I moved to Chicago for a little while to get away from everything, and I wrote a few songs there. The inspiration was not having a home and being out on our own and trying to find ourselves and our sense of home, whether that’s a person or a place.

a: What are some other inspirations for the music?

JP: “Boston” is the story of a friend of ours, and there’s a fictional side of the song, too-trying to get away from everything. The song is the combination of that. And on some of the new stuff, Dan just created these amazingly awesome lyrics. They’re longer, story-like, Bob Dylan-like songs that just blew me away.

a: Top three bands you drew inspiration from as you were growing up and creating your own music?

JP: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, definitely. Counting Crows were pretty big for all of us. And the Beatles are cliché, but they’ve had a thousand amazing songs. It’s mind-blowing what they did.

a: Favorite band you’ve played with?

JP: Counting Crows are my favorite that we’ve played with before. The Damnwells are one of the best bands I’ve ever toured with and one of the best I’ve heard. They’re also one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen so I’d love to take them on tour with us again.

a: Who would you like to play with in the future?

JP: Tom Petty would be the dream tour. We got to do one of the back stages at his concert last year, but I think a tour would be awesome.

a: Best place you’ve ever played?

JP: I really loved playing Montreal. It’s an amazing city, just to be there. People there are crazy and love to hear music. And Texas is always fun. The Southwest is crazy. And the home shows in San Diego and L.A. are just awesome. I feel very at home on the road, so basically everywhere.

a: What was your, “This is it” moment? When did you realize you were living your dream?

JP: Honestly, getting this headlining tour. Getting to do shows in-house and having 2000 kids come out is unreal to me. Growing up playing in little punk bands and little hardcore bands for maybe 10 people…coming from that to this after a couple years’ work is amazing to me. I don’t think this is “it” yet, but it’s definitely something to be excited about. We’re always looking for bigger and better things.

a: What were you doing before the rockstar gig?

JP: [Laughs] I was working at Guitar Center.

a: Classic!

JP: Yeah, but it was ridiculous. Ahhh, that was absurd. [Justin] South was doing delivery stuff, Dan was working a baseball field and John [Vincent] was working at a pizza place.

a: Do you and your band mates have any nicknames for each other?

JP: Nicknames? I don’t think so…I mean, we’re just full of bullshit all the time. “South” is easy, that’s his last name, but we all call him that. I generally get “The Asian Sensation” a lot.

a: What’s in your CD player or on your iPod right now?

JP: I just got this Dustin Kensrue solo album. He’s the singer from Thrice. Lucinda Williams is really, really, really good, too.

a: What is up next for you guys?

JP: We’re definitely hoping for studio time after we’re done touring. We’ve got the headlining tour, and we’re going to do a couple of college tours. Then we have some new material we’re excited to record. We’ve been writing since we hit the road. There are about 20 or 25 new songs we’re working on, and we’re really excited about them. We’ve played some of them for the crowds since we’ve been on tour, and they’re sounding pretty good.

a: We’ll be looking forward to having you in New Orleans April 5.

JP: Yeah, it’s our first time playing in New Orleans. I haven’t been back there since everything happened, but I’m so excited for it. I know it’s gonna be great… Oh, and I should tell you, we were definitely pulling for the Saints this year.

Source: The Tulane Hullabaloo