December 14, 2016
2017 US tour dates with Dan Layus are up! See you out there. More to come.
November, 22 2016
Fall…
- Augustana is now Dan Layus. Finkle is Einhorn! Truth be told, it’s really been a solo project since the original band split, but they’ve gone and made it official. We’ve recently wrapped up tours supporting the Dixie Chicks and Johnny Swim along with a three week European run of our own, which was totally happy and rewarding. We’ll do full US tour early next year. Dan’s new record is out now and has received some choice press at Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone and The Wall Street Journal.
- There’s this clip here we did for the Youtube Music’s Nashville Sessions during Americana Fest this fall.
- I’ve really enjoyed making music with Michaela Anne, Reno Bo, Morgan Frazier and Caroline Kole both at home and on the road these last few months, as well. They’re all just so good.
- A few records and/or tracks I’ve worked on have recently been released to the world and I’m thrilled with them (see below). “Blouses” by Swear & Shake was recorded at High Ceilings Music and produced by Alex Wong. The August Empire’s “Perfect Plan” was produced and recorded by Matt Sherrod at Boneyard Recording. I recorded Dave Wanamaker’s record at Ronnie’s Place/Black River a few years back along with the great Gibb Droll and a few of my long-time and dearest friends. I thought to share “The Weight Of Desire” here, because I love it. The album has been officially released this month.
March, 11 2016
New Augustana dates announced today supporting The Dixie Chicks. We’re very honored and excited to return to Europe next month as direct support on this first leg of their highly anticipated world tour. It will just be me and Dan out there again as a duo, but we’ll make a big sound. I’ll be sure to pack a delay pedal or four.
March, 11 2016
My friends from Parachute have an excellent new album out this week and I’m real happy to have contributed some electric guitars to it. The record has lived in the iTunes Top 20 all weekend which is such great news. Go have a listen and catch them on tour this spring.
January, 1 2016
New headlining dates in the UK and Ireland w/Augustana
New shows with Caroline Kole, Morgan Frazier and Alex Dezen.
October 2, 2015
Great week in London with the Augustana guys. Three nights at the O2 with One Direction and a club gig of our own at Oslo Hackney. It was a real thrill to play all these songs for new and old fans alike. Nice to be in town again too, spend time with the guys and get to know the One Direction crew a little better. Epic fun, can’t wait to go back. Here are a few pictures I don’t own.
August 30, 2015
We had a stupid good time opening for One Direction last night at Detroit’s Ford Field. It was incredibly kind of the band to let us share that stage with them and very generous of Harry Styles to spread the word. What a cool rock star. Great night for Augustana.
April 01, 2015
• New spring/summer tour dates with Augustana including our first trip to the Philippians in April and a summer tour supporting Third Eye Blind & Dashboard Confessional.
• Spring tour with The Damnwells! This will be my first run of shows with the guys since 2012 and I’m looking forward to playing all these incredible songs again. Hope to see some familiar faces.
• New studio projects with Slow Runner, Parachute and Australia’s Clint Chrighton.
• Modern Blues — a new record from The Waterboys I worked extensively on last year — will be released in the US this month. It’s been out around the world since January and garnering very positive reviews. I’m very happy to have been a part of it and was delighted to have an opportunity to work with some wonderful musicians including the legendary David Hood, Steve Wickham, Ralph Salmins, Paul Brown, Greg Morrow and of course, Mike Scott. The record was recorded at Sound Emporium in Nashville and mixed by Bob Clearmountain in Los Angeles. Press highlights below…
Telegraph.com
American Songwriter
Mojo
Guardian
October 12, 2014
New press release from The Waterboys regarding the 2015 release of Modern Blues, their 11th studio album. I had a tremendous experience working on it earlier this year at Sound Emporium right here in Nashville.
The Waterboys’ long-awaited new album Modern Blues will be released on January 19th. The album was recorded in Nashville, produced by Mike Scott and mixed by the great Bob Clearmountain. Modern Blues is an electric, soulful, bold, freewheeling rock’n’roll record with a skinful of killer new songs, some of which have been premiered live over the past few years. Ralph Salmins, a mainstay on drums for the past four years, appears alongside the talismanic Steve Wickham, who weaves a dizzying fuzz fiddle spell on several tracks. Fresh to the ranks are Memphis keyboard player “Brother” Paul Brown and David Hood, legendary bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Additional lead guitars are played by 2013 US Waterboy Jay Barclay and Austin soul guitarist Zach Ernst. Guest backing vocalists include southern soul legend Don Bryant. The album cover is a green man photograph titled The King Of Weeds, by New York artists Kahn and Selesnick.
September 25, 2014
New Augustana tour dates are up! This will be our second lap around North America this year and we’re real excited to return to all these great rooms and US cities. We’ll be going out as a lean four-piece rock band rounded out by NYC’s Jamie Alegre and Jake Owen on drums and bass, respectively. Expect long setlists.
The new Scars On 45 record will be released October 7, 2014 on Nettwerk Records. It’s loaded front to back with top shelf English Pop and I was really happy to contribute electric guitar to most of it. Looking forward to seeing them when they support the back half of the Augustana tour in December. The record can be streamed in full today at MTV.com and embedded below is the official video for “Crazy For You,” the album’s first single.
I’ve also been playing a few shows here in Nashville with a very talented singer/songwriter named Risa Binder. She’s got a lovely new EP out called “Nashville” and a choice feature in this week’s issue of Country Weekly. See below.
July 19, 2014
I’ve recently signed on with Curb recording artist Morgan Frazier for some (large, small and very small) festival shows this summer which will include dates supporting Brantley Gilbert and Sammy Kershaw. I’ll be joining her super-talented band on guitar and keyboards. The utility musician, as they say here.
This link takes you to Morgan’s knock out performance at the Grand Ole Opry last year. She’s a powerhouse.
June 27, 2014
I contributed some electric guitar parts to this super catchy new single from Scars On 45, debuting today on Billboard.com. Catch them on tour this summer! Excellent band.
May 23, 2014
Just wrapped up another tremendous tour with Augustana that brought us all over the US and Canada in a quick, efficient five week sprint. Highlights were many, but if I had to choose a few, I’d say those two Troubadour shows in LA were very special, and backing Gary Louris of The Jayhawks for a few tunes in Minneapolis was an absolute thrill. We also really enjoyed getting to know Chris Carrabba and the entire Twin Forks family, who supported the tour. They’re an excellent band and very sweet people. All in all a super positive experience and we’re hoping to get back out there again later this year.
In addition to some positive indie blog love we picked up along the way, a shot from our NYC gig at Irving Plaza landed a spot on Rolling Stone’s Hottest Live Photos Of 2014. Links below.
March 26, 2014
Had a blast recording a few tracks this weekend at the legendary SUN Studios in Memphis with a rad new NYC soul singer named Leah Fishman. I was also real happy to have an opportunity to make music again with my old pal Jeremy Kay — a terrific bass player from New York — and Matt Ross-Spang, who’s carrying on the SUN legacy with his unbridled enthusiasm and outstanding production/engineering work in there. Inspiring stuff.
March 16, 2014
I’m absolutely thrilled to have had the opportunity to work at Nashville’s Sound Emporium this month on what will be the eleventh studio album for legendary Scottish rockers The Waterboys. It’s been a real honor working alongside a core group of musicians including very gifted UK drummer Ralph Salmins, veteran Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood, Nashville wild man Paul Brown on keyboards and of course, the inimitable Mike Scott and Steve Wickham. It’s going to be a stunner.
February 28, 2014
This latest edition of PBS music series On Canvas tells the story of The Waterboys and features some ace footage from our performance at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory last fall interspersed with excellent commentary from Mike Scott.
February 11, 2014
Very much looking forward to going back out with Augustana this Spring. We’ll be joined by Twin Forks, an excellent new band featuring front man Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional. Tour kicks off April 18 at Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom and wraps up May 19 at 9:30 Club in Washington DC. All dates and info can be found here: www.facebook.com/augustana
January 10, 2013
I’ve been very busy firing tracks over to England from right here in Music City for Atlantic recording artists Scars On 45. You can do just about anything in this modern world, with or without having to put on pants. Met these swell guys (and lovely lady) a few years back when touring with Hugo and am a big fan of their first record. They’ve got some great songs on deck for #2 and I’m happy to be part of it.
December 9, 2013
NPR ran a feature today on a KEXP (Seattle) show I played with The Waterboys back in October. They went with “Mad As The Mist And Snow,” featuring Steve Wickham’s incendiary fiddle playing.
The full three song performance/interview can be viewed on YouTube.
November 4, 2013
Press roundup. Reviews are gathered for The Waterboys fall tour.
Seattle Times (Seattle)
Austin Chronicle (Austin)
San Jose Mercury News (Carmel)
Examiner.com (Washington D.C.)
Salt Lake Magazine (Salt Lake City)
Star Tribune (St. Paul)
Ottawa Sun (Ottawa)
Glide Magazine (Boston)
The Chronicle Herald (Halifax)
Onstage Magazine.com (St. John)
October 24, 2013
Our performance on The Artie Lange Show last night will air again this evening at 7PM on Sirius XM 92& 208. It will air on Directv Audience Channel 239.
That was a cool thing to do and everyone was real nice. Good to be back NYC for a minute.
October 20, 2013
As an alternative to burdening your Facebook and Twitter feeds with my professional updates, I’ve added this “news” page here today, for those who may be interested. These updates will be composed in the first person because let’s face it, I’m going to be writing them. Let’s not get weird.
It’s mid-October now and I’m enjoying my Fall tour with The Waterboys immensely. The show improves every night, thanks largely to Mike’s meticulous, thoughtful direction and unwavering commitment to improving the music. My bandmates and the tour’s crew are wonderful, hard-working, enthusiastic people and the music clearly means the galaxy to everyone that shows up. This has been a good one.