Augustana’s Dan Layus – HuffPost 5.7.14

Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?

Dan Layus: I don’t know if I have any, man. I hate to skirt around the question, but I don’t have the answer. Everybody’s experience is different. We started really young I was like eighteen when I signed the deal at Epic. It’s been eleven years and my experience will vary from somebody else’s experience, even at the same time. Everybody’s different, so I can’t think of any advice to be honest. I’ve just got to get my own thing order. [laughs]

MR: Is there anything from your creative experience or touring or signing that’s worth passing on? A warning or an encouragement?

DL: I don’t know if this is proven to be the right way to go, but I’ve always tried sincerely to just make sure that I’m putting these songs out because I believe in them. Especially on this record, but also on the last one. As soon as it’s somebody else’s belief and you’re just going with it–although trusted advice can be incredibly important and I think it is important to have people around you that can steer you in the right direction, absolutely, but I do believe that it has to come from your gut because ultimately you’re the one who goes out and plays it every night. People that are standing in front of you when you’re on that stage, they can see it, man. They have a BS meter and they can see when you mean it and when you don’t mean it, and when it means something to you and when it doesn’t. I think that’s something I’ve ultimately learned, you’ve got to put something out from your gut. I know that sounds really cliche, but I think it’s the fact from my experience.