A big hometown show for Augustana's O.C. drummer

AUGUSTANA: The band features (left to right) keyboardist John Fredricks, guitarist Chris Sachtleben, vocalist Dan Layus, drummer Justin South and bassist Jared Palomar.

This story was originally published in the Orange County Register on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008.

Orange County residents attending the highly anticipated concert featuring headliners Counting Crows and Maroon 5 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on Friday night (Sept. 12, 2008) should plan on an early arrival.
That's because the opening act on the bill, Augustana, is set to hit the stage at 7 p.m. sharp.

Augustana's most recent material ranges from the jangly rock of "I Still Ain't Over You" and the soaring Keane-flavored "Sweet and Low" to the piano anchored "Fire" and powerful rocker "Dust."
The show will be a homecoming of sorts for drummer Justin South, a 2001 graduate of Dana Hills High School who moved from his native Dana Point to Pasadena to attend college before joining Augustana in mid-2004.

"At the time, I was working a dead end job and relocated (back) to Orange County," recalled Justin, now a resident of San Clemente. "All through college, this is always what I wanted to do."
Augustana had a hit with "Boston" on its debut album, "All the Stars and Boulevards," released in 2005.
And since the release of the band's sophomore album "Can't Love, Can't Hurt" on April 29, the group has found even more acclaim via radio airplay and television appearances, as well as strong live performances.

"On the first record, we were inspired from some of the English influences (Keane, Coldplay, Snow Patrol) and Tom Petty," South said of the sonic origins of Augustana when interviewed via cell phone recently. The band had just performed in Houston the night before and he was on his way to perform in Dallas later that night when we spoke on Saturday morning.
In addition to South on percussion, Augustana features Dan Layus (vocals, piano, guitar), Jared Palomar (bass, vocals), Chris Sachtleben (guitar, mandolin) and John Vincent (keyboard, vocals).
Augustana has a large fan base, as evidenced by the song "Boston" logging more than one million digital downloads and the collection of more than 161,000 friends on its My Space site. In addition, the quintet has appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Today Show."
Even more thrilling for South, is that Augustana has opened for well-established rock acts such as Snow Patrol and Dashboard Confessional.
"It has been awesome; we've learned a lot touring with bands like that," said South. "Its been cool to have so many bands championing around us."

When asked what it will feel like to perform in front of thousands of fans in Orange County, South even grew more animated: "It's the coolest thing ever. Growing up and going to shows at Verizon and now opening for two great bands, it's awesome."

For more information on Augustana, visit the band's Web site at www.myspace.com/augustana.