On Build & Burn, The Loved Ones eagerly explore new musical territory with great success. There’s an emphasis on straightforward rock, sing-along choruses and lyrics written from the heart. It’s a surprisingly solid record from start to finish, and one that simply grows more interesting and enjoyable with every listen. Build & Burn has redefined The Loved Ones as one of the underground’s best kept secrets, though it has also set the bar extremely high for their next album. This interview was conducted with singer/guitarist Dave Hause before the band’s 7/20/08 performance at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago.

Bill – In between the release of your Fat Wreck Chords debut, Keep Your Heart, and the recent follow-up LP, Build & Burn, your band experienced several lineup changes. Bassist Michael Cotterman departed the group, while guitarist Dave Walsh and bassist Chris Gonzalez entered the fold, both of whom formerly played in The Explosion. What led to Michael’s leaving and how have the relatively new members impacted the band?

Dave Hause – You’d probably have to ask Michael as far as all the reasons why he left the band, but I think he was pretty burnt out on touring. He wanted some of the ways that we operate things to change and was pretty adamant about it. We weren’t really seeing eye to eye, but I think ultimately, we knew that if he was going to leave, we would be able to remain friends. He decided to leave and that was that, but it was kind of a shock. We already had Dave (Walsh) playing guitar for us on tour and he suggested that we bring Chris along too, since The Explosion was idle at the time. We did the tour and we gelled really well and it just sort of went from there. It’s really worked out to be the best thing for everyone involved because Chris and Dave have really galvanized the live show and made the band better. I just think that Michael is probably happier living a little bit more of a normal life, but we’re still friends. I’ve been cooking up some material for a solo record and I think he might play some bass on it. We were just talking about that today actually.

Bill – What were you hoping to achieve in choosing Pete and Bryan from The Bouncing Souls, a band you’ve toured with, to produce Build & Burn? Was it wanting to capture a raw, live sound or was it more of a comfort zone factor?

Dave Hause – It was a comfort zone thing. We didn’t want to get into a situation where the producer was really pushing us to do what they wanted and force their agenda. We really wanted to make sure that we were comfortable and we wanted to make it sort of a family environment. Who better to do that than two of our good buds? The other thing is that they’re not producers per se. I mean, they’ve produced some of their own material, but this was their first time working with another band like this. They were more like co-producers, because the linchpin of the situation was Bob Strakele. He engineered, mixed and helped produce. He has a lot of knowledge and an amazing set of ears. He was much more on the technical side of things. So, it was kind of like having three different producers, but it was also more like playing music in an environment where we were just comfortable.

Bill – Various members of The Hold Steady appear as guest performers on the record as well. What’s your relationship like with that band?

Dave Hause – Well, it’s a blossoming relationship as we’re currently on tour with them. It all goes back again to Bob Strakele, who’s worked with The Hold Steady and is friends with them as well. We were coming up with piano ideas for our album and he recommended Franz Nicolay, (Hold Steady keyboardist). We were already fans of their band and then Bob turned them on to us. Tad Kubler, (Hold Steady lead guitarist) ended up coming down while we were tracking and laid down the solo for “Louisiana.” Franz wrote a lot of keyboard parts for the record and played on a bunch of the songs. After that they asked us to come on tour. We’ve done a few shows with them now and have gotten to know the whole band. It’s been great so far. We’ve had a lot of fun playing together and their audience has received us really warmly. They’re one of my favorite bands. They’re like the best and most exciting American band that I know of right now. We feel honored to be on the tour and even thought about in the same sentence.

Bill – Lyrically speaking, Build & Burn comes across as a very honest and personal album. Just by looking at the cover and reading the title, one can discern a theme of relationships, forming new ones or old ones ending. What were some of your motivations in writing these lyrics or what sort of feelings are you trying to convey?

Dave Hause – Yeah, I read East of Eden before we made this record and it made me think about the choices people make, consciously or unconsciously, and how those decisions can affect the rest of your life. I just started to think about life a little bit more in that fashion. You make choices all day long and each one of those choices has some kind of ramification. I don’t think people are necessarily aware of it at all times. With every choice you’re sort of building something or possibly destroying things too. I wanted to make that the central theme of the record.

Bill – The song “Louisiana” is an especially powerful one that deals with some of what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The following lyrics in particular evoke strong emotion, “And you can leave them there, you can walk away / You can point your guns, and hope they’ll stay / But they will fold their hands, and start to pray / A little faith can heal a heart that’s been betrayed.” What inspired you to write this song?

Dave Hause – It was the Spike Lee movie When the Levees Broke. I watched it with my wife and it was really long and pretty tough to get through. I consider us to be an American band, playing in an American tradition, but we are also an international touring band. We take our music all over the world and we’re ambassadors for Americans to some degree. The movie was hard to watch because of the amount of injustice that took place. The people of New Orleans just got dealt a raw deal. Nobody looked out for them and it was tragic. The thing that I kept seeing in the movie though was that the people figured out a way to find hope in light of all that. In light of their fellow citizens leaving them behind, they were able to persevere. I think that spirit deserved its own little kind of hymn or sing-along. That was the intent or the thinking behind that song.

Bill – Some of your older fans might be quick to point out that Build & Burn is much more of a rock album than it is a punk album. It’s definitely a more mature release compared to Keep Your Heart. Was this shift in style a conscious decision or was it unintentional?

Dave Hause – It’s probably a little bit of both. Ultimately, we consider ourselves to be a rock ‘n’ roll band. We always have. We grew up listening to punk rock and learned how to play music that way. When we started to play in high school and stuff, we were playing punk music, so no matter what we do that’s always going to stay with us and be a part of who we are. Ultimately, I just write songs. That’s what I do. I’m not concerned whether or not a song is punk enough for someone. I grew up listening to Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles. I don’t have any real hang-ups about trying to make songs sound more punk or less punk. I just want us to be a good band. If people have those hang-ups then I don’t necessarily think that they were fans who were with us for the long haul anyway. We’re looking to do this for a long period of time and put out multiple records. We’re songwriters and we hope that our audience follows us along our writing path. If you lose some people in the process because you don’t stay exactly same, then I guess that’s the way it goes.

Bill – Several comparisons to Bruce Springsteen have been made in regards to Build & Burn. What do you think of his latest album, Magic?

Dave Hause – I think it’s amazing. The cool thing is that when we were doing the sessions for Build & Burn in Asbury Park, they were two blocks away rehearsing for the Magic tour. We actually met him and were this close to having him sing on “Louisiana,” but we couldn’t work it out with finishing up the record and him going out on tour. It almost happened, he was interested, but we just couldn’t make it come together.

Bill – The song “I Swear” is a definite departure from your old sound, as it’s seemingly the first true love song you guys have done. It was also rumored to have been written and recorded in an extremely short amount of time. Describe the circumstances surrounding the creation of “I Swear.”

Dave Hause – Sort of, there’s a song on Keep Your Heart called “Please Be Here” that’s for sure a love song about my wife. As far as “I Swear” goes, that’s not entirely true. We had all the basic tracks for the music done and I had a couple lines for the song in my head. Pete and Bryan were like, “Look, you’ve got to have a love song on this record.” It was at the end of the session and we were wrapping up vocals and I still hadn’t written the words to the song. We had like an hour and a half before I had to leave, because I was supposed to see Regina Spektor with my wife that night. I was in Asbury Park and the show was in Philly. So, they’re like, “Look man, it’s do or die. If you want this song to be on the record, you’ve got to write it and sing it now.” We just went out in the backyard with a couple tablets. It was me, Chris, Dave, Pete, Bryan and Bob. We started to write the song and there were certain lines that started to come out and I was like, “Oh man, this is too far. I’m not going to be able to sing that.” Like, “I’ll love you till the end,” but every line I said that about everyone was like, “No, you’ve got to keep that line. It’s a great line. You’re just being honest. Let it come out.” It was one of the most amazing recording experiences I’ve ever had. We went back into the basement and started recording the vocals and people got chills and were choked up. They were really affected by it and these are like a bunch of tattooed, burly, old school punk rock guys. I literally put the harmonies on top of the melodies that we had set, sang the last words and walked out the door. Then I got a call from my wife saying I was going to be late, like totally arguing with her. It was sort of a weird juxtaposition to be singing these kinds of words and then realize that I’m still kind of fucking up. I told her I’d be there on-time and I wasn’t. At any rate, it was a really unique experience and kind of an amazing punctuation on the recording process.

Bill – You guys have toured Europe before and are heading back there later this year. How does playing shows overseas differ than in America?

Dave Hause – Well, again it kind of goes back to me considering the band to be an American band. I’ll be honest; going to Europe in some ways is better, because of the emphasis that they put culturally on art. A lot of the shows are even subsidized by different local government programs. It’s really a different approach to music and it’s a lot less disposable. Music is viewed a little bit more as art, even though it’s loud and it’s rock ‘n’ roll. Sometimes people just think it’s a disposable art form, but it’s not. In that respect, touring in the States can be worse, because of the current climate of music. Here’s the thing though, I do maintain that we’re an American band, so it’s not like we’re going to give up touring in America. It’s part of who we are and it’s the country that we live in. No matter how insane the place is or how insane the government is or how insane the music business becomes, I still want to be a band that tours in America. We’ve found a good amount of success on the East Coast, like at home the turnout has been amazing and it just grows every time we play. The West Coast has been good too. I mean everywhere we’ve toured so far has been really, really warm to us and we’ve seen our audience grow every time we come back. Touring in general is sort of a lifestyle we’ve just chosen, it’s what we do. We play music, we write songs and we go on tour and play to as many people as we can. In that respect, it’s sort of all the same, but being able to see a place like Europe and get paid to do it is pretty awesome. You don’t get paid much, but even if it’s enough to just get food for the day and be able to maybe pay your rent when you get home, that’s amazing. Touring Japan has been awesome too.

Bill – Are you able to write songs on the road? If not, do you have time set aside in the near future in terms of writing sessions or studio time?

Dave Hause – I write better at home. I do come up with a ton of ideas on tour, but I just sort of have this little recorder I keep with me that I sing little melodies into. If I come up with lyric ideas, I keep them on my Blackberry. I have a backlog of ideas, but to actually flesh stuff out I usually do that at home or with the band. I just feel like I can be more focused that way. Touring is weird. You get so much less done on a daily basis than you would at home. It’s really hard to motivate yourself to do anything but just kind of sit around and then play. I don’t know why that is, it’s really strange. Playing is exhausting, but not really. I mean it’s really fun too. I’m not quite sure. We were actually just discussing this yesterday, like the fact that we get so little done on tour.

Bill – Have any plans been made regarding the band’s next full-length?

Dave Hause – Yeah, we’re not stopping to take time off. We take little bits of time off in between tours. We try to tour for a month and then take a month off. It’s not really working out that way right now, but we have a lot of great opportunities that we’re not going to turn down. Basically, we’re going to put out another record next year and we’re working on who’s going to put that record out. We’re going through sort of the growing pains that bands go through when they’ve put out several records and their fan base is starting to grow. We’re probably going to hire management and all that kind of stuff. That’s all within the next couple months that we have to get that stuff straight. We’re writing constantly. Everyone in the band writes, so we’ll have plenty of songs for a full-length. I feel like bands take too much time off between records. If it’s what you do, do it. Write a record a year, it’s not that hard. You just have to be focused. That’s kind of what we’re aiming to do. Hopefully we can pull it off.

Bill – Do you guys just take it one record at a time or is there more of an overall goal with The Loved Ones?

Dave Hause – Well, musically and lyrically I’m looking towards the next record with a firm concept of what we’ve accomplished. Some of the ideas that I’ve been coming up with aren’t necessarily going to fit into what we do, so that’s why I’m thinking about doing some solo stuff. I’m just sort of thinking about what we’re going to do next. I think we’re all focused on what the next record will be like.

Bill – What can fans expect from The Loved Ones in 2009?

Dave Hause – Nothing is concrete right now. We have the rest of this year planned out, through December, and then we’ll start planning next year pretty soon. We want to do a five-year anniversary show in Philadelphia, which is May 8th. I think we’re going to do that. We’ve got to talk it over with the venues and see who’s going to do it and how we’re going to do it. We want to put another record out and tour, that’s basically what we’re going to do from here on out. That’s kind of the plan for 2009, 2010, 2011 and so on, (laughs). This is what we do and we get to do it, and as long as that’s the case I’m going to keep doing it.