Last year, Dave Hause released his second solo album and first for Rise Records, entitled Devour. By any measure, it’s a comprehensive record that combines various themes with accomplished songwriting, resulting in a new benchmark for Hause. We caught up with him before his recent show at Schubas and discussed Devour in detail. We talked about the meaning of some of its songs, what the recording process was like and the inspiration behind the album’s title. We also spoke about his previous band, The Loved Ones, as well as his recent experiences touring Europe, future plans and more.

Bill – How did you end up partnering with Rise Records for the release of Devour?

Dave – I became aware of them through Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music. Hot Water was signing to the label and I met Craig the owner and he seemed really like a great, genuine guy. He expressed a lot of interest and stayed interested all the way through. We had a few other options, but the more demanding my team got, my management, Rise said “yes” more than the other labels did. They were the most excited and the most willing, and that was that. I don’t know much about the other stuff that they do. In fact, I couldn’t name a band other than Hot Water. Well, maybe Sharks were on there and I think Man Overboard, but I’m not even sure what they sound like. Rise is very good at what they do and really able to somehow sell records in an age where records aren’t selling. I’m excited about it thus far. I have one more record with them and I’m looking forward to doing that one and it’s been great.

Bill – You’ve said that the songs on Devour were initially intended for the next Loved Ones album. What transpired that led to them being included on your second solo record instead?

Dave – Well, it was a two-pronged thing of momentum, building a lot of momentum as a solo performer, and paying more attention to that than I was the band. The band was on hiatus and now basically doesn’t really even exist. The only reason it’s not broken up is because there wasn’t that fight backstage or whatever. We’re friends, everyone’s just kind of moved on. I was going to attempt that kind of My Morning Jacket/Jim James thing, or Bright Eyes is this and Conor Oberst is that, which so many people do. I’ve got Rilo Kiley, but I’m Jenny Lewis, whatever that is. I was on the Revival Tour gaining a lot of steam, with Brian from Gaslight Anthem and Chuck from Hot Water and Dan from Alkaline Trio. All three separately, unbeknownst to each of them, came to me and were like, “Don’t go back to the band format. If you’re thinking about doing it, don’t. Keep going, do this. You have more options, more momentum.” And I’m happy they did. The Loved Ones were great and they served a purpose. It was really fun to make music with that group of people. I’m not saying we’ll never do it again, but most likely for the foreseeable future I don’t see us doing anything. Songwriting-wise, what I’m doing now is not that different. It’s just that aesthetic of a band and that look, that’s really more what it is. But, this was the way the band was going to go anyway, musically.

Bill – What does the album’s title mean to you and how would you say that it’s reflective of record’s overall message?

Dave – I just think it’s a loaded word. It’s got a sexual connotation, and it’s got both a negative and a positive interpretation. Everyone has that tendency, the animal side of your humanity. It’s loaded on purpose. The record doesn’t necessarily have a message, there’s no mission statement as much as it’s like, “Where are we at and how did we get here, and where are we going? Are we able to achieve balance and happiness in this way or does some of this maybe need to get rethought?”

Bill – What specifically made you want to write about broken promises and things that people in our generation were told as kids that never came to fruition?

Dave – I think it would be examining where you’re at right now and figuring out that working class people are maybe worse off than our parents were. We can’t provide for families the way that our dads could, due to just socioeconomic shifts and really bad decisions in government and an explosion of population that keeps going on and on, all that kind of stuff. Ultimately, it was an examination of why am I wired like this? Why do I think the world owes me more than it does? You shouldn’t ever think that way. Why does my generation feel so let down? Well, you can’t make promises to little kids and tell them it’s all going to be a certain way when that’s not realistic. So, I think it just came from trying to examine where I’m at and again getting back to the word “devour.” That insatiable appetite that’s hard-wired into Americans specifically, you do eventually hit a wall. You can’t go on like that. You have to live with some level of balance or you’ll burn yourself out. That’s built-in because of the kind of people Americans are. They’re a few generations beyond people who were okay with uprooting entirely and going for gold. Obviously a few generations later you’re still going to get some people with some wanderlust, but now we’re out of room. I think that as cool as the American experiment was, the way that it’s played out has gotten pretty far removed.

Bill – Religion is mentioned a fair amount on Devour. What motivated you to discuss this topic?

Dave – That’s the way I was raised and I think no matter how far you can intellectually get away from that and understand it for what it is and the purpose that is serves, and make your peace with being raised that way, guilt and redemption are really good ways to write and it’s hard to get away from that. It’s hard to ever get fully out from under that when that’s the way you’re programmed from the time you were a kid. It’s inevitably going to come out in writing. I guess I’m kind of thankful for it all because it gives me something to write about.

Bill – The songs on Devour definitely flow together to tell a complete story. They also travel on somewhat of a linear path in that the beginning is fairly dark, but then there’s kind of a light at the end. Where did you find the inspiration to conclude the album on a positive note?

Dave – It took a while. That was what held up being able to record it really. I probably could’ve recorded it a year prior, most of the songs, but I didn’t want to make a totally dark record. And that was on purpose. I even think it’s skirting the line now, but when I spoke to Craig Finn about it from The Hold Steady, he said “That was a rough one, huh?” I was like “Yeah.” He goes, “I have a couple of those too. They’re good to write, but they’re hard to play.” It’s true, it’s cathartic and all that stuff, but I didn’t want it to just be bleak. The Downward Spiral is great and so is In Utero, but how often do you put them on when you go to the beach? I think the music is intentionally more upbeat and not quite as dark on Devour, so that you can shut some of that off and just ride to the beach. What I found is that through being creative and trying to find balance, and in music specifically, that there is a reason to go on and a reason to believe in humanity and all that kind of stuff. I wanted to put that at the end, almost as an invitation, like “Hey, we’ve been over all this now, but we’re not going to stay here.” And that’s the conversation with the audience that you’re asking them, and it ends with that, like “Are you in?” We’ve all been here and we’ve all gone through this, now where are we going? That’s why the next record is keeping me up at night, because I’m not exactly sure where we are going.

Bill – What was it like recording with Andrew Alekel and Mitchell Townsend at Grandmaster Recorders?

Dave – It was a dream. I think that the first big recording experience I had with The Loved Ones was with Brian McTernan. He really pushed me and pushed the band, and then when we did Build & Burn, I did it with the Bouncing Souls guys and my friend Bob. Then I did Resolutions with Pete from the Souls. I went from that and they’re easier on me, which is great, it’s a really comfortable way to make records. But I think that it’s important to keep moving and doing different things. In this instance, these guys are at the top of what they do. Andrew has amazing ears and knows what he’s doing. He knows when you say “I want it to sound like that Lucinda Williams song,” he knows exactly what you’re talking about. He knows gear, in and out. I could make four more records with him and still not be caught up with what he knows. Grandmaster is just an incredible studio. The records that have come out of there speak for themselves. Just that crew of people, playing those songs, I was batting way out of my league. It was like I was called up to the majors and able to play with these incredible players. The pain that went into writing the record was the complete opposite making it. It was a joy. Every day I was excited, pedaling from Matt Skiba’s to the studio on this crappy beach cruiser through LA. This little Philly dirt rat going to the big Hollywood studio, right there under the sign, with this amazing gear and these gold and platinum records on the wall, it was crazy. It was an experience I would really love to be able to get again and hopefully they all had as much fun as I did.

Bill – You guys recorded on a Neve console, right?

Dave – Yeah, and now that Sound City has come out everybody is claiming to have a Neve board, but they don’t. There’s about four or five of them that are together, the same kind of console that sound that way, with those guts in it. One of the four is at Grandmaster, so it was like recording on the one at Sound City. Grandmaster hasn’t been updated since the ’60s probably. It’s weird and pirate-like; it’s a little skeevy in the coolest way where it was excessively built for sound where money was no issue. It’s not comfortable like modern studios with Playstations and all that. There is not that. This is designed for making loud music and partying. We did a hell of a lot more making loud music than we did partying, but it was pretty awesome.

Bill – Tell me about Matt Skiba’s contributions to the album and how everything came together with that.

Dave – He had a bigger or smaller hand in it than you’d think. He just sang. He sang on a couple songs, but he was my landlord for the end of the writing sessions. I went out there about a month before Christmas and lived there with him, and then I lived with him the entire time I made the record, which people were concerned about, (laughs). We have similar personalities. We had a really good time and he was a guy I ran the entire record by. I was worrying about it and one night we were having a couple beers and he was like, “Why don’t you just play the songs for me if you’re so fucking worried about this? I’ll tell you if I think they need work or I’ll tell you what doesn’t work.” He just was so positive and excited about the material. He was like, “You’ve got the songs. You’re ready to go,” which is a great thing, the respect of your peers or people you look up to in terms of songwriting is really helpful. I think throughout the whole process, that was great. To have Bo from My Morning Jacket play on it, and Dave play drums from Social Distortion, and Scott from Frightened Rabbit sing on it, all those things were like little catapults. I’d be like, “Okay, I’m doing something right. If this person who I respect and love their work, who is also a friend, is saying that they want to be involved, then I’m doing something right.” So that was really encouraging. The idea actually for the peregrine falcon on the cover was Matt’s. He came up with that idea in about 40 seconds. I told him the title, he had heard the songs, and right away he suggested essentially was you see on the cover. It was impressive. So those were his contributions: landlord, backup singer and cover art idea creator, (laughs).

Bill – What can you share about the music video that you recently made?

Dave – It’s a cool little concept. We shot it in the filthiest hotel room I’ve ever been in, ever. It was this really dark place, outside of Louisville. Bad shit went down there and the director did a great job of finding it. It’s for “Same Disease” and I’m excited for it to come out. It should be out before this tour is even over.

Bill – What were some the best moments from your recent European tour?

Dave – It’s funny, the whole journey was just incredible. To go into the rooms we were going into seemed crazy to me. They seemed too big. So to get the reports of what was happening and how many tickets were selling and to sell a lot of it out, that was a huge push. Then to walk in and actually do the shows was just tremendous. It was such a high. Amsterdam was incredible. There’s a beautiful venue there. London was huge and Cologne was great. It was just an awesome tour. It was such a high. If I never get past that I’ll feel fulfilled. When your name is on the marquee, to have it be that successful, it’s wild. Here in America it’s not quite caught up. Maybe in Chicago, San Francisco and Philly, the coasts and the more forward-thinking areas of the country are catching on. But over there it’s something else. It’s exciting. I’m going over there in the summer to do a ton of festivals, which is sort of the next thing you do when you’re on this path.

Bill – What have been some of the highlights of your U.S. tour thus far?

Dave – Boston and Jersey were amazing in the first week. Toronto was wild too. But besides all that stuff, I have my brother out here with me and he’s 20. He’s never played in a band, so to have him out here keeping me young and showing me how old I am has been great. At the same time, it’s fun to have him out and kind of be seeing things through his eyes. Then also for Matt from Northcote, who’s such a talented and amazing songwriter and singer. He’s never played the States. He played here with his old hardcore band, but he’s never brought Northcote down here. So to see his energy, even on the slow nights, he’s psyched to be here. It’s just such a manic-depressive kind of lifestyle. One minute you’re in Columbus and it’s rough, and then a couple days later you get to Chicago and the show is sold out and everything. To have my brother and Matt in the van and to kind of have their perspective really does temper some of the anxiety and frustration, and some of the negative things that eat up your energy. Their positivity is really cool.

Bill – In terms of the future of your solo career, what sorts of things come to mind when you think about what you want to accomplish?

Dave – I just want to consistently put out work that’s compelling, that I can stand by, that I don’t feel is lame. I think if I can do that and make an honest living at it, I’m fine with that. I’m 35 years old, so the idea of the elusive fame part of it is a little absurd. You want to gain more notoriety for your work as you go, but how many people get famous playing music in their 40’s? It’s just not the way the world really works, which is okay. However, there are people who have gained an enormous amount of respect and momentum writing good songs, I mean Jason Isbell is one of them, he’s really done well. I guess I just want a little corner of that. If I can keep doing good work, if the work starts to get shitty I’ll know that I’m out of ideas and I’ll go do something else. I think that’s what I’m looking for. I think, or maybe I’ll open up a barber shop, I don’t know, (laughs). We’ll see.