Driver Friendly is an Austin-based band that has been around for many years, selling out shows at local venues all over the state and touring throughout the country. They were recently signed to Hopeless Records and put out their first major label release, an EP titled “Peaks + Valleys.” Hilltop Views sat down with guitarist and singer Andy Lane, a St. Edward’s graduate with a degree in Communication now pursuing a Master of Arts in Counseling, to talk about the band and its recent success.

Hilltop Views: You guys recently put out your first release on a major label. Was the process of writing/recording different from when you were unsigned?

Andy Lane: The plan for the whole project was a little different. Thematically, both in lyrics and music, we are used to writing full-length records. Writing and recording for an EP is like doing a few short stories. It took some getting used to. We also worked with a new producer, CJ Erikson (U2, Incubus, Pompeii). So having someone new definitely added a different element sonically.

HV: What are your most recent influences while writing, both musically and lyrically?

AL: Well, my iTunes library is all weird right now. I’ve been trying to study creative guitar players. So sometimes they’re in a sick band, but sometimes it’s also just a creative guitar player with horrible songs. The good ones are Built to Spill, Title Fight, Dinosaur Jr. and The Wonder Years, to name a few.

HV: How has being signed to a label changed your life, especially while being enrolled in school again? When the band got the offer, did you consider stopping your academics and focusing solely on music?

AL: A lot of musicians make drastic decisions like dropping their classes or quitting their jobs because they “made it” or whatever. I definitely did that and then was twiddling my thumbs for three months. This time around, I was very close to dropping my classes, but with the help of my professors, I was able to line them up with our touring schedule. I’m definitely doing this for as long as I can, regardless of how much money we make on the road. When you love learning something, having a legit job shouldn’t stop you from pursuing it if you have the time available to study. For me, reading about psychotherapy is way cooler than watching Netflix. Unless we’re talking Breaking Bad.

HV: Your previous albums, “Chase the White Whale” and “Bury A Dream,” had strong themes and imagery recurring throughout them. What ideas were you trying to convey in “Peaks + Valleys”?

AL: As far as imagery goes, we are going to try and use the bridge theme a lot in the upcoming releases. We’re transitioning to the next chapter in our lives, and so this imagery really shows where we are from and where we want to go. Honestly, a big inspiration for this was a poem that my old friend Dr. Becker showed me–“As Once the Winged Energy of Delight” by Rainer Maria Rilke.

HV: This past summer, you guys performed on several Warped Tour dates. What was it like being a part of one of the biggest music festivals in the country?

AL: Incredible. First of all, every band was always on their A-game. When you play every day, you don’t really need to practice. So no matter which band it was, everyone sounded really, really solid. I just ended up watching a band called Letlive play everyday.

HV: What can you tell us about the next album and the future of Driver Friendly?

AL: We have a huge white board in our studio with a bunch of really crazy brainstorm scribbles on it. I love them all, but I’m biased. Basically, we are going to tease you for a while until we get a full-length, but we are already in the process of writing a very strong album. It’ll be worth the wait.

HV: If you were trying to convince someone who had never heard Driver Friendly before to check you out but could only play one song, which song would you play for them and why?

AL: Check out “Ghosts” off our album “Peaks + Valleys.” Then watch the music video on Youtube and give us some more views. Because I base my self-worth off our Youtube hits.

You can catch Driver Friendly on Nov. 11 at Emo’s with Relient K and Motion City Soundtrack.