The day after the first snow of the season (autumn?), we sat down with Dignan’s Andy Pena, Devin Garcia and, later, David Palomo before their set at P.A.’s Lounge. It had been a 100 degrees outside when the Texas 5-piece had left their home state the week before and the unpredictable New England weather had clearly left them a little worse for wear. Still, whatever toll the cold had taken on them wasn’t immediately apparent and they proved to be some of the most personable  people we’ve ever interviewed– Devin shrugged off the unexpected snowfall as an excuse to buy new shoes, and the whole group seemed determined to not let flu-like symptoms interfere with their excitement about their first visit to Boston.

Once they took the stage at P.A.’s, it was clear that the members of Dignan are as talented as they are amiable, quickly impressing the crowd with their self-described ‘melancholy’ indie rock. A casual listener might mistake their sound, accented by accordion and xylophone, with the sound of other dreamy indie-pop bands, but there is a darker undercurrent to their songs, as suggested by the title of their latest release: Cheaters & Thieves. Their ambient sound is counterbalanced by Pena’s mournful voice and often desperate lyrics: the chorus of their first single, “Two Steps,” is the repeated line, “there’s not much, there’s not much time”. The disparity between vocals and instrumentation is even more pronounced when the other four members of the band add their voices to the mix, Creating a haunting backdrop to Pena’s crooning, the effect brings the somber nature of the lyrics to the forefront. Dignan is currently touring in support of Cheaters & Thieves, and with a new EP to record and an appearance at SXSW around the corner, they are definitely a band to watch.

–Tim Burdick

How did Dignan start?

A: Devin and I played with an old friend of ours when we were in high school. We were just messing around. We didn’t really do anything serious. About five years ago we decided to start being a band and start touring. Everyone in our band we’ve met at shows. Then we‘d take them on tour as the merch person, find out later they played something, and add them.

So, you were saying that was post-high school. Was that right after high school, or…?

D: Well, it was over a vast time period. I wouldn’t say that it really happened after anything. (laughs). It was around four or five years ago.

Were you two the core, and other people were in and out and around?

D: It’s been like that. We started with our old friend Nathan, but since then we’ve had multiple line up changes. People coming in and out.

In terms of influences, would you say you all draw from the same places?

D: Well, Andy’s influenced me a lot as far as music that I like now. I think when we first started, Nathan was influenced by just hanging around and learning new music.

A: I think we started hanging out and playing together because we were bored. There wasn’t much to do in McAllen, Texas, and our tastes developed together. We pretty much like the same stuff.

Such as?

D: Lately it’s been Fleet Foxes….

A: Grizzly Bear, Beach House

D: Colour Revolt. We like darker kind of stuff; melancholy or sad stuff.

You’re sad people?

D: We’re sad people.

A: We’re very sad people. (laughs)

Can you describe what your creative process is like?

D: I’ll have a guitar riff or an idea for a song, and then everyone just adds their own thing to it. We just pick at those parts that they write and try to make them fit as best as we can.

So, what’s Dignan working on right now?

D: We’ve just been touring a lot since the end of June. We put out a record, Cheaters and Thieves. We’ve just been trying to support that and go out and play as many shows as possible. We’re in the middle of this tour. We have another month to go. We have about 10 more shows with The Rocketboys and then we pick up with Dead Sea Choir for more of the Southeast stuff. We’re excited about that. We moved in big jumps. We went from Dallas to Little Rock to Memphis to Nashville to Illinois and Indiana. From there it was through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut to Boston. We’ve just been doing a lot of touring. We’ve been trying to get people excited about this new CD and our music, and just get as much exposure as possible.

Have there been any crazy happenings on this tour?

D: Dave, you want to answer that?

DP: The weather. Coming from 100 degree weather back home two weeks ago and all of a sudden being thrust into 30 degree weather. A lot of us got sick and were just out of it for a few days. We’re all a lot better now. I think that’s the craziest thing that’s happened on this tour.

Snow in October is not normal here…

DP: Everywhere we go, they’re telling us that this weather is not ordinary.

D: I don’t know if anything really crazy has happened though. I’m trying to think…

A: Free pizza!

DP: Yeah, I scammed some pizza from some dudes that could easily kick my ass. That’s a crazy thing waiting to happen. (laughs)

We’ll check back in after the show.

DP: Thanks. Hopefully you don’t find me in a ditch.

So, what’s up next after the tour? What do the next 6 months look like for Dignan?

A: Well, after this we’re going to be home and writing.

D: Six months from now we’ll hopefully be back on the road.

A: Yeah. We’re going to be writing, and then we’ll hopefully release a 7” with two or three songs. Hopefully we’ll head out on tour early next year, but we’re still planning that.

D: We’ll probably be doing SXSW in Austin in March. Before that we’ll probably being staying near home and just writing and trying to get ready to put out that 7”.

DP: I’m going to be in school.

D: We’ll get back on the road hopefully near June.

So, do any of you guys have any ties to Boston?

A: Not really. We’ve never been here, and we don’t have any family here. The Rocketboys – the band we’re on tour with – have family here.

D: We’re just kind of hanging out. Actually, we got lost earlier.

A: That was a crazy thing that happened.

D: I think we were in the Financial District? We were just turning and turning and going over bridges and through tunnels. The GPS just kept telling us to go the wrong way. We finally got to where the Rocketboys and everyone were. We went for a little walk by the harbor. It was pretty cool.

A: But ties? Not really.

And you guys haven’t been here before as a band?

D: No. First time.

A: This is the furthest north we’ve been. A whole new territory.

D: It’s been awesome. Everything that I’ve seen so far has been really, really cool.

A: The last week or so has been new things that we haven’t ever seen. Even with being sick, it’s been really refreshing.