Augustana are experiencing a gradual rise of success that is still on the upward swing, as their hit “Boston” continues to gain more and more spins on radio each week.

But why, after having their album, “All the Stars and Boulevards,” sitting on record store shelves for almost a year and a half, is the success just coming now?

“I don’t know,” laughs bassist and keyboardist Jared Palomar, before performing at Toronto’s Mod Club recently.

It’s tough to pinpoint exactly why “Boston” is only catching on now and why it didn’t find a spot in the playlists sooner, but it’s probably just a matter of the pieces falling into place.

It might also be due to the unorthodox outlets that have used “Boston,” including a recent episode of Scrubs.

Or it might just be hard work finally paying off, Palomar thinks.

“We’ve just been touring for a couple years and just working our way up to get to this point and finally people have started paying attention these last couple months,” he tells andPOP. “Radio and video have been really behind us lately so that’s been a nice catalyst in some of this recent success.”

The band better make sure they have their paper work in order or a hoist of angry musicians may soon be banging on their doors. A few minutes of research on Augusta will reveal that no fewer than nine people at one point were members of the band (”At least,” Palomar says).

Three years ago, Dan Layus, Josiah Rosen and Palomar decided to drop out of college in Greenville, Illinois, and attempted to establish a music career in California. Even before “Boston” was certified digital Gold, the band had opened for the Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, the Fray and Snow Patrol.

In recent months however, the band told Rosen they would be going their separate ways – an addition by subtraction, if you will.

“It was really hard to do to a good friend but it’s what’s best for the music,” Palomar says.

“It was a long term disagreement and it kind of escalated to a point where we couldn’t work with him anymore. It was a good decision though, both musically and personality wise.”

So in case you’ve lost track of who is in Augustana right now, the lineup looks like this: singer Layus, Palomar, Justin South on drums, Chris Sachtleben on guitar and keyboardist John Vincent.

And that refreshed lineup may be why if you see Augustana on tour, the music will sound a bit different than the CD.

“We’ve definitely taken those songs to where we are a lot happier with them at the live level,” Palomar says.

The band members have already been playing new material on tour for about a year and hope to release their next album at the end of 2007 or early in 2008.

And as they keep gaining popularity, it’s interesting to reflect on the name of the band. They, perhaps pessimistically, named the band Augustana, meaning a small glimpse of hope.

“We easily could have failed because Dan, Josiah and I dropped out of school,” recalls Palomar. “It was a completely ridiculous decision but fortunately it worked out.”