The Anytime is a pop-rock band founded by three members of Four Word Cause and added members Andrew Gates, from Minneapolis, and Caleb Wiggins, from Winterset. Though Four Word Cause won the 2008 Veishea Battle of the Bands and played a spot on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, they fell apart the following fall. The Anytime got their name from the Eve 6 song “Anytime,” which Eve 6 dedicated to FWC at their Veishea performance in 2008.

The Anytime guitarist Caleb Wiggins was the only one not taking classes, and he said he had been spending his HyVee paychecks on booze and hanging around unmotivated people. He credits the band with turning his life into a productive one.

“I give a shit now,” he said, summing up what the band has done for him.

In Minneapolis, Gates had been living similarly — drinking every weekend — while being a part of an indie band that he felt restricted his talent. He was working at a luxury apartment as his lease on his place was coming to an end.

“I saw what a real job looked like, and it scared the shit out of me,” he said.

Though Gates says he never answers phone calls from unknown numbers, for some reason he answered a cold call from Tyler Higdon about singing for the band. Shortly after, he says “I found myself sitting in a basement in Ames trying to be creative.”

It was a tough adjustment, but he said it worked because he loves college towns.

Rochester, Minn., native and drummer Matthew Dery says aside from working at ISU Dining, he wasn’t doing anything with himself when he and Higdon formed their previous band, Four Word Cause, while still at Iowa State. Dery has played a pivotal role in writing lyrics for the group in the past. Today they say it’s much more of a mash-up of contributions.

When the guys listen to music, they dissect the way an author may piece apart a book.

“We’ll hear Miley Cyrus on the radio and go, ‘Hey, did you hear what they did in the bridge?’” Dery said.

Gates said they’re always listening to what hasn’t been done yet, but still catchy.

As the group was recording tracks in New York City for its first EP, they landed a manager and later a booking agent that has put them on a fast track. Within a couple months, they had over 10,000 friends on MySpace and keep fans in contact with various social media Web sites.