The Wake

On some frozen stretch of highway in a purple and turquoise tour bus, Howie Day is plotting his next career move.

Lately, it seems the 22 year-old from Maine can’t go wrong. In the span of a few short years, Day’s career has blossomed from occasional coffee house gigs to headlining national tours. The young singer-songwriter has adjusted remarkably well.

“In a weird way I’ve come full circle,” says Day. “After high school, I decided to skip college, but wound up spending a lot of time touring college campuses. Four years later, I’m releasing a new record instead of getting my degree.”

The record, Stop All the World Now, is a change of pace for Day. Released in the fall of 2003, the Youth-produced Now finds Day experimenting with the spaced-out Britrock sounds of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. “I’m into moody music,” says Day. “When I went in to do the record, it just sort of took that direction. Instead of pulling it back, I just let it go and went with it.”

Recorded in London, Now is a dreamy escapade through life, loss and love that Day hopes will hold its own against future musical generations. “Going into the studio, I wanted to create a timeless record that will hold up 10 years down the road,” says the wild-haired Easterner.

Whether or not Now will survive popular music’s constantly changing trends is unknown, but that doesn’t bother Day, who prefers living-in-the-moment. Relating making an album to painting, Day explains, “You can always put more paint on a painting and try and fix it, but the reality of it is that it’s just kind of a snap shot of a moment in time.”

Day’s commitment to fulfilling Now’s artistic vision was inspired by some advice he received from fellow folk-rocker Tori Amos, with whom Day toured this summer. “She said it is crucial to stay true to your artistic vision when you record, or you’ll regret it the rest of your life,” Day recalls.

For Day, remaining true to his artistic vision meant parting with his one-man-band approach to playing live. This year, for the first time ever, Day will tour in support of an album with a full backing band. “I’ve adjusted to it quicker than I thought I would,” says Day, who initially had his doubts. “I thought it would be really tough because I’ve been solo for five or six years. For me to switch to playing with a band is just as daunting as it would be for a singer in a band to go solo.”

Despite this change, Day continues to expand his fan-base, something he attributes largely to online music. Programs like Napster® and Kazaa® have helped Day gain a fan base that his small hometown of Bangor, Maine could never foster. “I was pretty much unknown, but online music gave me a really great promo-tool.” Yet, the fact remains that Howie Day has to make a living. Even in his most optimistic recollections, Day is quick to point out the downfalls of file-swapping. “Ultimately, I don’t love making a record to have people DL it and burn it,” states Day, who instead promotes live-taping. “Bands should let up their guard about letting people record them live; I think that would create an outlet so that people aren’t trading it.”

Whether through tape-trading or file-swapping, the word on Howie Day is spreading fast. Currently headlining a national tour, Day recently played to a sell-out crowd at Coffman Memorial Union. With a growing grassroots family of supporters and fans, Day’s music is infiltrating college campuses everywhere; Day doesn’t forget it. First and foremost in Day’s mind is his steadfast audience. “Ultimately, one of the greatest things [about making an album] is that I can make every night more special for the fans,”