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Howie Day : sticken by a full case of full band fever by Patrick Ferrucci
Register Entertainment Editor 08/05/2004 from www.entertainment.ctcentral.com Three years ago, if you closed your eyes at a Howie Day concert, you would have thought there was a full band backing the 23-year-old experimental folkie. But when you opened your eyes, you would have just seen a guy and his guitar, accompanied only by a large set of effect pedals. Day’s energetic and off-the-cuff performances became full when supplemented with live loop sampling and delay pedals. Everything was created live, and it let Day play his music the way he wanted to. Since releasing his second album, "Stop All The World Now," last year, the Maine native started touring with a band, and he’ll be at the Oakdale with band in tow Sunday. |
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| "It’s a little different for me. It’s scary going from solo to a band," says Day, whose sound has changed significantly with the release of this second disc. "Before, if I made a mistake, I could pretend I meant to." In 2000, Day released his debut CD, "Australia," which he financed and marketed himself. Coming from Maine, this was not an easy endeavor. "There’s not much of a scene," he says of Bangor. "My first fan base was at the University of Maine and I just started playing around there. I just kind of figured, since I was set on being a musician, I figured I would run into someone who would take me to the next level." That person was Day’s manager. Shawn Marley caught the musician’s act, became his manager and agent and "got me out of playing just Maine," Day says. Through constant touring and a dedicated fan base, Day sold more than 30,000 copies of "Australia" — a sometimes inconsistent, but enjoyable and tuneful record — before Epic records signed Day and began distributing the disc. While that album has a folk vibe, with lots of acoustic guitar and some augmentation, "Stop All The World Now" could be a Coldplay record. On some songs, a full orchestra backs Day and producer Youth (The Verve, Dido) made sure to complete the disc’s sound with a full 0band. "It’s the first record that I had three months to do it all," explains Day. "When I first went in (Youth) told me what people would expect and he said we should do the opposite." "Stop" is the sound of an artist coming into his own. Owing a huge debt to Richard Ashcroft, the album has an English vibe, not a coincidence since that’s what Day lists as his favorite. With a band sharing the stage, the songs on "Stop" should be true to their recorded form, while the first record’s songs may get a bit of an update; Day already re-recorded "She Says," originally on "Australia," for "Stop" because he says the old version was a demo that needed sprucing up. The singer/guitarist thinks the tour, and playing with other musicians, is going well. But, he says, "Summer touring always makes you wish you were out on a lake in a boat." |
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