Howard Kern "Howie" Day
(born January 15, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself.[#endnote_LAWeekly] He self-financed and self-released his first album, Australia
, in 2000.
Day eventually signed a recording contract with major label Epic Records in 2002 and has since re-released his debut as well as producing a follow up, Stop All The World Now
. Despite initially sluggish sales, Stop All The World Now
was certified gold in early 2005 [#endnote_HeraldGold] and has produced a number of singles, including "Collide", Day's most successful to date, and the hit "She Says".[#endnote_RS_HowieMeetsWorld] The track became Epic Records’ first platinum single, eventually selling 1.5 million downloads.
After a five year tour before the release of Stop All The World Now followed by a three year tour, Day took some time off and focused on writing music. Since then Day released his Be There EP in May of 2009 which will be followed by Sound The Alarm in September 2009.
Day received significant negative attention after two high profile arrests. In 2004, Day was arrested and charged over an incident in which he was accused of locking a fan in the bathroom of his tour bus and destroying the cellular phone of another, for which he was fined.[#endnote_WSJ] In December 2005, Day was arrested in Boston after reportedly verbally abusing the flight crew while under the influence of alcohol and sleeping pills. He was sentenced to one year's probation on April 26, 2006.[#endnote_AP_probation]
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Biography
Early years
Born and raised in
Bangor, Maine, Howie Day began to play music at age five when his mother bought a piano at an auction.
[#endnote_SheKnows] When Day's mother noticed that her son was able to play by ear tunes of
television advertising jingles, she enrolled him in piano lessons, which he would continue for six years.
Legal trouble
On March 26, 2004, while touring with the band
Barenaked Ladies, Day was arrested in
Madison, Wisconsin, for allegedly locking a woman in the bathroom of a tour bus after she refused his sexual advances.
[#endnote_USAToday] According to the complainant, he then broke the cell phone of another woman, Alison Rafi, who tried to call police. On August 31, 2004, Howie pled
no contest to the charge of disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a fine of $200 and to write a letter of apology to complainant Alison Rafi.
[#endnote_WSJ] A second charge, that of criminal damage to property, was dismissed by the court.
On December 22, 2005, Day was arrested at Boston's
Logan International Airport on charges of "interfering with a flight crew".
[#endnote_MSNBC_arrest] According to the complaint, Day had taken a
sleeping pill and consumed several alcoholic beverages, then allegedly became verbally abusive towards the flight crew and began kicking the seats of other passengers. According to the
Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Day also smoked a cigarette in the airplane's bathroom in violation of
FAA rules. On December 23, Day pleaded not guilty to the charges in East Boston District Court and on April 26, 2006, was sentenced to one year of probation. As conditions of his probation, Day must write letters of apology to the crew and his fellow passengers as well as attending an alcohol counseling program.
[#endnote_AP_probation]
Career
At around age 13, Howie's interest drifted toward
rock music and the
electric guitar. Day's father bought his son a
Fender Stratocaster and enrolled him in basic vocal training. Howie made his first stage appearance in August 1996 at Bangor restaurant Captain Nick's.
[#endnote_Villanova] Day played in a local band called
Route 66
throughout 1997 and made sporadic solo appearances in local venues until booking agent Shawn Radley discovered him the following year while Day was supporting
Ziggy Marley at the
University of Maine.
[#endnote_SongwriterUniverse] Radley became Day's manager in June 1998, and Howie began touring more extensively, leading him to miss 45 days of school and to almost fail his senior year.
[#endnote_MTV]
Demo EP
At some point in 1998, Howie recorded his first demo EP, which contained covers of songs by
Dave Matthews Band,
Barenaked Ladies, and
Goo Goo Dolls alongside the originals "Buzzing" and "Lick My Lips". This EP was followed later in 1998 by another demo consisting wholly of Day's originals.
On the strength of these performances and demos, Radley secured Howie a showcase at the annual National Association of Campus Activities conference, where he played for 1,500
college talent buyers.
[#endnote_LAWeekly] Having received around four months of bookings at colleges around the United States, Day decided to defer attending college in favor of his burgeoning music career.
Howie recorded a cover of
The Beatles'
Help! for the
soundtrack to the 2001 film
I Am Sam.
Stop All the World Now
(2003–2008)
After the EP's release, Day relocated to
London, England to record ''Australia
s follow up, which was provisionally titled
From a Northern Sky
. [1] The album, which would eventually become
Stop All The World Now'', was recorded in London's famous
Olympic Studios with
Martin "Youth" Glover, the bassist for
British band
Killing Joke, whose previous production credits included
The Verve's Urban Hymns, one of Howie's favorite albums.
While certain tracks on
Australia
had featured session musicians,
Stop All The World Now
saw Howie joined for the first time by a permanent backing band, consisting of multi-instrumentalist
Les Hall, drummer Laurie Jenkins and ex-Verve bassist
Simon Jones. In addition, the majority of the album's songs were co-written with either
Better than Ezra frontman
Kevin Griffin or
Jump Little Children's Jay Clifford.
A full band tour to promote
Stop All the World Now
began on September 27, 2003. Due to other commitments, Simon Jones was unable to tour with the group and was replaced by Jeremy Curtis. The album was released one week and three days later on October 7 to tepid critical reactions. Rolling Stone's Pat Blashill referred to
Stop
as "not bad" but "indistinct",
[#endnote_RollingStone_Stop] but Popmatters' Devon Powers noted that though
Australia
had been an album one falls for passionately, "
Stop All the World Now
is an album you have a crush on, not one you fall deeply, complexly, and foolishly in love with. And crushes have a way of disappearing suddenly, without a trace."
Stop
Sales of
Stop
were initially sluggish, but slowly began to rise beginning in late 2004 with the single release of ballad "Collide", which became a popular radio hit and was featured on TV shows such as
Scrubs
,
Grey's Anatomy
,
Bones
, and
One Tree Hill
as well as soundtracking a promotional trailer for the
2005 film adaptation of
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
.
Stop
was finally certified
gold in early 2005. Fan favourite "She Says", which was first released on 1998's
White EP
, was released as a follow-up to "Collide", although s of {{MONTHNAME 2006
[] it has not achieved the same success, it became a mid-level hit.
Boosted by the slow burning success of
Stop All the World Now
, Epic released the
Live From...
EP on December 6, 2005. The 7-track EP contains live renditions of songs from
Australia
and
Stop All the World Now
as well as a cover of
Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over". The EP has not been widely reviewed, though
Allmusic referred to the release as "holiday market product," "tepid", and "directionless".
[#endnote_AMG_Live]
Be There EP
Howie Day has released an EP, introducing his new album, featuring 3 new songs: "Be There", "40 Hours", and "Counting On Me". These tracks are now available on iTunes. "Be There", produced by
Kevin Griffin,
Mike Flynn, and
Warren Huart, will be serviced to radio as the first single from the album.
Sound The Alarm (2009)
Howie Day will release his third full length, "Sound The Alarm"
[2], under the
Epic music label on September 8, 2009.
[3] After an extensive tour schedule following the release of "Stop All The World Now", Day decided to take some time off, during which he sorted through his emotions by writing songs, many of which have made their way onto Sound the Alarm. “I toured for five years straight before Stop All The World Now came out, then for three years non-stop after it was released," Day says.
[2]
To get his desired range of sounds and moods, Day recorded in a variety of locations, including Los Angeles, New York, London, Minneapolis, and Bloomington, Indiana, between the spring of 2006 and fall of 2008. He also collaborated with several musicians and producers, including Martin Terefe (Jason Mraz, KT Tunstall), Mike Denneen (Aimee Mann, Fountains of Wayne), Mike Flynn (The Fray, Augustana), Warren Huart (The Fray, Augustana, BTE) and Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin — each one of them an expert in pulling superlative performances out of the artists they work with.
[2]
Discography
Albums
Album
| Release date
| Label
| Chart positions
|
US
| Billboard Heatseekers
| UK
|
Australia
| November 1, 2000
| Daze Records
| -
| -
| -
|
Stop All the World Now
| October 7, 2003
| Epic Records
| #46
| -
| -
|
Sound the Alarm
| September 8, 2009 [3]
| Epic Records
|
| -
| -
|
Singles
Year
| Song
| US Hot 100
| US Pop 100
| US Adult Contemporary
| US Adult Top 40
| CAN
| AUS
| Album
|
2002
| "Ghost"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Australia
|
2002
| "Sorry So Sorry"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Australia
|
2003
| "Perfect Time Of Day"
| -
| -
| -
| 21
| 20
| 35
| Stop All the World Now
|
2004
| "Collide"
| 20
| -
| 14
| 7
| 7
| 9
| Stop All the World Now
|
2005
| "She Says"
| -
| -
| 31
| 6
| 19
| -
| Stop All the World Now
|
2009
| "Be There"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Sound The Alarm
|
Singles and EPs
Single/EP
| Release date
| Label
| Format(s)
| Notes
|
Howie Day (Demo)
| 1998
| Self released
| CD
| Four song promotional CD for booking
|
The White EP (#1)
| 1998
| Self released
| CD
| Four song promotional CD
|
The White EP (#2)
| 1998
| Self released
| CD
| Four song promotional CD
|
The Blue EP
| 2000
| Self released
| CD
| Four song promotional CD released in advance of Australia
|
IRA Live EP
| 2002
| Epic Records
| CD
| Four song promotional CD released after Australia
|
Madrigals EP
| April 29, 2003
| Epic Records
| CD
| Featured bonus DVD
|
"Standing in the Sun"
| November 4, 2003
| Epic Records
| iTunes single
|
Extras
| April 1, 2004
| Epic Records
| CD
| Four song promotional CD
|
Live From...
EP
| December 6, 2005
| Epic Records
| CD
|
Be There EP
| May 5, 2009
| Epic Records
| iTunes single
|
References
- http://www.howiefan.com/View_Album.php?id=734
- www.howieday.com
- http://tommy2.net/content/?p=7061
- www.howieday.com
- www.howieday.com
- http://tommy2.net/content/?p=7061