|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 6 |
 |
Straight outta Brewer: Howie Day hits the big time
KELSEY ABBRUZZESE
STAFF WRITER
Imagine spending your 16th birthday performing a concert at a college bar, releasing your first album at age 19, and performing not only the vocals and guitar on your tour, but the percussion, back-up vocals, and everything in between, thanks to live loop sampling and delay pedals. Spending 250 to 300 nights a year on the road after high school graduation is quieter when there are no other band members.
A veteran live performer at 22, Howie Day recently released his second album, Stop All the World Now. Day won a Boston Music Award for his debut, Australia, and he delivers another great performance with his latest album.
"In a weird way, I've come full circle," Day said in his website biography. "After high school, I decided to skip college. Four years later, I'm releasing a new record instead of getting my degree."
So, the next time you see a local kid playing gigs night after night at University of Maine or hanging out at Margarita's Mexican Restaurant in Orono, don't think he won't make it because he's a native. In four years, he could be releasing his second album.
Stop All the World Now is not just Day and his guitar anymore. The addition of electric guitars and a 25-piece orchestra make the album more full and polished than Australia. Day also wrote on piano for the first time for his latest album. The Stop All the World Now tour marks the first time Day has toured with a full band, reflecting his new style.
Instead of the serious lyrics and tone of Australia, the first half of Stop All the World Now takes on a more playful mood. Though difficulty in relationships is a major part of Day's songwriting, he does not display the bitterness he did on Australia. The album's first single, "Perfect Time of Day," has a much faster tempo than anything found on Australia. In regards to "Perfect Time of Day," Day said on his website, "In a sense, this song is about me confronting the uncertainty that I think we all feel as we go through life."
Other songs in the first half of the album, such as "Collide" and "Sunday Morning Song," contribute to the upbeat tone of Stop All the World Now. A new arrangement of "She Says" is laced with electric guitars, making it more buoyant and uptempo than the song's first appearance on Australia.
The first half of the album may be a new Howie Day, but towards the end of album and with "Trouble in Here," Day returns to his Australia roots. His lighthearted use of instruments at the beginning of the album gives way to a somber tone at the end. The mellow intro of "End of Our Days" showcases Day's voice and new piano skills, while "Numbness for Sound," "You and a Promise," and "Come Lay Down" have a more serious, darker tone than the rest of the album. Overall, these songs do not incorporate the same upbeat, enjoyable image as "Perfect Time of Day" or "Sunday Morning Song."
Adding electric guitars and strings creates a new sound for Day, which he pulls off well at the beginning of the album. Though Stop All the World Now tapers off toward the end, it is no sophomore slump for Howie Day.
With the new band on tour, Day's old songs get new personalities. "Howie never plays a song the same way twice," said Robert Helms, founder of the Howie Day Trading Board, which gives fans the opportunity to share concerts online. Live loop sampling is a major part of Day's concerts. When performing solo, he creates percussion by pounding different rhythms on the body of his acoustic guitar. He then records it and plays it back using delay pedals. After recording percussion, Day records an acoustic riff or two, and then layers vocals on top of everything else.
One of Day's most impressive performances involving this process is "Beams of Light," a song that typically follows "Ghost" during a show. "Beams of Light" involves two or three different guitar melodies and multiple vocal layers, which Day speeds up to a fevered pitch and then sings along.
Day does not limit his talent to his own songs. He covers songs like "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, "#41" by the Dave Matthews Band, and adds a little 80s flavor with "Africa" by Toto.
With two notable albums, distinguished awards, and thousands of terrific live performances under his belt, Day is well on his way to making a name for himself in music.
All that and he's from Maine, too.
Album rating - 3.5 out of 4
|
FastCounter by bCentral |