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Howie Day acquires a backing band
BY CHRISTOPHER JOHN TREACY
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Howie Day is wise beyond his 22 years. And there’s good reason. For starters, he’s been playing sets of covers (along with a few originals) to crowds in and around Boston since his mid teens. No band, just Howie, his voice, and his guitars. That takes guts for seasoned musicians, but it was never a problem for Day. His debut CD, Australia, was self-recorded and self-released, and it sold 30,000 units with little or no promotion. Soon he found himself being courted by a slew of majors; in the end, Epic acquired Day and Australia. It’s almost as if he’d planned things that way. "It was a conscious effort for the most part," he says of his career path. He’s phoning from DC during day seven of his fall tour, one that has him playing with a backing band for the first time and that will bring him to the Orpheum this Tuesday. "I was watching for what the next step would be, i.e., if I do this, it’ll get me there . . . that doesn’t hold a lot of integrity, but it’s truthful." Whereas Australia was pieced together over three years’ time, Day’s new Stop All the World Now — the first album he’s done with record-label money — was finished in just three months. "I had a few, four or five songs, left over from Australia. We recorded 15 to 20 songs in all and chose the ones that held together best. We ended up not using the older ones." Instead, he wound up with the songs he wrote while he was on the road promoting Australia, a tour that included a string of dates opening up for Tori Amos last fall. He says that watching Amos "gave me a taste of just how insanely busy an artist’s schedule becomes at that level. It was educational." Stop All the World Now marks a mature progression from the angst-ridden boyishness of Australia, and the writing conveys a more enlightened perspective; Day says the disc has "that breath of fresh air that new records should." Recorded last spring in London, it was produced by the well-seasoned Youth (Crowded House, Dido). Day, however, was unintimidated by Youth’s résumé. "I just wanted to make the best record I could, and Youth was right for what I wanted: he’s more focused on getting a working vibe together than trying to achieve perfection. And I think that achieving a working relationship is more important." One remnant from the Australia period that’s on the new CD is a reworking of "She Says," a tune that Day felt hadn’t reached fruition. The original is stripped, practically a demo. The new version, one of several tracks for which Youth conscripted a 25-piece orchestra, provides an at-a-glance lesson in Day’s development. "Sweet is the sight of her room/Window opened by candlelight/How would you know? . . . And when she says she wants someone else, hope you know, she doesn’t mean you." The huskier vocals on Stop All the World Now bespeak Day’s greater experience. And the differences in the arrangement attest to the chemistry between artist and producer: Youth’s tasteful layering adds direction to the piece rather than bloating it. But the song’s meaning and related personal images remain unchanged: "I still get the same mental pictures when I play that." The biggest change for Day right now is that he’s touring with a backing band. His previous shows were one-man affairs in which he used pedals and looping to layer up his tracks in performance, and the result can be mesmerizing. Watching him tinker on stage is a glimpse into his creative process. "Being in the studio with these musicians helped me prepare to play with them live; we’ve slipped into a groove. But the looping helped, playing against different sequences. Bottom line: the gig never sounds like the record, which is a good thing, and you’ve got to listen carefully to hear cues from the other players in order to do your part." Indeed, Day’s fans have begun to trade tapes of different shows as a way of comparing different versions of the same tune. "That started because of some dates with the Pat McGee Band. They’re more of a jam band, and jam-band shows are heavily recorded. I think that the trading of live music has exploded in general." And he welcomes the devotion. "Actually, I think it’s great. It helps me out some." And the disc’s title? "I really liked the double meaning. The phrase refers to the roller-coaster ride the last few years have been. And the fact that the whole world really seems to be spinning its wheels right now." Howie Day performs this Tuesday, December 16, at the Orpheum, 1 Hamilton Place; call (617) 931-2000.
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