Howie Day
The release of his second album "Stop All The World Now" (2003) felt a lot like graduation day for singer, songwriter Howie Day. "In a weird way I've come full circle," says Howie 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." Album number two, his first for Epic Records was produced by Youth (The Verve, Crowded House, Dido) and mixed by Michael Brauer (Coldplay, David Gray, Starsailor), Chris Lord-Alge (Goo Goo Dolls, Shawn Mullins, Eric Clapton), and Clive Goddard (Sneaker Pimps, Marianne Faithful).
"Stop All The World Now" explored Day's experiences from the road as he toured for four years as a solo artist and opened for artists like Sting, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow and more recently, Tori Amos.
Day returns to Australia this summer. He was introduced to Australian audiences earlier this year as special guest on tour with Whitley where he received such an amazing response that he had to come out for his own headline shows, a mere 6 months following his first visit.
In 2000, Day independently released his self-financed debut, "Australia". Impressed by the 30,000 albums he sold simply by word of mouth, Epic Records signed Day and began distributing the album.
The key to Day's growing success has been strong grassroots support from enthusiastic fans who helped spread the word about his music. It began with the Rep Program, an innovative approach to marketing, says Day's manager Shawn Radley.
Through the program, fans who came to Day's first shows were given an opportunity to take 10 copies of Australia-on the honor system-to sell. Members who sold all 10 discs were allowed to attend Day's shows for free. As word spread about Day's unique live performances, tapers-some with microphones strapped to their heads-became permanent fixtures in the audience. Robert Helms helped establish the Howie Day Trading Board (www.thehdtb.com), a Web site that allows fans to trade concerts online.
"It's such a huge compliment to think people like what I'm doing enough to record it and pass it along to their friends," says Day. "It keeps me on my toes too because I can't go out and play the same show night after night." There will be even more opportunities to improvise as Day returns to Australia to tour this summer.
