Day-dreaming

Although Bangor, Maine might not be the most conducive spot to launch a music career, Howie Day sufficed with playing at clubs, tourist ski spots and bars near the University of Maine.\n"Maine isn't exactly a booming metro of music culture," Day says. "Growing up, I knew it would be difficult to get out of there as a musician because it's not the place you get discovered."\nWhile Day's first gigs were at college bars near UM, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to get his name on the music map.\n"People in Maine were hungry for music because there really wasn't much going on," he says. "So that was my outlet."\nDay, a humble 22-year-old musician, complete with wild spiky brown hair and tight-fitting faded tees, has indeed left the confines of Maine.\nIn the past year, Day has traveled around the country, performing at more than 300 shows, many at college campuses.\nDay made a tour stop in Bloomington last Sunday, where a large crowd filled Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nOpeners Charlotte Martin and Matt Nathanson chatted with the crowd in between their songs before Howie and his band took the stage.\nJunior Kate Rosenbarger and her sister Beth, a freshman, were all smiles as they made their way to front row.\nThe sisters traveled to two other Howie Day shows at DePauw and in Grand Rapids.\n"With the band, there is more sound to what I was already doing," he says. "I thought it would be tough since I've been solo for five years, but I've adjusted quicker than I thought."\n"Howie's music is amazing and I really love the orchestra on his new CD," Kate says. "He's really energizing."\nDay energized the Bloomington crowd as he jammed to old favorites like "She Says" and "Morning After," in addition to new hits from Stop All The World Now.\nThe sisters agree his looks don't hurt his stage presence either.\n"I like his messy hair," Beth said, smiling. "It's his voice too; he's just a really great musician."\nA Rolling Stone magazine reviewer describes Day's music as sophisticated pop, and Day sees his talent improving as a craft, not just a hobby.\nDay says his primary goal, when he started playing music at 16, was to have 45 minutes of original material to perform live.\nDay wasn't just dreaming -- but has since been granted his wish.\nSix years later, Howie has two original CDs and enough material to adequately switch up his set list each night on tour. \n"My catalogue is tripled in size, so I can make every night special," Day says. "I'm always trying to make each show better than the night before."\nDay recorded his self-financed CD, Australia, over the course of a year because he kept running out of funds. After going back out on the road to scrape enough money to continue recording, he released Australia in the fall of 1999, a CD he equates to a "demo."\nBut he has no regrets about the time it took to produce his first album.\n"I always relate making a record to creating a painting," Day says. "You could always put more paint on it and fix it but the reality of it is that it's a snapshot of a moment in time, in terms of where you are."\nHis new sophomore album, Stop All The World Now, was produced with Epic Records, and unlike the lengthy production time of Australia, Day spent a quick three months in London recording his new songs.\nThe new material draws on the common and relatable concepts of life and love, while exploring his experiences from four years of touring, during which he had the opportunity to open for acts like Tori Amos, Jack Johnson and Sheryl Crow.\nUnlike his first release, Stop All The World Now includes a 25-piece orchestra that adds an energizing flair to songs like "She Says" and "Collide."\nHowie also incorporates piano -- the instrument he first learned -- on the mellow tune, "End of Our Days."\nOn his previous tours, Day played solo, wowing crowds with his array of delay pedals used to concoct an upbeat mix of rhythms and melodies to create the sound of a one-man band.\nWhen Day showcases his live loop sampling, he uses several pedals to record bits of songs or guitar riffs.\nThis fall, Day is touring for the first time with a band behind him -- although he still performs a few solos during each show to bring him back to his roots.\nFreshman Eli Riveire, a member of the Union Board Concert Committee and a fan of Day's music, said the decision to bring Howie to IU was because of his wide appeal.\n"(Howie) is gaining a lot of popularity with college students all across the nation," Riveire says. "Since he's only played four shows ever in the state of Indiana, I'd imagaine that many people at the show were local fans who had been itching to see his live show for quite some time."\nRiveire enjoys how Day can change the tempo of his live show with each song.\n"I felt like I was hypnotized for most of the show," Riveire says. "I loved how he could just completely rock out one minute and then bring everything down to almost a whisper the next"