Written by: Shawn Brown

Howie Day has pretty much seen it all at this point.

He was a part of the singer-songwriter resurgence in the 2000’s (think John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Gavin Degraw, etc…), signed a big ol’ major label deal with Epic, had a platinum single with “Collide” in 2003, and toured the world to great acclaim. Even Ed Sheeran is ripping out pages from the Howie Day playbook with all the looping and sampling he’s texturing his compositions with.

Sadly, Day is also familiar with the downside of all of that success. He’s felt the fury of fans that weren’t ready for his sound to change and knows what is like to have his personal life ruthlessly splashed around the tabloids.

Undaunted, Day has pressed on – making interesting, heartfelt records that continue to resonate and console.

In April, Day released his PledgeMusic funded Lanterns LP. It’s a tremendous record front to back, and is jam-packed with the kind of passionate, crush-worthy songwriting that made Day such a powerful artist to begin with. Songs like “Life-Sized,” “Make Peace” and “Treetops” find Day stretching out his vocals to places he’s not yet explored.

Lanterns is one of the first truly impactful records of 2015 and we at Stereo Embers are absolutely thrilled that Howie Day agreed to sit down with us and chop it up.

Stereo Embers: While the classic business model of the music industry has imploded, crowd funding has emerged as a viable way to involve fans directly in the making of new music. What was your thought process behind making Lanterns this way?

Howie Day: When I was first approached by PledgeMusic about doing a pre-order exclusive as part of the launch for Lanterns I was pretty skeptical. I soon realized how powerful it would be to reconnect with that core audience on a deeper level, and I quickly became much more enthusiastic. I think that it’s important to constantly be evolving as a musician, but it’s equally important to have that core fanbase onboard with you…They’re part of it just as much as I am, and the PledgeMusic platform was the perfect way for everyone (including me) to feel like, “Hey, we’re all in this together.” The fans got the chance to share their thoughts on new songs and demos during the recording process, and I found that to be very useful.

I’m also doing things like hand-written postcards thanking people for being a part of the “making of,” and I just feel so happy to do it–it’s a family type feeling, which is great, because being a solo artist navigating the (sometimes) harsh social media realm can be a lonely endeavor. This feels honest, genuine, and somewhat unique.

SE: Congratulations on Lanterns! It’s a tremendously emotional record front to back. Did you make the record you were hoping to?

HD: I did, yes. Well, and no! The idea of what the record would sound like was ever-changing throughout the process, which is fine, that’s to be expected. Things started off pretty acoustic at first, and then toward the end we started using a lot more synths and experimenting a bit. The underlying “rule” so to speak to all of this, was to make an album that could be performed live in any setting (solo, duo, or band). I also decided well in advance that I would force myself to write a variety of songs, which is also a very “live show” sort of concept. I covered as many creative bases as possible, so in the end there are a collection of songs that are varied in tempo, key, instrumentation, and subject matter.

SE: Do you hear any common themes running through the lyrics?

HD: The first track on the album “Favorite Song” sort of sets everything up. In that song there’s a character who’s leaving everything behind in search of a new perspective on the world. There’s a lyric: “I’m waking up, a different place, oh what a sun against my face,” which is interesting to me, because what could be more familiar than the sun? There’s nothing “different” about the sun, it’s the perspective that’s changed. I guess I was trying to convey that anything worth trying should be tried, and anything in life that didn’t necessarily work out is best forgotten about. There’s just so much noise in life that you have to tune out, and stuff you have to just let go of in order to realize it.

SE: Songs like “Life-Sized,” “Make Peace” and “Treetops” feature some of the most emotive vocals we’ve ever heard from you. How has your approach to recording vocals changed over the years?

HD: Well, thanks! I think you simply get more comfortable singing in the studio the more you do it. I’m pretty comfortable with it now. This time I wasn’t set on perfection, I was more concerned with an honest delivery. The thing that’s changed the most over the years about recording vocals is probably the technology, which we often timeschose not to use. If we noticed a flat note, I would just go in and sing it again rather than fix it with studio magic.

SE: Australia is still in high rotation here at Stereo Embers. As you made that record at age 19 – what’s changed about how you approach writing and recording?

HD: Well now there’s more of an emphasis on “what’s gonna be different about this one?” going through my head as I’m writing. You can only go back to the same bag of tricks so many times. I’m also currently dismantling my home studio as I’ve decided that demos don’t need to go beyond a voice memo or a four track recording. Back in the Australia days, I had one of those Tascam four track tape recorders (and for Stop a digital 8-track,) and I’m actually thinking about going back to the four track! I think you’re best off recording a song in the studio with ideas in your head, instead of an elaborate demo.

SE: Now that some time has passed between your being signed to Epic – how do you conceptualize your time making records for a major label?

HE: It was fun! Especially the making of Stop. That kind of extravagance just doesn’t exist anymore. I’m glad I got to be a part of that era in the music business. Of course, after Collide it was hard to be on that “do the same thing again!” treadmill. Who can blame them? They’re huge companies whose job is to make money, but at the time they were spending a lot of that money promoting my career, so I have no regrets. We all move on.

SE: As a live performer, you have always been heavily associated with the mind-blowing effects pedals and loop sampling that made your early solo shows so special. Where did all that come from originally?

HD: The whole thing was born in those early days when I couldn’t afford a front of house engineer. There were all of these details and textures in my brain that I had to figure out how to create myself. Keep in mind at that time, I would go out and do 300 shows a year. There were no rehearsals, just one show being slightly more complex (for better or for worse) than the last. It really was Darwinian in that way, if something didn’t work, I didn’t do it again. However when it did work, I would repeat it the next night and add something else too, and so on.

SE: Stop All the World Now was a really important record for so many people. Looking back at the process of making that record, what stands out most for you? Jay Clifford isone of Stereo Ember’s favorite all-time artists – how was it to work so closely with him during the recording and touring for that record?

HD: What stands out the most for me about that record was the (eventual) huge leap forward my career took because of it. Some people loved it, some hated it (as with any album), but I loved it because it was something different, and the songs worked live. I will admit that bringing out a full band right away after that album was released may have been pushing my core audience too hard in a direction they weren’t ready for yet. But at the time, I couldn’t bear the thought of having to play hundreds more of those solo (looping) shows. I had reached a point where that setup needed a break. I knew it was a positive thing, and that’s how a lot of people perceived me, but I didn’t want to become too defined by it. I can see Ed Sheeran dealing with the same thing at the moment, and I sometimes wonder how he feels about it.

I was lucky to work with Jay Clifford for so long, especially because I was still new to the business and pretty naive. He taught me a lot about songwriting, and seemed to constantly stress the importance of following your own instincts and doing things your own way, no matter the cost.

SE: If you were to sit down for a coffee with the pre-Australia Howie, what advice would you give that guy?

HD: Ha! You think that guy would listen to anything I had to say? I don’t think so. In fact, I happen to know he wouldn’t.