Howie Day

Howie Day was born in Bangor, Maine, in 1981 and at an early age showed a keen aptitude for music. Graduating from the piano to the guitar at 14, Day wrote enough songs for a set of live music, then had his first show at Captain Nick's the following year. Having whetted his appetite for performing live, the young troubadour played around the New England area incessantly. Once he graduated from high school, Day moved to Boston, where he made a name for himself in the vibrant coffeehouse scene there. In 2000, he released his independent debut, Australia, then toured relentlessly behind it. The word-of-mouth buzz on the young musician grew with each show, and after selling some 30,000 CDs independently, talks with labels began in earnest. In 2002, Sony Music re-released a slightly cleaner version of Australia, and once again, he hit the road, opening for the likes of the Wallflowers, David Gray and Remy Zero. Day used his time on the road to fine-tune his songs and test out some new material. When the touring finally ended, Day headed off to London to record what would be his major-label debut. To buy some time, the label released Madrigals, a five-song EP comprised mainly of live tracks and demos. This release was a teaser of sorts -- six months later, Day's full length, Stop All The World Now, hit the stores, scoring a Modern Rock radio hit with "Perfect Time of Day."