10K7 - Howie Day

The release of Stop All The World Now feels a lot like graduation day for singer, songwriter Howie Day. "In a weird way I've come full circle," says Howie Day. Stop All The World Now is Day's first full-length album for Epic Records. 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. A year later Australia has sold over 100,000 copies.

While the 23-year old songwriter from Bangor, Maine continues to explore the themes of love, regret and loss in his lyrics, his music takes on an additional dimension as he incorporates a 25-piece orchestra to "Numbness for Sound," "I'll Take You On," "Collide," and "She Says."

As Day reacquainted himself to a life without sound check after four years on the road, he began writing songs for Stop All The World Now. The first single from the album is a "Perfect Time of Day," a surprisingly upbeat track about endings and new beginnings. On it, Day addresses his mixed emotions about getting older while countering the introspection with an insistent rhythm that embodies the song's underlying message of hope. "When you're young, you can take a certain amount of comfort knowing that a lot of your life is mapped out for you, but as you get older, the map goes out the window and you have to find your own way. In a sense, this song is about me confronting the uncertainty that I think we all feel as we go through life." A few months later, Day was on a plane to London. Living and recording in London was an exciting mix of work and new culture.

When Day returns to the road this fall, he will take a band with him for the first time. "I've been looking forward to taking a band on the road for such a long time," says Day. "I love playing solo, but I can only take the songs to a certain point."