Change is inherent in making art, and Howie Day is trying to
change. Since he began performing music on the piano as a child, he
has been a solo artist.

“[My first song] was probably an instrumental thing on the piano
when I was 10,” Day said. “I played it at a recital, and the emcee
came up and asked, ‘What’s the name of your original
composition?’

“I said, ‘Uh, I don’t know,’ so when he introduced me he said,
‘Here’s Howie Day, and he’s playing his original composition.'”

“It’s called,’I Don’t Know.'”

Day moved from the piano to the guitar soon thereafter,
performing at different venues on the weekends during high
school.

“I’d make $300 or $400, which at 16 is a goldmine. I saved a
little bit and bought my first car. It was a Chevy Celebrity
station wagon,” Day said, chuckling.

Day has moved far past those days, now criss-crossing the
country in his luxury tour bus. New to this tour, though, is the
addition of a backing band. Before, Day would perform on stage with
just his acoustic guitar and an elaborate array of looping pedals
to add to the sound. Day said there was a bit of adjustment to
having a band on tour.

“We were on this same exact bus on the last tour when it was a
solo show, and there was four of us. Now there is nine of us, so it
has gotten twice as crowded, Day said. “It’s a lot more work, too,
just setting up. The band takes all day, where setting up the solo
show takes like an hour.” Day said the songs and performances have
changed since adding the band.

“I think it’s freed me up a lot to worry less about the loops,
and about all the little bells and whistles of the song where I can
lay back and be a more of a singer. I’m not thinking seven steps
ahead with loops and effects. We keep it pretty stripped down and
simple, at least for me. I can let the band back up a song, put all
the dynamics and intricacies, and I can concentrate on vocal
delivery,” Day said.

Day said he took on the idea of a backing band out of
boredom.

“It just seemed like a natural next step, making things a little
bit scary for me, mostly. I think going from being a solo artist to
all-of-a-sudden having a band behind me is definitely a daunting
thing. I felt nervous about it similarly to when a frontman in a
band stepping down and playing solo for the first time. Now I’ve
got people counting on me on stage because they’re part of it. When
you’re solo, you can make mistakes and pretend like you meant to,
and you’re not letting anybody down but yourself,” he said.

The move to a backing band has led to some resentment from his
rabid fanbase, who first fell in love with his solo shows.

“There was an initial negative resistance to it, which I think
is totally normal. I have a pretty hard-core group of fans that are
resistant to any change. If I put out a new record, they like the
old one better. If I bring out a band, they like the solo show
better. They can adapt to it, it’s just I have to hold their hands
saying, ‘It’s okay, this is what I’m doing now, and it’s good.
Trust me, you’re going to like this,'” Day said.

Day said that the artists who last are ones who try to keep
things interesting.

“Keeping things scary is a good thing. When you go on stage
thinking, ‘I gotta do this and this …’ That little bit of anxiety
adds an edge to the performing,” Day said. If you get too
comfortable, you start to look like you’re going through the
motions, and I think audiences have a complete sixth sense for
that.”