Music Video In Progress: Howie Day "Be There"

Life's an action. things always start young Hollywood.

Hey young Hollywood, it's Michelle Marie.

I'm here with Howie Day.

Now, you're taking a break from a really long day of shooting.

I hear it's a really, really cool video.

This is the best video ever.

No, actually, the interesting thing is it's uh a collection of stills.

Now, it's for your brand new EP called Be There and you know, most of the the actual video I know takes place underwater.

If you're going to be there be there.

If you're going to stay, stay.

tonight's a night star living with the old.

on it.

must be.

It kind of starts out above water and then I sort of get into bed and like, you know, it looks like I've had a rough day or something.

And then the bedroom fills with water.

The underwater stuff is kind of a dreamy dreamlike sequence.

Like you're not sure if if this is really happening or if I'm sort of dreaming it.

For how long do you really have to like train before you actually, you know, got in the water?

How long did it take for you to really get used to it?

Well, I was I was a fish growing up, but as far as getting used to being underwater for long periods of time and breathing with uh, you know, artificial breathing devices.

We did do a day of training for this video.

It was pretty intense, you know, it was fun.

We did a lot of relaxation cuz I'm kind of high strung.

So they were like, all right, just chill out, you'll be able to hold your breath longer.

Do you find it really therapeutic being underwater and seeing in the lyrics and doing all that?

Underwater, if you were to sing along, there'd be many bubbles.

So I am actually lip-syncing under there.

It is, it's kind of, it's kind of chill.

You got all the light, kind of like, you know, the water, it's it's relaxing.

Tell us how you know, you came about with this song.

The idea of it is you know, a relationship, obviously.

They're my favorite thing to write about.

Of course.

Um and never when it's going good, you know, you always seem to write songs about the relationship when there's some trouble.

For my experience anyway, being the guy in the relationship, you know, you find that once in a while you act like a jerk and you have to kind of you know, you have to make up for those mistakes.

I know.

All the all the girls and the broken hearts out there from you boys, it's it's really bad.

Yeah, the song writing's always worked for me, you know, a lot of times I can express in songs what I can't in words and and apology only goes so far, so, you know.

Okay.

Well, I love to say that what your song that was like a huge hit called collide, of course, was one of the songs that really helped me get over a breakup.

Did it?

It really did.

I'm sure you haven't heard that before, but that's that's the effect that you have on people.

out of the doubt that's my mind.

I somehow find you and I collide.

This album, I know is going to be called sounding alarm.

Tell me more about, you know, the concept behind the album.

I know that the songs are going to be a little bit different from your previous albums.

The idea was to put together a collection of songs that all had a distinct identity and uh you know, it wasn't like too much of the same thing.

I don't know about you, but a lot of times when I buy a CD, it's like every song kind of sounds the same.

Exactly.

So the variety is the spice of life and I think it's the spice of music as well.

So we kind of went for that.

We recorded actually 35 songs for this album and came down to 11.

So I took my cue from U2 and kind of uh really overthought it and really put a lot of work into it.

So I I'm pretty excited.

It's the best of the best of every uh possible emotion.

What part of music influenced you?

Were you a big like uh jazz and blues fan?

What kind of music did you listen to when you were younger?

Oh, jeez, it was some sort of mixture.

It was like the stuff that everyone listened to anyway, you know, Nirvana and Pearl Jam and I guess the grunge stuff when I was like 13.

Um, so that was like how I learned how to play the guitar because it's very easy bar chords and whatever.

Um, and then in, you know, behind closed doors, I maybe I was listening to like James Taylor and The Beatles and, you know, Elton John records is one of my favorites.

And Um, it's cool.

Like playing the piano was actually my first instrument.

So um that's that's actually a part of this new record as well.

So Okay, so you're bringing out the jams, huh?

Bringin' out the piano, man.

I don't know, like I'm still a little concerned with being at the piano.

It's kind of scary.

You're kind of naked.

Right, right.

Uh, but it should be good, you know, it's always keeping the challenge going for me and keeping it interesting.

Now, music has obviously changed, you know, from when you first recorded your album and nowadays, you know, there are so many different genres that kind of come together.

Do we see any influence like that in your album or?

I've always thought that just some of my influences like some of the British influences, you know, I've always been into The Verve and Blur and like some of that Brit rock stuff has always been my cup of tea.

Uh, so that I think that that's kind of represented a lot.

I know it's not as extreme as sort of jazz fusion, you know, in the middle of a singer-songwriter record, but you know, I just I I just go with what the song wants.

It's almost like it's its own being.

Hey, what's up?

I'm Howie Day.

Check out my video.

Be there.

When the morning came, I was up before first light.

Young Hollywood.